What are Fantasy Sports?

Courtesy of prosportschick.com

Some readers who happen across my blog might be asking themselves, "Fantasy whooza-whatza?  What in the world is this guy talking about?"  If you're not a big sports fan or familiar with fantasy sports, then that is a totally understandable question.  Let me answer it for you.

To explain fantasy sports, I'll give the example of fantasy football.  All fantasy sports are pretty similar in concept, so you will ideally be able to apply the basics of what I explain below to different sports in order to understand how other fantasy games work.  I'll try to break it down as easily as I can for you here and hopefully turn anyone who reads this blog into a big fantasy fan and most expert fantasy player out there.

THE CONCEPT

Fantasy football is a game of prognostication.  The goal is to pick which players you think will have the best football seasons.  Players have good season by running, receiving, or passing for yards and/or touchdowns.

THE DRAFT

Fantasy teams are generally chosen through a draft.  There is a pre-determined draft order set and, one-by-one, each fantasy team owner picks a football player and gradually fills their roster.

THE TEAM

The makeup of fantasy rosters has changed over the years.  Today, most leagues consist of 16-man rosters.  This includes nine starting players and seven bench spots.

1 Quarterback
2 Running Backs
2 Wide Receivers
1 RB/WR flexible
1 Tight End
1 Kicker
1 Defense
7 Bench

SCORING

Most fantasy football leagues using a scoring system similar to the following:

Passing Yards - 1 pt. per 25 passing yards
Passing Touchdowns - 6 pts. per passing touchdown
Rushing Yards - 1 pt. per 10 rushing yards
Rushing Touchdowns - 6 pts. per rushing touchdown
Receiving Yards - 1 pt. per 10 receiving yards
Receiving Touchdowns - 6 pts. per receiving touchdown

Any player can get points in any category.  For example, a quarterback will obviously pass for yards and touchdowns, but he can also run for yards and touchdowns as well.

Points are awarded to defenses for making special plays or holding an opposing team to a low score.  Points are awarded to kickers for making field goals and extra points.

TEAM MANAGEMENT

After the draft, fantasy owners are then responsible for managing their teams on a week-to-week basis throughout the year.  This includes watching out for potentially valuable fantasy players who weren't drafted and choosing who to put in their starting lineups.  In order to choose their starters, most fantasy owners will look at their player's recent performance and which defense that player is facing that week.

As a fantasy owner, your team will face a different fantasy owner each week.  The object of that matchup is to start the players on your team that will earn you the most points, and in turn, garner more points than your opponent.

WINNING IT ALL

If you've done a good enough job throughout the fantasy season, you might be rewarded with admission to your league's playoffs.  The playoffs are a tournament that takes place near the end of the NFL football season.  If you continue to win throughout the playoffs, you will ultimately be crowned your league's fantasy football champion!

I hope I've done a good job explaining the basics of fantasy football and fantasy sports in general.  I've listed some popular websites below where you can go and register to join a league and create your very own team.  Enjoy!

ESPN FANTASY SPORTS
YAHOO! FANTASY SPORTS
NFL.COM FANTASY FOOTBALL

Dap,
John