Do you think playing fantasy sports increases your love/appreciation of the real game?

Answer 1

Well that's very situational.

I've always loved baseball and I've always been willing to watch any game at any time and I've always had a good idea about who is on everyone's roster and whatnot, but the same is not true for football and fantasy sports have helped my interest grow a lot.

I do have one example where my buddy wasn't really into sports at all and last season I talked him into joining my fantasy baseball league. It only took a few weeks and he was hooked. He was watching random games, checking stats, learning about players left and right...completely trying to drown himself in baseball knowledge.

It was great. He went from a dude who couldn't care less about baseball to an absolute baseball nut b/c of fantasy baseball...and that to me is a really cool thing.

Answer 2

I'm into both fantasy football and baseball pretty hard core. But I disagree that it increases my appreciation of the real game.

It's easy to say yes. But the way the basic fantasy models works is that it elevates the stats of the key players to a higher level. Higher batting average, TDs scored and other stats mean more but it does not reflect the strategy of the real game. It also does not take into account defense (though in football team defenses generally get points).

It's fun to play the role of GM/coach and put together the team with the best stats. But it doesn't truly reflect the teamwork, strategy and coaching that make the real games enjoyable.

Answer 3

It really depends how much you know about the game already.

1- If you are new to the sport, it will not help much at all. I rarely watch NHL and my friend suggested that we play in an NHL fantasy league. When you don't know about the sport, having a bunch of random names on your team is meaningless. I never gain any interest in sports.

2- If you have been watching the sport for a while, but very lightly- this is the circumstance where you would gain the most interest from fantasy sports. For me, I can apply NFL to this case. I used to know only the best 2 or 3 players on each teams. I had fun drafting them (in a not very serious league). During the season, I paid attention to how my stars played, and meanwhile, I learned about their teammates. Fantasy gave me more reasons to spend a Sunday afternoon watching LT racking up touchdowns. If you are the type that know only about your hometown team and nothing about other teams, this will help as well. Say, you are from Dallas and you drafted TO and Glenn and WItten and Romo and stuff. Fantasy gives you another reason to root for them. It makes you appreciate your team even more.

3- If you have been a huge fan of the sport, then fantasy might actually separate you from the game a little bit, which is my case with the NBA. I have enjoyed watching NBA games SO much. I enjoyed watching the chemistry players have with each other. However, being a fan of NBA FANTASY made me aware of statistics of players way too much. Sometimes I am not even aware of the standings of the teams but I can tell you the range of points, rebounds, assists, 3points made, etc of Josh Howard. I appreciated the actual game less and I actually looked up stats online more frequently than actually watching the game. It was not all bad, but it is very time consuming to both check players' stats online and watch and appreciate an NBA game on TV.

But all in all, I had a lot of fun in fantasy. I spent less time on it the past couple of years, spent more time on TV, and found a good balance, which is the best result I can get from fantasy.

Answer 4

absolutely. i know without fantasy sports, i was really only aware of the players on my local teams. now that i play all sorts of fantasy sports, like hockey, baseball, basketball, football, etc., i know have a more profound knowledge of the games and the players in them, because i watch them all more often to follow the players on my fantasy teams. so yes, fantasy sports definitely increased my appreciation for the real games.

Answer 5

Sometimes.

It makes you care a lot more about stats than who wins or loses. You can get a warped perspective on sports and who is a valuable player. Baseball, for example, overemphasizes power hitting and stealing.

Defense in particular gets a raw deal from fantasy sports. I know the majority of QB, RB, WR, TE, and even kickers in football, but would be challenged to name more than a dozen defensive players that aren't either all-stars or on my favorite team.

I do think that playing a fantasy league can make you more interested in the sport as a whole, and more aware of teams and players outside of your local favorite.

Answer 6

It really has not increased my love, I've always loved baseball, but I have found that games that I would not care about otherwise suddenly mean a great deal because I have players on those teams, you know? I just end up paying a lot more attention.

Answer 7

yes it does. i played fantasy baseball last year and i could barly make a hole game at the park with out loseing a lil attention and i couldnt watch a innin on tv unless it was like game 7 of the world series. Then i played fanatsy baseball and started to wact ha couple innings to see how my players were doing, then on days i was doing nothing a couple innings turned into 9.

Answer 8

i think it does. fantasy baseball is what got me into watching baseball. i always was interested to see how my team did and the more i watched the more i got interested and like it. football and basketball i always liked but fantasy made me more interested in other teams besides my own favorites. i learned a lot more things through fantasy. about how players do in certain teams and what not.

Answer 9

I think so. It makes you more aware of teams/players beyond your hometown team, and gives you a reason to get more involved in following out-of-town games. You become a more complete and knowledgeable fan as a result.

Answer 10

I think so. I believe at least for me it gets me more into the real games. I pay more attention to the actual games.