Is fantasy football bad for the NFL?

By: LOREN NELSON - Sports Editor | Saturday, August 25, 2007 8:32 PM PDT ∞

Is fantasy football bad for the NFL?
By: MARC FIGUEROA - Staff Writer

YES
My name is Marc, and I'm a fantasy football-aholic. There, I said it.

I've known this for a long time, but it's time I finally admitted it. My wife has lost a husband because of it and my integrity ---- what's left of it ---- has been stripped down to practically nothing. I have a problem and I know it.

The signs came as early as 1998, when I was covering the Chargers-Broncos game at Qualcomm Stadium for a Denver newspaper. Broncos wide receiver Ed McCaffrey had a big night ---- two touchdown catches and 74 yards ---- and I was assigned to write about it. I had a big night too, since McCaffrey was on my fantasy team.

In the locker room after the game, I let him know with a big smile and a hearty handshake.

In doing so, I crossed the line of Sports Journalism 101: No cheering in the locker room. I cheered, and it's been eating me up inside ever since.

How is this good for the NFL?

Fantasy football is everywhere now. After years of teetering, the NFL has finally embraced it. Games are all about numbers now. Stat trackers have flooded the zone. They're on your TV, your cell phone, the newspaper, the Internet, everywhere.

The score is often incidental ---- unless, of course, one of your guys had a hand in the final outcome. The Chargers can lose, but if LaDainian Tomlinson is on your team and he scores twice and rushes for 100 yards, it's cool.

Fantasy football has taken the ultimate team sport and crushed it into countless individual pieces. In our frenzy, we've lost sight of why this game is played. The big picture has become a murky mess of 10-yard gains, 25-yard passes and 50-yard field goals. The game is no longer the sum of its parts.

I had to hit rock bottom to get that clarity. But I see the light now. It's crystal clear.

In my recovery, my father told me an inspiring story about his childhood trips to the L.A. Coliseum to watch the Rams play. It was the 1950s, and as a kid growing up in East L.A., he would crisscross the city on three buses just to get to the game and catch a glimpse of Norm Van Brocklin throwing a pass.

When I asked him his motivation for attending, he simply said he loved the game.

I've never said that.

At that moment, I realized what this sport has lost: passion. It's about the game, not the individuals who play it.

Fantasy football isn't about the game. It's about the guys who play it.

And that's wrong.

Contact Marc Figueroa at marcfig@aol.com.

NO
Fantasy football leagues have ended marriages, blown heart valves, emptied checking accounts and halted office productivity.

They are, in a word, wonderful.

Fantasy leagues ---- drafting imaginary teams of players off pro rosters and calculating wins and losses based on their statistics ---- are the best thing to happen to the NFL since the Ickey Shuffle.

Interest in the NFL has never been higher. Neither has the number of fantasy leagues.

Coincidence? Hardly.

Fantasy footballers who couldn't name a single teacher at their kid's elementary school can tell you Sage Rosenfels is the backup quarterback for the Houston Texans and New York Jets wideout Jerrico Cotchery is ready for a breakout season.

Such skewed priorities and obsessive behavior may be bad for society but undoubtedly have been a boon for the NFL, the most popular sport in America by a landslide.

Games that once had little or no appeal (think Detroit Lions versus the Cleveland Browns) to the masses have fantasy geeks by the millions glued to their Barcaloungers as they cheer their players.

Fantasy leagues, some of which cost $1,000 or more to join, were born in the 1960s, but mushroomed in popularity in the mid-'90s when Internet sites provided the ability to more easily manage rosters and statistics. One recent study reported nearly 37 million people spend almost an hour a week managing their teams.

That adds up to an estimated loss of $1.1 billion a week in workplace productivity ---- money that could easily be made up if everyone did a better job of recycling their soda cans.

Fantasy football has been referred to as the "Widowmaker," a reference to wives who are abandoned every fall once the season starts. Fantasy football even has inspired a Web site called fantasyhusband.com that gives participants a chance to choose the husband they think will react best to a relationship scenario (I am toast if my wife ever stumbles upon that site).

Fantasy football is not unlike a bucket of chicken wings or tub of ribs. Enjoy, but do so in moderation.

Whatever you do, don't listen to Marc. Saying fantasy football is bad for the NFL is akin to saying the combustion engine has been bad for motorized transportation.

But then, my counterpart in this debate always has lagged behind the times. He's still starting David Duval on his fantasy golf team.

Contact sports editor Loren Nelson at (760) 740-3551 or lnelson@nctimes.com.

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Pre-Registration Comments[-]Go to Top

Al wrote on Aug 26, 2007 5:46 PM:I have been in a Fantasy League for 22 years. The three day Draft event is the best three days of the year, save for winning our Super Bowl.

Karl wrote on Aug 27, 2007 8:50 PM:I have never been involved in Fantasy League. As a true sports nut I think my friends involved in this are a little over the top and should pay more attention to their families.

[To] Karl wrote on Aug 28, 2007 8:43 AM:Look, I played in a fantasy league for the first time last year and I had a lot of fun. It kept me from only concentrating on the Chargers and had me keeping an eye on the entire NFL to monitor my players. In that sense, it's great for the NFL because it showcases the entire league, not just hometown teams. Karl took a question about something being good for the NFL, and turned it into an opportunity to make himself seem like Howard Cunningham. Take it easy, Mr. C; come down off your soapbox.

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