| Okay, let's get one thing straight right off | | | | of all the fantasy sports available and |
| the bat, we are talking about American | | | | continues to grow even faster with the |
| football here, you know the sport with the | | | | explosion of websites and software to help |
| funny shaped ball! Anyway, let's not waste | | | | with the game as well as the proliferation of |
| time on semantics I have stuff to do. | | | | fantasy football magazines available today. |
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| The way fantasy football works is like this, | | | | Most fantasy football leagues will be made up |
| every participant or owner as we are called | | | | of around ten or twelve individual teams |
| in the Fantasy Sports World, drafts or buys | | | | which will have their own mock drafts before |
| through an auction a team of players. For the | | | | the season starts. Because you are drafting |
| purposes of this introduction we are going to | | | | real players and their performance really |
| assume the fantasy football league is NFL, | | | | matters it pays to stay in touch with what is |
| but it could also be based on college | | | | going on with them during the off season and |
| players. The way the actual completion plays | | | | pre-season. For example if you draft a Ricky |
| out depends upon the individual fantasy | | | | Williams and he decides to go off and smoke |
| football league you happen to belong to. In | | | | dope, too bad, you are screwed out of a |
| some fantasy football leagues the winner is | | | | running back! In some fantasy football |
| determined by total points at the end of a | | | | leagues each owner must draft a new team |
| season, while others actually play against | | | | every year, while in others you may be |
| each other weekly with the team having the | | | | allowed to keep a handful of players which |
| best record at the end of the fantasy season | | | | will not be entered in the draft. Some |
| being declared winner of that fantasy | | | | leagues have even gone as far as to create |
| football league. | | | | so-called dynasty leagues where an owner may |
| | | | maintain his team from the previous season |
| The internet has been responsible for taking | | | | and only draft incoming rookies. This is very |
| fantasy football from a hobby played out in | | | | similar to how a real football league works. |
| sports bars and individual homes to a | | | | |
| multi-billion dollar industry now according | | | | Players that are not drafted are designated |
| to the Fantasy Sports Trade Association. | | | | as "free agents" and may be chosen during the |
| According to the FSTA, nearly twenty million | | | | season by trading players that an owner may |
| players participate in fantasy sports and the | | | | currently have and making them free agents. |
| industry has a growth rate of around ten | | | | The rules that govern this practice vary from |
| percent. Fantasy Football is the most popular | | | | league to league. |