Virtual Faceoffs

The first thing Geoff Royer does when he wakes up in the morning is manage his fantasy football team. This morning ritual is part of the hour per day the Washington State University freshman spends in front of his computer on the fast-growing game.

It would seem that an hour every day might get in the way of the business administration and civil engineering major’s workload.

“I have to set up my lineup, view match-ups and talk about my team with my friends,” Royer says. “I do nothing in the day before I work on fantasy; I do my homework at the last minute, so it doesn’t come in the way.”

Michael Kleindienst, freshman at Ithaca College, checks his fantasy stats. Photo by David Korman.
The game Royer is prioritizing above his studies is one drawing a lot of attention nationwide. According to the Fantasy Sports Trade Association, 15 million American adults play fantasy sports – 14 million of them play fantasy football.

Fantasy sports participants select players for their teams in a draft before the corresponding professional sport’s season begins. Then, they count on those players to rack up points through various statistical categories. In fantasy football, points are assigned for achievements in actual NFL games -- like touchdowns, yards gained, field goals and interceptions. Teams compete within a league, and each week, they play head to head, vying to gain the most points.

But why is everyone so crazy about it?

For Ithaca College sophomore Mike Tannenbaum, it’s all about competition and his ego.

“I’m motivated by my enjoyment of competition of all sorts and also having the bragging rights with my friends,” Tannenbaum, a sport media major, says. “It also makes the game more interesting when you know there is one of your fantasy players on the team that is playing.”