Let the debate begin
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by user FatTony
The popularity of the NFL seems to grow every single year. Sports fans, or at least that's the title we claim, are really just NFL fans who happen to watch baseball or basketball or hockey when the NFL isn't on TV. We enjoy sports, but we live football. We spend our time in March watching the free agent whirlpool spin, we spend April preparing in our minds what our team's biggest needs are in the draft, and we spend May and June reading about the OTA's, who's working out where and of course we all have our own criticism of every single move every team makes during the offseason.
When did everyone become an NFL GM? Why do we all feel that we have the answers for how to run an NFL franchise, to the point where now even EA Sports can no longer ignore it and has to produce an entire game franchise to exploit our need to control the league with NFL Head Coach (and yes I bought it the day it came out)? Simple, fantasy football. Fantasy football's popularity is unbelievable right now and debates rage as much about whether LaDainian, LJ, or Shaun should be the first pick in our fantasy drafts as their is debate on the whether Daunte can be the answer for the Dolphins at QB this season. Perhaps even scarier, and definitely more telling, is the fact that the debate is more fierce when considering the first pick in a fantasy draft than our team's offseason acquisitions. Why? Because it's our decision to be made and it's our time to play GM.
This opportunity we have had to play GM with our own teams and decisions makes us feel that we are better prepared or more adept at criticizing NFL front offices and players for the decisions they make, and truthfully we are. There was a day when NFL fans watched their team and their team alone on Sunday afternoons. That no longer happens. Why? Because our fantasy team's have players from 12-14 teams playing every Sunday. We watch every virtually every game intently to see how our guy does. We look at statistics from years before to see who the best player available is in the 8th round. And because we have players all over the league we are more well rounded. We see more than just our favorite team. We know exactly how 50 or 60 players are doing statiscally at any point in a season because we know our team and we scout the team we're playing. Why has the NFL taken off? Because we all feel involved. Don't believe me? Who would you draft number 1 Larry Johnson or Ladanian Tomlinson? I know you have an opinion and I'll share mine in my next article, but for now...let the debate begin.
Date
Fri 06/30/06, 10:13 am EST
