Over the years my footsteps have taken me more towards the artsy/fartsy stuff and I haven't explored sports much beyond a recreational or armchair basis, so one day a few years back one of my buddies asks me to join a fantasy football team and I was like, do you KNOW me?

Little did I know he was probably just looking for a sucker to siphon cash from, but after he explained it my curiosity got the better of me and I accepted the invitation and got hooked in the process... Here are 4 reasons why:

#1 - Interaction with Friends

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This was the kicker for me (no pun intended.) Given the circles I normally ran in this gave me an opportunity to get to know my friends in a different way that treated sports rabidly like it was a food group or something, and opened up a new discussion topic between my co-workers and/or people I'd never met or would be less likely to associate with.

#2 - You are the Manager

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The way fantasy works is you compile your team from any of the hundreds of active football players each year, no matter what team they're really from and the points you receive from week to week are based on each player's actual real-life performances during their games.  You have the power (or rather the illusion of it) each week to start or bench anyone on your roster, so you could feasibly (but not wisely) bench your star quarterback if you wanted to and he can't come marching into your office demanding why and threaten your well-being!

#3 - Gambling/Strategy/Competition

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Each league has about a dozen managers in it competing against each other week-to-week from fantasy rookies to seasoned vets that eat nails for breakfast and it's fun to be the underdog like myself and take out the top dog and watch him flip out over it. Not only that but each season is a clean slate as well as each of the 16 weeks in that season, so there is always hope that if you sucked the week before that maybe, just maybe you'll make a killing this week, which is the primary hook of gambling, and of course it's downfall.

$4 - Better Understanding of the Game

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Because you have a hodgepodge team of players from many different teams, it requires you to follow not just your favorite real-life team's progress but you need to watch or follow many games which can be confusing, but for this football dummy baptized me by fire and sky-rocketed me up to speed from my old Montana/Esiason/Elway days into the present. Also, it can get REALLY interesting when you're watching a game with players that you own on BOTH teams and rooting for one player one second and another on the other team the next! Some of us are even in several leagues at once, so imagine how much that multiplies the possible confusion (and eventual frustration) along the way! Whew!

 

So in summation, if you have always been curious about fantasy sports or just looking for a new activity to get into, you can see that the attractions to it are actually much deeper than the sport itself. Three years later, win or lose, richer or poorer I keep on coming back for more and you may too. There are a plethora of free leagues to join as well as different tiers of money leagues that you can try out for as little as $10 so you can have fun without breaking the bank and getting kicked out of your house! Good luck to you this season and if we happen to be on a league together, look out cause here I come (or not!)

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