A Blast From The Past

Looking back on a past post of mine I talked about how watching football can be dramatically altered when an owner has a player in the game they are watching. In the blog post I showed how I added a paragraph where I discussed how owners root for certain situations to happen while watching a football game so one of their players can score points for their team. My paragraph is still on the Fantasy Football (American rules) page, but there are two additional paragraphs that have been added to the section where my paragraph is. The first paragraph talks about the increased ratings and viewership of football because of football:

The explosive popularity of fantasy sports, coupled with the availability of venues showcasing numerous live football games via satellite, has had significant effects on football viewing and rooting habits among participants. Fantasy sports players watch more game telecasts, buy more tickets and spend money at stadiums at a much higher rate than general sports fans. For example, 55 percent of fantasy sports players report watching more sports on television since they started playing fantasy sports. ^[15] Fantasy participants also are reported to attend 0.22 to 0.57 more NFL games in person per season.^[16] The NFL entered into a reported five-year, $600 million deal in 2006 with Sprint that was driven at least in part because of fantasy sports, allowing subscribers to draft and monitor their teams with their cellphones. ^[17] Many sports and football-related sports news shows discuss fantasy-related topics. Besides the fictional The League, multiple TV programs that focus on fantasy football news exist; examples include ESPN's Fantasy Football Now and CBS's Fantasy Football Today.

The numbers the editor writes are interesting. I know in my personal case that I watched 10 times more football my first fantasy season. I have purchased NFL Redzone, which showcases every scoring play on Sundays. I have been interested in going to games and watching EVERY game that is on television. This paragraph contradicts the other paragraph that was added:

Critics charge that because of the varying interests, some fantasy owners may instead support the players on their fantasy rosters in any one game rather than supporting a favorite team. Players are mixed on the impact of the effects of fantasy football on fans' habits and preferences. Retired NFL QB Jake Plummer told ESPN "I think it's ruined the game", and retired New York Giants RB Tiki Barber said about fantasy fans, "there's an incongruity in the wants."^[18] However, former Washington Redskins tight end Chris Cooley plays in four fantasy football leagues himself, ^[17] and former Indianapolis Colts linebacker Cato June benched New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady from his fantasy team to avoid a conflict of interest when the two teams played in November 2006. Fans frequently ask players on their fantasy rosters to score more often; Peyton Manning reported that only autograph requests exceeded fan requests for "more fantasy touchdowns" from him. Fans also often seek inside information on injuries and future stars from coaches.^[18]

I think players who think the game is ruined because of fantasy are wrong. I think it helps the NFL brand for fans and people who would not have been interested if it we were not for fantasy. It changes the reasons why some fans watch the game and especially how but I think fantasy football can only help the brand of the game.