Fantasy football (American)
From Encyclopedia Jr, free information reference for Kids
Fantasy Football is a
Contents |
[edit] Origins
The game originated in
[edit] Evolution of the Game
Fantasy football has evolved in recent years from a mere recreational activity into a big business industry due to the Internet. The Fantasy Sports Trade Association (FSTA) is one of the industry's trade associations, founded in the late 1990s to conduct market research, create communication and networking opportunities, and promote the industry. FSTA market research has uncovered many specific details about the industry - the research is available as a member at FSTA. The Fantasy Sports Association (FSA) is another industry trade association, founded in 2006. The FSA's goal is to promote the fantasy sports industry and simultaneously provide strategic advice and consultation to its members and to other organizations interested in leveraging and gaining value from fantasy sports. More fantasy news, information and resources are available at the FSA website. 15 to 18 million consumers play fantasy sports and that number is growing at a rate of 7% to 10% annually. Fantasy sports have an estimated economic impact of
[edit] How to Play
Typically, a fantasy football league comprises 8 to 12 teams, which allocate NFL players among themselves by holding a draft or auction before the start of the season. Most leagues are "re-draft" leagues in which each team begins each season with an empty roster to be filled via draft or auction. (The drafts are usually held in serpentine fashion; that is, the team picking first in the odd rounds will pick last in the even rounds.) Some leagues, however, are "keeper" leagues in which owners can designate a certain number of players (sometimes just one, perhaps as many as five) to keep on their roster from the previous season, removing them from the annual draft. Other leagues, termed "dynasty" leagues, take this further: the owner keeps his entire roster from the previous season (or at least the vast majority), with the annual draft consisting only of rookie players.
Undrafted players become free agents, meaning that they are not on a current roster. During the season, owners may alter the composition of their teams either by adding players from a pool of free agents (A.K.A. waivers or the waiver wire) and dropping a corresponding number of players from their rosters, who then become free agents, or by making trades with other owners. However, dropped players are often "frozen" once they are released and cannot be signed by any team until the next free agent period, which may not occur until the following week.
Also, fantasy leagues usually post the status of an injured player depending on the real-life status provided by the NFL teams. They are:
- P - Probable: Player has a very good chance of playing
- Q - Questionable: Player might be available to play but status is still uncertain until game day
- D - Doubtful: Player is very unlikely to participate in the next game
- O - Out: Player definitely will not play in the next game
- IR - Injured Reserve : Player will not play for the rest of the season
[edit] Types of games
Draft (or re-draft or "Draft-to-Play" ) - Every current NFL player can be "drafted" by a team, one at a time. Typically, the superstars of the offense (Quarterback [QB], Running Back [RB]and Wide Receiver [WR]) will be taken in the first few rounds. Kickers,Tight End [TE], Team Defense/Special Teams (DST for short) and less popular players are taken in the remaining rounds to fill out a team's roster. "Sleeper" picks or "dark horses" can sometimes emerge from the bottom rounds of the draft or from free agency, especially if a superstar is injured or can not play during the course of a season (suspension, family business, etc).
Auction (or "Bid-to-Play") - Again, every current player in the NFL is available. This time, however, you and the other teams must bid on a player to acquire him. The total amount is usually $200. As with any auction, the person with the highest bid wins. However, spending lots of money on one player might result in having to buy lesser quality players with the remaining balance. Scoring of auction leagues does not necessarily differ from draft leagues, although there are frequently differences in the positions required for a roster.
[edit] Scoring
Scoring is based on the performance of each team's individual players in their weekly NFL games. A common format for a starting lineup is:
- 1 Quarterback
- 2 Running backs
- 2 or 3 Wide receivers
- 1 Tight end
- 1 Placekicker
- 1 Team Defense/Special Teams (DST)
The running back position is comprised of NFL halfbacks and/or fullbacks. Some leagues use Individual Defensive Players (IDPs) and a Punter, instead of a Team Defense/Special Teams, and team Quarterbacks. Another variant is to combine tight ends and wide receivers for a single WR slot.
Players earn their team points based on their performance in their weekly games, based on point values assigned to statistics at predefined ratios. In almost all cases, players earn points for passing, rushing, and receiving yards, with passing yards usually earning half the points of rushing/receiving yards; all touchdowns; negative points for lost fumbles and interceptions; kickers earn points equal to the number of real points they score, sometimes with bonuses for longer field goals and with penalties for missed kicks. Team defenses also might earn points for stats such as sacks, forced fumbles, fumble recoveries, interceptions, touchdowns, safeties, and for keeping the opposing team under certain ceilings in terms of yards and/or points. Individual defensive players typically do not earn points for team-wide stats such as keeping the opponent under a certain score or yardage total.
A common scoring scheme is this:
- 1 point for 25 passing yards (1/50 is also common)
- 1 point for 10 rushing yards (1/20 is also common)
- 1 point for 10 receiving yards (1/20 is also common)
- 1 point for every reception (known as a PPR league)(PPR = Points per reception)(not used in every league)
- 6 points for a rushing or receiving touchdown
- 4 points for a passing touchdown (6 points is also common; usually 6 points are given in leagues which impose stiffer penalties for interceptions and lost fumbles)
- -2 points for every interception thrown (-1 is also common)
- -2 points for every fumble (-1 is also common; some leagues assess penalties only for lost fumbles while others penalize all fumbles)
- 1 point for an extra point kicked (negative points are sometimes issued for missed PAT's)
- 3 points for a made field goal (often, 4 points are awarded for kicks over 40 yards and 5 for kicks over 50 yards; sometimes missed kicks are penalized with negative points, with shorter missed kicks earning stiffer penalties)
Defensive scoring varies greatly from league to league.
Some leagues also score purely based on yardage. Offensive players' passing, rushing and receiving yards are totaled up, often the opponent's defensive stats are subtracted (with yardage values being assigned to sacks, interceptions, fumble recoveries and other stats), and the result is divided by 100 (or 80, or some other number) to determine the number of touchdowns. Each placekicker's field goals are then added to the total score. Proponents argue that the yardage system more closely re-creates an actual football game, has a more realistic final score, and rewards an impactful non-scoring play (like a 70-yard pass to the 2-yard line) more than a simple scoring one (a 2-yard run over the goal line).
[edit] Individual Defensive Players
Many leagues have now incorporated Individual Defensive Player (IDP) play into their scoring systems. IDP play groups defensive players into three tiers: defensive linemen (DL), linebackers (LB) and defensive backs (DB).
A common scoring scheme is this:
- 1 point for each solo tackle
- 0.5 points for each assist
- 6 points for any defensive touchdown
- 4 points for each safety
- 1 point for each pass defensed
- 2 points per sack
- 3 points for each fumble recovered or interception caught
- 2 points for each forced fumble
[edit] Dynasty/Keeper Variants
Formats gaining in popularity include dynasty or keeper leagues. In these types of leagues, a fixed number of roster spots are allowed to be maintained from season to season. In essence, participants are encouraged to think like actual NFL general managers, balancing the desire to win immediately with the desire to maintain a long-term legacy of success.
[edit] Yahoo! Fantasy Football
Yahoo! Fantasy Football is one of the most popular hubs for fantasy football. They have two different versions; one where you pay, and one that is free. Many people opt to play the free version with their friends or co-workers. To learn more about the different game types, visit the Yahoo! Fantasy Football homepage at http://football.fantasysports.yahoo.com/f1. Many users are also using sites like http://cbs.sportsline.com/, and http://espn.go.com/ for fantasy football because they have faster updates of player health, and more accurate analysts projections. Yahoo! is the most respected place to play fantasy football.
[edit] References
Glenn Dickey's article about the origins of fantasy football
Mark St. Amant's definitive book on fantasy football, 'Committed: Confessions of a Fantasy Football Junkie' (ISBN 0-7432-6756-7)
The History of the GOPPPL - The Original Fantasy Football League
[edit] External links
- Fantasy Football at the