ESPN says Fantasy Football Ruining Fans

[PatriotsReign]

On todays edition of 1st & 10, 2 of the 3 hosts agreed that fantasy football may be ruining what it means to be a fan. At the root of their opinion was the fact that fantasy football participants don't care who actually WINS the games, only about the performance of the players they have drafted.

The 2 host against the influence of fantasy football said that people who call themselves fans and participate in fantasy football often root for an opposing player...something unthinkable by any REAL fan!

I agree with the latter assessment. If you're a Patriots fan but have LT on your FF team and you secretly are rooting for him, then you can't call yourself a TRUE Patriots fan...just my strong opinion!

 

[PatsWorldChamps]

i cant believe any Pats fan is rooting for LT this week... i have several fantasy teams... i want to win, but i dont really care whether i do or not... the only thing that matters is a pats win

 

[PatriotsReign]

i cant believe any Pats fan is rooting for LT this week... i have several fantasy teams... i want to win, but i dont really care whether i do or not... the only thing that matters is a pats win

Well, I'm relieved to hear FF isn't ruining your loyalty for this game. but how about if we were winning by 21 points with 5 minutes to go and you had LT?

 

[RPCity]

Shoot....I've got Peyton Manning (Forgive me Brady, for I have sinned) in one league but I was still rooting for the Saints last Thursday.

 

[emoney_33]

Rooting for the patriots ALWAYS supersedes anything fantasy football related. I never think about my fantasy football team during the pats. I guess it may mean more to those who play it for money, I however do not.

FF doesn't ruin what it means to be a fan, it just brings in other fans who wouldn't normally be a fan. Anyone who lets FF allow them to root against "their" team at any time was never a real fan anyway.

 

[PatsFan24]

fantasy football sucks

 

[PatriotsReign]

Rooting for the patriots ALWAYS supersedes anything fantasy football related. I never think about my fantasy football team during the pats. I guess it may mean more to those who play it for money, I however do not.

FF doesn't ruin what it means to be a fan, it just brings in other fans who wouldn't normally be a fan. Anyone who lets FF allow them to root against "their" team at any time was never a real fan anyway.

I like your attitude! Thanks for sharing with a non-FF guy!

 

[old 55]

I have Gates, their TE and I'm starting him, but at this point I'm about this close to going postal on my FFL rivals, especially the Jets fan. He, of course, won't respond to my questions about how the Pats would know that guy would whiff on Welker at the 10, or how we knew exactly which 3 defenders Moss could outrun and how we communicated to Watson to break off his route and take it the opposite way, or Hobbs was able to outrun 11 Jets special teamers.

I can tell you that I'm thinking the Pats record win in 1979 over the Jets 56-3 maybe in jeopardy when the Jets show up at the Razor. Get out the erasers and calculators. It will be woodshed time for the Jests.

Bottom line - I root for the Pats 1st and if my fantasy team wins, good, if not - BFD.

 

[PatriotsReign]

I have Gates, their TE and I'm starting him, but at this point I'm about this close to going postal on my FFL rivals, especially the Jets fan. He, of course, won't respond to my questions about how the Pats would know that guy would whiff on Welker at the 10, or how we knew exactly which 3 defenders Moss could outrun and how we communicated to Watson to break off his route and take it the opposite way, or Hobbs was able to outrun 11 Jets special teamers.

I can tell you that I'm thinking the Pats record win in 1979 over the Jets 56-3 maybe in jeopardy when the Jets show up at the Razor. Get out the erasers and calculators. It will be woodshed time for the Jests.

Bottom line - I root for the Pats 1st and if my fantasy team wins, good, if not - BFD.

I have written on over 100 posts this week that what BB got caught for is no big deal...no matter what the league and even our own fans say....IT'S NO BIG DEAL. Football is a cheating game. Guys kick, spit and punch one another all game long.

So far the FF guys I've heard from are REAL Pats fans in any book!

 

[DGameguy]

I dont know, I think fantasy football has made me a better fan of the nfl. Ive always like to watch the other games, but it gives me more reason to watch more games and helps me remember stats better. I also usually choose a disproportionate number of patriots players for my team.

 

[PatriotsReign]

I dont know, I think fantasy football has made me a better fan of the nfl. Ive always like to watch the other games, but it gives me more reason to watch more games and helps me remember stats better. I also usually choose a disproportionate number of patriots players for my team.

But the point made on ESPN was that the only important thing for real fans is who wins the games. If you're watching and you don't care who wins, your not a fan, your just playing fantasy football. there is a difference since football has become so popular because of it's fan base growing. Fans care who wins the games they are watching. That was their reasoning & I agree.

 

[jbb9s]

I dont know, I think fantasy football has made me a better fan of the nfl. Ive always like to watch the other games, but it gives me more reason to watch more games and helps me remember stats better. I also usually choose a disproportionate number of patriots players for my team.

Unless you have had the Pats D or Dillon in 04, your team was probably pretty bad then. Even Branch at his height only had 6 or 7 TDs a year. And lord knows every year is supposed to be the year in which Ben Watson puts up Ben Coates numbers.

That being said, this year could be totally different for Pats players and value. Especially since BB is going to be running up the scores on almost everyone after this week's newspaper clippings are collected.

 

[PatriotsReign]

Unless you have had the Pats D or Dillon in 04, your team was probably pretty bad then. Even Branch at his height only had 6 or 7 TDs a year. And lord knows every year is supposed to be the year in which Ben Watson puts up Ben Coates numbers.

That being said, this year could be totally different for Pats players and value. Especially since BB is going to be running up the scores on almost everyone after this week's newspaper clippings are collected.

More great attitude! I'm with you 100% my friend. The more belly-aching I hear from around the league, the sorrier I feel for those teams that have to play us

 

[DGameguy]

Ive actually done pretty well. Most years Ive had brady and Ive had had Watson as a second tight end. I also play in a league that uses individual defensive players for scoring so samuel and vrabel have been good. I had LT every year except last year and steven jackson until this year.

Well I didnt really read the article, but by rooting for my players to do well, I inevitably end up rooting for that team to win, unless it would adversely affect the pats. I follow the Jags a lot, so I usually end up with their running back or defense. I generaly dont pick players from division rivals or the colts, so I dont feel guilty rooting for them to win.

 

[SoonerPatriot]

That's funny. I always thought it was ESPN that was ruining fans.

 

[tombonneau]

Fantasy football isn't ruining ESPN's bottom line. They should pipe down.

Honestly, I've played for years, I never let it conflict with the fan in me. If a players I own scores vs. NE, so be it. Last week I think my opponent had the NE defense and that didn't enter my thinking at one point in the game.

What is ruining FF is the overexposure it is getting by the mainstream media.

FF is currently trendy -- the way poker was a few years back -- so the sports media is weaving it into everything they do.

Once the craze dies down in a year or two, things should normalize.

 

[WhiZa]

FF has brought more fans in the past few years than anything else. Granted a lot of people may rout for individual players against their team, but without FF they were never a fan to begin with.

 

[NEPatriot]

I could have told you that years ago. Go to a sports bar and while you still see the hardcore fans, there are more and more people watching multipile games at once just to see how their players are doing.

 

[PrairiePat]

I could have told you that years ago. Go to a sports bar and while you still see the hardcore fans, there are more and more people watching multipile games at once just to see how their players are doing.

Sounds like a larger, more educated fanbase to me. How is this a bad thing?

I have Mr. Overexposure as my fantasy QB also. I never root for the Colts to win, but I do hope that they lose 49-48

 

[sieglo]

Rooting for the patriots ALWAYS supersedes anything fantasy football related. I never think about my fantasy football team during the pats. I guess it may mean more to those who play it for money, I however do not.

Okay, but being a Pats fan also means rooting against divisional and conference rivals. Say you have Mannng on your team, the Colts are playing the Saints.... I think there is a category of fantasy people who start rooting for Manning in that situation.