From the Bleachers: fantasy football is the real deal

As fans patiently wait for the 2012 NFL season to begin, many have already done their research and are scouting for their own fantasy football team.

In fantasy football, fans create an online league, where they select active NFL players into their own virtual teams through a draft. Team managers have the ability to trade with other teams, drop players from their rosters and pick up players from available free agent players.

 

“I play in a ten-team league and I definitely had the best draft out of all the teams in my league,” said Christian Suarez, a City College student who is playing his first season of fantasy football.

 

Teams will be put to the test, usually battling in head to head match-ups every week against other teams in their league.

 

Scoring depends on how well players perform individually each week for their respective teams.

 

“I am very happy with my draft results.  I drafted players that normally deliver and stay healthy and players that are in a good situation with their team, like rising starts,” said Franz Henderson, a City College student who has been playing for 3 years now.

 

There are many things to watch out for when managing a fantasy football team. Managers have to take player injuries into account, determine who to bench or who to start and be aware of players who may perform better than their projections, called “sleepers.”

 

“It is one’s job to acquire different sorts of players from different teams. Picking players only from a certain team would really limit one’s impact on the fantasy game,” said Julian Tomescu, another student who has been playing fantasy football for 3 years.

 

Various magazines on fantasy football can been seen as one walks past newsstands or the magazine sections of supermarkets. It has become such a phenomenon that there are websites, sports radio shows, podcasts and TV shows dedicated to giving advice on fantasy football.

 

“I normally visit a website. This site allows one to compare two players of the same position on the week they are playing and professional analysts put up a percentage on who to start and who to bench,“ Tomescu said.

 

It’s not too late to sign up for your own fantasy football team and there are many websites that offer the opportunity.

 

“I feel that fantasy football is a great way to stay connected with the NFL, keep up with players and have fun with friends,” Henderson said.

Follow Ivan Huang on Twitter @ivanreports.