What is Fantasy Football?

It is almost that time of year again, football season. Football is the most popular sport in the United States and every year generates a ton of interest and creates a lot of excitement. Over the past several years it has even spawned a very popular game, fantasy football. Perhaps you have heard of fantasy football, but do not really understand what it is. You may think that it is everyone's fantasy to play football and that it is some sort of daydreaming thing that people waste their time with. However, this is false. Fantasy football is a complete game that is available to be played by hard core football fanatics as well as casual fans. Below is a brief introduction to fantasy football so that you can become a little more familiar with it.

Basic Structure

In fantasy football, the players are called owners. These owners "own" a team. The owners do not own a specific football team (such as the Tennessee Titans), but instead have the opportunity to put players from all different teams onto their one team. This is why it is called fantasy football, because you get to build your own fantasy team, trying to put your favorite quarterback and wide receivers together and so forth.

In most leagues, the owners put together their teams through a draft. The owners take turns drafting the players, once a player is drafted no other owner may have that player on their team. The draft lasts as long as the owners agree to have it last, with the typical draft lasting 12 - 14 rounds.

The owners agree as to what the roster limit will be. The owners also agree what the starting lineups should be. For example, they can agree to have the starting lineup be a quarterback, two running backs, three receivers, one tight end, a kicker, and a defense. The owners are free to adjust this how they see fit.

One of the owners is designated as the commissioner, and it is his duty to oversee the fantasy football league and make sure that everything runs smoothly. He will settle any disputes and help the other players as needed.

Points

The players on the teams score points for the actions taken by the real players on the football field each week. For example, running backs will get points for how many yards they run and for how many touchdowns they score. The owners agree as to what it takes to score points and how many points to award for certain actions.

In Person League or Online

There are two choices to joining a fantasy football league. You can join up with friends and acquaintances and create your own league. Or you can join an online league and play with people you may not know. Two of the more popular fantasy football leagues are Yahoo and ESPN. You can go to their websites to get more information and sign up for a league if you would like.