There’s nothing better than lying down on a Sunday afternoon after a long weekend and watching some football.  Fantasy football, an online game in which competitors select football players and earn points based on their real life performance, is popular because participants have something to discuss and have fun with when watching football.

Fantasy football has become a nationwide activity that is growing more and more popular every year. Television and radio shows are centered around it. So why has Fantasy Football evolved from a casual thing into its own sort of competition?

“The main reason why I chose to participate this year is to be able to compete with my friends,” senior Henry Dudley said.

Fantasy football isn’t very hard to do. All participants have to do to start is create a league on any Fantasy Football website and have the other players join the league. After that, participants draft the players they want and then the competition begins. The winner is determined by the points earned by the selected football players, according to their catches, completions, touchdowns, etc.

“I like doing it because it’s a competition that is based off both luck and skill,” senior Max Rike said.

The skill involved in Fantasy Football is the research that goes into finding the best balance of players within the team, and finding the players who can earn the most fantasy points. The luck involves the unpredictable injuries, off games, and unpredictable superstars.

“My favorite player that I drafted was Antonio Brown,” Henry said “I chose him because he is a good player, and I saw him kick a punter in the face on a punt return one time.”

In Fantasy Football, some positions are considered more important than others. While the point system varies league to league, it is very common that the positions that can earn competitors the most points come at running back and wide receiver. While, on the other hand, the defense and kickers will not earn as many points as the skill positions, and while they are important in the real game of football, they are not something that most people participating in Fantasy Football care about.

“For me, the biggest factor in my participation in Fantasy Football is the rewards,” Rike said. “In my fantasy league, the winner is getting $100 dollars, while the loser has to dye their hair pink.”

Perhaps the main reason for Fantasy Football’s growth is the money that can be earned from it. On sites such as DraftKings and FanDuel, large sums of money can be earned on a week to week basis. However, these setups are very different from traditional Fantasy Football, as participants are playing strangers with a new team on a week to week basis, versus having the same team for a whole season, playing against your friends, which is the traditional format.

Fantasy Football has become so popular because of the opportunity of letting friends compete against each other and the prizes or consequences that go with winning or losing.

“I can’t wait for the football season to start,” Max said, “so I can watch the games and earn my points.”