Are fantasy sports ruining our past times?
That is the question Lonnie at SportProjections.com recently asked, claiming that fantasy sports are eroding fan loyalty.
This sounds like an argument straight out of Michael Wilbon’s mouth. Wilbon is an avid opponent of fantasy sports, particularly because it can cause a fan to cheer for a rival’s players (think Red Sox fans cheering for Alex Rodridguez).
I do not dispute that fantasy sports have changed the way fans watch games. Player updates have surpassed team performance, as long as it is not your team.
I still believe that team loyalty is alive and well. I root for my fantasy players to do well. And it is true, I do not care if their teams wins or not. Unless the players are on my teams …
If I own Reggie Bush and he scores three touchdowns and gains 100+ yards on the ground, it sure does look good for my fantasy team.
If the New Orleans Saints lose the game, it will not matter to me how well Bush played. The loss still hurts as much as it did before I started playing fantasy football.
Maybe I am a dying breed.
Filed under: Fantasy Football, Fantasy Sports, Football, NFL, Opinion, Sports
This is a great argument. It has changed the way fans view their “favorite” teams, however, if your “favorite” team wins and your player does well against it, then it doesn’t really matter.
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If there were not fantasy sports, would I care about the opposition’s players at all? No. As a Georgia fan, I’m rooting for the Bulldogs and no one else.
If I have Mike Hart of Michigan on my fantasy team and thus I start rooting for him, what has changed? I still bleed red and black regardless of what the Wolverines end up doing.
People who subscribe to the thought that fantasy sports are ruining the game are the same guys who want everything in life to remain the same for better or worse.
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