Fantasy football

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Fantasy Football (FF) is a game that is played mostly on the Internet by fans of American football , especially in the United States . Before the possibility of exchanging data via the Internet and evaluating the results, it was designed as a post game . Game material is not required, only some knowledge of the athletes of the sport is beneficial. Variants also exist for other sports, such as B. for basketball , baseball or soccer .

description

Basic principle

Each of the mostly eight to twelve participants in Fantasy Football has a team ( Fantasy Team ) made up of real athletes from a certain league (e.g. the NFL ), who are usually selected in turn as part of the so-called Fantasy Draft or in a Auction can be bought at the beginning of the game. Usually, a few days before the start of the championship, draft parties are held on a fixed day, where, based on the entry draft, the NFL players are selected according to a set order. Once the championship has started, each player tries to find the line-up that will collect the most points for the coming weekend. Based on the performance of the real athletes on the relevant game day, they then receive points (so-called fantasy points ) according to a previously agreed system, e.g. B. 6 points if a player appointed by him for his fantasy team scores a touchdown . Due to poor form, injuries or suspension, players can be changed or swapped during the season. All players not drawn in the draft as well as those who have been released by a participant are considered free agents or waivers : These can be exchanged at any time with players from your own squad.

As a rule, friends, relatives and work colleagues join forces in fantasy football leagues and give their teams their own - mostly humorous - names such as: B. Fighting Amish , Mudslingers, Underperformers etc. and fight for the title of a fictional league. Often times, entry fees are charged to finance a jackpot for the winner. Such syndicates sometimes last for decades and, thanks to the spread of the Internet, are not tied to a specific location or time.

variants

There are basically two variants of Fantasy Football: Either all points of each player are simply added up on each game day and the one who has the highest total number of points at the end of the season wins. Alternatively, there are so-called head-to-head leagues in which two players and their fantasy teams compete against each other on every game day and the one with the higher number of points receives one victory point. At the end of the season, the fantasy teams with the most wins then play off against each other according to the knockout system .

Another variant are the so-called Dynasty or Keeper Leagues , in which all or some of the players are kept in the team for next year. When putting together the teams, this requires not only short-term maximization of points but also a long-term focus.

Team size

In football leagues, the following line-ups are usually made from a roster of up to 20 players on every game day

Some fantasy leagues also allow the formation of individual players in defense (IDP) such as linebackers and defensive backs ( cornerbacks and safeties ).

The high art is to select those players from the squad who promise the most points for the relevant game day - points from players on the substitute bench do not count, or at most as tie-breakers in the event of a tie.

Point system

A typical point system for the individual performance of the players is:

  • 1 point for 25 yards of space gained by submitting a passport
  • 1 point for 10 yards of space gained by running
  • 1 point for 10 yards of space gained by accepting the pass
  • 6 points for a touchdown by running or accepting a pass
  • 4 points for a touchdown by handing in a pass
  • 2 points for a thrown, run or caught two-point conversion
  • −2 points per interception (intercepted pass)
  • −2 points per fumble (ball lost due to mistake)
  • 1 point per point after touchdown
  • 3 points per field goal from less than 50 yards away
  • 5 points per field goal from 50+ yards

The team defense also receives points, depending on the performance (permitted opposing points, touchdowns, interceptions, sacks , safeties etc.).

evaluation

In the past, managing a Fantasy League was hard work, because the individual performances of all real players had to be laboriously compiled in order to evaluate them. However, with the spread of the internet , many commercial and non-commercial websites have emerged that do this work quickly and efficiently. There are also tons of websites that offer news, analysis, point projections, advice and tips. It is estimated that around $ 100 million a year are now turned over in fantasy football and that around 30 million Americans pursue this leisure activity (Harris interactive poll).

history

The origins can be traced back to 1962. Wilfred "Bill" Winkenbach from Oakland began to develop a game for American football after he had invented various games with other sports in the late 1950s. On a rainy October day at the bar of a New York hotel, he and Bill Tunnell, who was then responsible for public relations for the Oakland Raiders , and Scotty Stirling, sports journalist for the Oakland Tribune , set the benchmarks and rules for the very first fantasy football league World together. They gave it the name Greater Oakland Professional Pigskin Prognosticators League or GOPPPL for short and is still the oldest fantasy football league in the world today.

Europe

In Europe, attempts were made to adapt the game idea for football. There is a large number of fantasy managers in the football-loving nations of England and Spain in particular, but also in Italy, Germany and France. In contrast to the distribution of points in America, which is mainly based on purely statistical data, the players in Europe also collect their points depending on the grade that each professional footballer receives per game day. The grade is mostly based on the assessments of the editors of the sports magazines or the major daily newspapers with a focus on sports. Most often, the rating of the kicker sports magazine is used. Another variant is grading based on statistical performance data, similar to the original form in America. A grade is calculated from the performance values ​​of each player collected by a sports data agency (such as duels won, shots on goal, passes, etc.).

criticism

Fantasy football is in a legal gray area as it is not clear whether it is some form of online sport (i.e. the player has control over what happens) or some form of online gambling (i.e. the player has no control over it) What happened). While z. For example, in the United States, online poker is viewed as an online game of chance and can therefore only be played under strict legal requirements. Fantasy football is an online sport, which is why there are hardly any legal limits. In addition, the evaluation algorithms with which the respective winners are calculated are often not very transparent. In 2015, employees of fantasy football companies were suspected of having received large sums of money through insider trading of these algorithms. Another growing problem is the increasing risk of addiction from fantasy football.

Web links

American football

Soccer

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Scandal Erupts in Unregulated World of Fantasy Sports , New York Times
  2. ^ How Daily Fantasy Is Changing the Game , Sports Illustrated