Are You Ready for Some Fantasy Football?
The beginning of the
professional football season is upon us, but for millions
of hardcore football fans, it is the fantasy football
season that may hold greater significance. Fantasy
football brings out the virtual general manager in
any football fan as rosters are analyzed closely,
friends or co-workers are sudden rivals and every
game on TV has importance.
Fantasy football, a niche pastime
just 10 years ago, has blossomed to the point that
nearly every office has at least one league, probably
more. Participants go to great lengths to prepare
strategies for their annual drafts, oftentimes perusing
magazines, Web sites and other sources -- all in an
effort to get the edge over their opponents. The fantasy
football frenzy has littered the country with odd
nicknames, strange league traditions and ongoing scrutiny
of players and matchups.
How far have fantasy sports
permeated the sports entertainment business? More
than a dozen magazines are currently on newsstands,
each promising to help fantasy players find the best
players for their team. CBS, Fox, and ESPN each devote
significant air time toward promoting their online
fantasy products and run regular statistical updates
during games to cater to the fantasy football-playing
viewers. A recent Sports Illustrated article notes
that 28 percent of CBS-partnered Sportsline.com’s
revenue comes from fantasy sports.
Most local sports-talk-radio
stations have had to adapt to accommodate the booming
listener interest in fantasy sports. Nine years ago,
Twin Cities sports talker KFAN was struggling with
fantasy football callers dominating its programming
throughout the day. The station stopped the intrusion
by giving fantasy programming its own weekly show.
The show remains on the air today and provides the
station with its strongest weekend ratings.
Fantasy sports has grown enough
that corporate America is beginning to market directly
to participants. This year, for the first time, a
major retailer is getting behind fantasy sports. Backed
by 70 weekly prizes worth more than $20,000, Best
Buy has rolled out a free-to-play online fantasy football
game. The game (www.bestbuy.com/fantasyfootball) challenges
users to create a roster of fantasy players while
staying under a salary cap. Prizes include plasma
televisions and home theater sound systems.
The game is built by Fanball.com,
one of the oldest players in the fantasy sports market.
Fanball began publishing weekly fantasy football magazines
in 1993. Recognizing the importance of the Internet
to fantasy players, Fanball launched its Web site
in 1999, and quickly grew to be an industry leader
with more than 2 million monthly visitors.
