The Impact of Technology on Fantasy Football Today

Four championships. Three number one picks. 14 years playing the game. 200 dollars in prize money. This has been my illustrious Fantasy football career. I have been playing since the age of five, and I have been a witness of the drastic changes that have occurred. It used to be that fantasy football was a game meant for fanatics. Since technology has progressed, playing the game has become significantly easier.  Typically, those who participate in the game are those who watch football every week, and keep up with the league quite in depth. They are those who love the game of football, and are often considered sports purists. People who consider themselves “sports purists” are usually associated with enjoying the finer things about how football used to be, and not big fans of change. Most die-hard NFL fans, for example, are against the new rule changes about helmet-to-helmet contact and all of the new “sissy” quarterback hitting laws. These people are the ones who play the game of fantasy. They have likely been playing since near the dawn of the game, in the mid-1980’s. Back then, fantasy drafts took place on chalkboards, points were given at the end of the week from box-scores, and people could only watch a few games a week on analog TV.

Today, almost the entirety of fantasy football takes place online with automatic score updates, the ability to watch games live, and draft clients. These draft clients allow users to check stats from the previous season, who you should and should not draft, and many other draft tips and tools to create the best team. The resurgence of technology in the game has simplified things greatly, but for those who love the game and have been playing for years, is it better now than when the game began?

The game of fantasy football is a simple yet complex process. Participants, known as managers, are given points based on the statistics of real players in the National Football League. Before the start of the regular season, the people participating in the league choose players, called the draft. The managers then set their lineups of their best players for each week. Trades can occur between teams, and players can be added or dropped. Before technological advancements allowed for fantasy to be played online, roster transactions were extremely difficult to accomplish. Lists of available players had to be written on a piece of paper, as well as a receipt book of all trades, additions, and drops. Today, all of the roster transactions are done automatically by the computer system, making changes to lineups much more common. This is huge in the way that managers draft players. More risks are likely to be taken, making the game much more exciting at times.

When I began playing fantasy football in the fall of 1998, very few people played the game. I grew up playing with my dad, who helped me ease into the game.  I was his co-manager, meaning I helped him draft and watched games with him. When I was seven, I formed my own team in the league. During this time, in 2000, only a few online leagues existed. Fantasy football had not gained popularity yet among casual football fans, because of the time and energy that it took to maintain a league.  Over the years, I witnessed the rise of fantasy football. Technology has made the game popular, and because of the millions of people in leagues, an entire industry has been created to help people draft teams. Websites such as Rotoworld have made the game even easier for those who do not follow the NFL to a tee. Before the tremendous technological advancements, people who didn’t know how things worked would be in a lot of trouble. The skill level of the people playing the game has decreased exponentially, making it significantly easier for experienced players, like myself, to win prizes. A lot of experienced players aren’t happy about this, and thus choose to play in offline leagues still. Fantasy football guru Daniel Devience has been playing for 22 years (and in my league for the past 5 or 6). I interviewed him for the sake of this post.

“Fantasy football is much more fun playing offline, without a doubt. Everyone has to get together, and you can run it your particular way, and not be run by computers. Its just a good way for bonding to occur among the players in the league, plus, everyone has to be present at the draft. None of that autodraft (expletive).”

            This is the opinion that many passionate players share about the online experience. Daniel, however, agrees that there are many positives to online play.

“Back in the day, Sundays, Mondays, and Tuesdays were nothing but football. That was back when I was in school, and my grades were always awful because I was keeping up with my fantasy teams, compiling box scores and doing math. I would stay up late into the night when I was commissioner tallying scores, and made mistakes more than once. The online leagues have made fantasy a much easier part of my life, while also improving the quality of the game.”

            I have been a part of both experiences, new and old, and have witnessed the transformation that has occurred. Fantasy football has turned into a huge, booming business.  The demand for a mix of the old and new products has been noted, and people no longer have to choose between old and new. Several fantasy services, such as nfl.com and ESPN have options to allow offline drafting services. This is the part of fantasy football that people miss. A relatively new feature, this allows people to customize their experiences while still having the convenience of technology. I can say from experience that the online game is much better and easier to use. Fractional and negative points are allowed. Games are closer. You can adjust settings now, plus, there is no need to do the tedious task of scheduling, and all bias and human error is taken out of the game. It is significantly easier, the game is better, and it is more fun for everyone involved to play online, and it is my recommendation to any new fantasy players to do so. Because of technological advancements, millions of people play fantasy football each year. It has become so popular that there is a popular comedy, called The League that airs each week on FX. Overall, not only has the experience become significantly better because of online technology services, but the popularity of the game allows for more options to create a league that is most fun for you.

Now for my Week 4 MDFF Studs and Duds:

Studs:

BENJARVUS GREEN-ELLIS, CINCINNATI BENGALS. He fumbled last week for the first time in his NFL career. I don’t think it will happen again. They play at the lowly Jaguars, who have one of the worst rushing defenses in the league. Start the Law Firm if you get a chance.

LARRY FITZGERALD, ARIZONA CARDINALS. While most people would consider this an easy pick for a stud and not noteworthy of getting mentioned, he has been in somewhat of a slump this year so far, netting just under 18 fantasy points in standard leagues through 3 weeks. I project him to have a breakout week against a weak Miami defense along with a rolling Cards passing attack.

PHILLIP RIVERS, SAN DIEGO CHARGERS- San Diego has yet to have a massive passing performance in a game. After a miserable performance against the Atlanta Falcons in Week 3, the Chargers go battle in Kansas City against a team giving up 27.7 points per game as well as 225 passing yards per game. Rivers goes off in this one, and is a solid start this week.

Duds:

CHRIS JOHNSON, TENNESSEE TITANS- The former CJ2K stud and consensus number one pick from a few years back is a total dud. He has been averaging under 3 fantasy points a game in standard leagues. Last week against Detroit he ran for 24 yards on 14 rush attempts. This week he plays one of the best front sevens in football in Houston. Bench him or trade him while you still can.

BRANDON LLOYD, NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS. While he has had a solid year so far, Brady is going to look for his tight ends and running backs in a defense with exceptional corners. He has had several solid weeks, and I project that he cools down. Start the other Patriot skill players this week.

TONY ROMO, DALLAS COWBOYS. Against a miserable Tampa Bay defense, Tony Romo only managed to score 5.7 fantasy points in a standard scoring league. This week, Romo plays a much better Chicago defense. I see Romo getting picked apart. Bench him if you have a better option at QB. You’ll be glad you did.