BY BRAXTON STRICKER

As October rolls around fantasy football fanatics take out their jerseys,  empty their wallets, and clean out the shelves of  Barnes and Noble’s fantasy football section.

Now in September, with the NFL season in full swing, millions of Americans find themselves spending Sundays with a remote in one hand and mouse in the other. To outsiders, fantasy football seems like a waste of time… for those who participate, it’s a way of life.

Fantasy football is a prevalent topic in conversations throughout the school week.  Men engage in trade talks and breakout performances but one thing seems to be missing from these discussions: the female populace.  It an attempt to preach a sermon from the bro-bible I garnered a selection of women and had a discussion about the ins and outs of fantasy football.  I was left with these questions:

1.       I mean the whole thing is internet-based, right? Is that like how you select players and stuff? (Katie Peters)

First of all, one thing women should understand up front is that all men are lazy.  Before you ask, do you really think that men have the time or patience to tabulate all the scores and roster changes by hand?  Of course not.  Just assume it is online and forgo the puzzled and judgmental facial expressions.

About two or three weeks before the season kicks off the bros get together, either online or at a restaurant and pick the teams.  B-dubs is the place to go. What is better than twenty TV’s, wings and a free draft kit? And by the way ladies, no player can be picked by more than one team.

2.      What happens when fantasy football players get hurt… is the injury like real or fake? (Katie Arends)

Seriously? I mean it is about as real as a broken nose.  The website isn’t going to make up injuries. What happens in the NFL games happens in fantasy.  It is possible that a first-round draft pick gets placed on injury reserve.  Beware, this is a touchy subject.

3.      There is a like a regular season and playoff kind of thing right? (Alice Barnes)

The regular season usually lasts 13 weeks and then the top teams go into a playoff bracket of about six teams.  From there you separate the men from the boys.

4.      Guys waste so much time on fantasy football.  I mean do they even win anything? (Claire Foran)

First of all, fantasy is not a waste of time. Second, fantasy owners usually have an entry fee of about twenty dollars.  The money is then divided between first, second, and third.  Some leagues even pay out last place.  When I win money, which happens pretty much yearly, I set aside the earnings for next year’s entry fee and then treat myself to dinner.

Fantasy football may seem complicated to many but those who participate, it just adds an entirely different element to the game.

Sophomore, John Peck, claims that he has been participating in fantasy since he left the womb.  “What drives me is the sense of accomplishment you get when you win the league,” says Peck.

Many participants would rather see their fantasy team succeed than their favorite NFL team.  “Of course I root for my fantasy team, I am not expecting much out of the Bengals this year,” Peck continues.

In the fall fantasy football can sometimes take over the lives of the owners.  In the fall of sixth grade, Nick Jones had an excessive amount of fantasy teams.  “When I had forty-eight teams, I spent about two hours a day,” Jones reflects.

Beyond entertainment, fantasy football allows fans to stay in touch with the game.

“When you realize you’re good enough to star in a backyard game, but can’t gain a yard in the NFL,” say Jones “you kind of decide it’s time to move on the to the next closest thing:  fantasy.”