For our last article of the semester, the Opinion Co-Editors wanted to write about something that we both love and enjoy in our world of sports.

We decided to talk about our adventures this season with fantasy football. This was the first year that we both joined the same league, but no money or prizes are being handed out to the winner; it’s all about bragging rights, and just having fun.
We decided to discuss our fantasy football teams because fantasy football is something that is very popular among NFL fans.
According to the Fantasy sports trade commission, 57.4 million people play fantasy football.

It has become such a popular hobby that there is a popular magazine for it, Fantasy Football Index, a popular show based on it called The League, which lasted 7 seasons on the FX network, and an ESPN radio and television show on it.
The way fantasy football teams are usually set up is to start one quarterback, two running backs and receivers, one tight end, one team’s defense, a kicker, and a “flex” position which can be any position except for quarterback, defense, or kicker.
As far as the points system, every touchdown is worth 6 points (4 for a passing touchdown), 1 point for every 10 yards rushing or receiving, -2 for any interception or fumbles.

Kickers get 1 point for an extra point, 3 points for a field goal 39 yards or less, 4 points for a 40-49 yard field goal, 5 points for 50+ yard field goals, and lose a point for a missed field goal.

We are now entering week 10 of the season, and with playoffs starting in week 14, it’s a mad dash to the finish line and to squeeze into the top four of the standings to make the playoffs.
Andre’s team Manziel’s Party Posse owns a 3-6 record, and is currently on a two game losing streak.
My team, Packer Smacker also has the same 3-6 record. However, I am fresh off a win, and may be able to start a hot streak. Although the way this season has been going, anything can happen.

Manziel’s Party Posse

Towards the end of August with the NFL season fast approaching, I was itching to join a fantasy football league because I have played fantasy football the past 4 years and was in jeopardy of breaking that streak, but then I received a call from Mark who invited me to join his league, which I gladly accepted.

Coming into the fantasy football season I was feeling pretty confident since I finished third out of ten teams last year. Unfortunately, we as a team have not gotten off to a hot start. Despite our 3-6 record, there are four games left and are third place in the standings, giving us hope of making the playoffs and ultimately winning the championship.

Although this my fifth year, I have never claimed the throne as fantasy football champion in any of my previous leagues.
This year the players that have been doing well for me are Arizona Cardinals running back David Johnson and tight ends Jordan Reed of the Washington Redskins and Jimmy Graham of the Seattle Seahawks.

A weak spot for me this year has been wide receivers, who are vital because each team has to start at least two. Getting zero to single digit points from that part of my team can be blamed for our poor record and need to pick it up so I can claim my first fantasy football championship ever.

Packer Smacker

Fantasy football is something that I always loved to play ever since I started high school. I would typically join a league with random people from the fantasy football universe, and have at it.

Over the last two seasons I was in a league where money would be involved, yes I was still interested in it, but it lost that fun feeling because it was more about cashing in than winning.
So I decided to do something different this season and create my own league, the only part that worried me was finding nine more people to join me.

One of the first people I asked was Andre, and he was pretty excited to see which Opinion Editor would be a Fantasy GM.
I decided to get some of my closest friends in the league who were excited, and even my dad joined, who I happened to beat last week, but I wont rub it in his face. My girlfriend also was excited to give fantasy football a shot, she beat me into the ground during the first week of the season.

As our time to start our fantasy draft was quickly approaching, I was unsure of who to pick.
Los Angeles Rams Running Back Todd Gurley was someone that was very high on my list. Wide Receivers Julio Jones, and Antonio Brown were also picks I was interested in, however these three players would selected within the top four picks of the draft.

I would have the 10th overall pick, which I used to select Houston Texans wide receiver De’Andre Hopkins, hoping that he would continue the success that has been seen though his first three years in the league. Hopkins has been hit and miss all season long.

One of the picks that I has been my number one provider this year has been Cowboys rookie running back Ezekiel Elliott.
Elliott has burst onto the scene this year and he is averaging 17.3 points per game which is fourth among all fantasy players. It has been a year where all players have either been hot or extremely cold, so as the season enters the homestretch, I hope that I can put the right pieces together, and propel myself into the playoffs for a chance to be the best.

Fantasy football is not only fun, but it is important for the NFL because it brings even more fans to watch the sport.
The reason for that is even if your favorite team is not playing, you are willing to check out other games no matter the score just because a player you own in fantasy football is playing and you want to see how well he is doing.
As for the future of fantasy football, it is something that will be around for as long as there’s internet access because it connects so many people to the game of football.