The Wake

From now on, fantasy games aren’t just associated with the comic book, Magic card lovers who’ve served as punching bags for schoolyard bullies. Fantasy games have transcended the world of Dungeons and Dragons and entered into the testosterone-charged world of professional sports. The lucrative fantasy sports industry has slowly changed the way average fans watch their favorite sports.

Now a college student has a reason to get up before noon on a Sunday. Blurry-eyed, hungover students slave over their computers trying to outthink their opponents all in the name of fantasy sports.

On any given Sunday, over 15 million fantasy-sports players are feverishly adding and dropping players to their roster, considering trades, proposing trades, making posts and trying to finalize their starting lineups before kickoff. For fantasy football fans at the University of Minnesota, the obsession takes precedence over school and work.

“Fantasy football allows me to waste time at work,” says Benjamin Grobe, a fourth-year architecture student. “On Sundays during the football season, I set my lineup, watch all the local games and check all the stats.”

Grobe tried to win over a hundred dollars in his fantasy football league this year. Twelve owners composed the league he played in called, “The Rube Nation.” Grobe says owners in that particular league spent a “ridiculous” amount of strategy and research in hopes of winning. He cites one or two bad roster moves affecting his team’s performance.

“I traded some players that weren’t producing early in the season and ended up getting burned in the long run,” he says. “It’s hard to bounce back when the player you traded scores three touchdowns the following week.”

Fans of any sport can play fantasy, not just football. There’s fantasy NASCAR, golf, baseball, basketball, European soccer and hockey. To compete in a fantasy league, owners draft players for their imaginary teams and set their starting lineups against other fantasy-sports owners. Of all the sports, football has the strongest fantasy following.

“In football there aren’t as many games in a season. You don’t have to deal with the daily updating for baseball or basketball,” says “U” student Ryan Holten. “In football, you can maximize your team’s potential.”

Fantasy players—more than 90 percent are white males—dedicate over three hours a week managing their teams. With all the work and dedication involved in maintaining a fantasy team, students equate the hobby with an accredited college class.

“Fantasy sports is like a two-or-three-credit class,” Holten says. “I easily spent more time on fantasy football than I spent for an entire two-credit class.”

It’s the perfect marriage for stat geeks and sport nuts. Now entire television shows obsess over fantasy sports. During NFL games, a sound cue precedes flashing stats exclusively for the fantasy owner. The Fantasy Sports Trade Association cites owners spending $3.5 billion annually on fantasy sports and the industry continues to explode.

Senior Brett Walling says he plays fantasy baseball, basketball and golf to keep busy during the offseason. The offseason is any time football is not being played. Fantasy specialists can’t afford to take any time off like the athletes they follow so intently.