Students
Fantasy Football play reaches 72,000,000
Sure, I like football and like to watch a good game especially when the Chargers beat the Broncos but for the past 3 years I have listened, watched and learned as my boyfriend plays Fantasy Football. Every Friday afternoon he sits down in front of the computer and makes his picks for the weekend games in hope of choosing the players who will score the most points allowing him to win his fantasy game.
Until taking this class I never really understood the motivation and desire to participate in Fantasy Football. Yes, you can win money at the end of the season that can motivate many. But what else could drive over 72,000,000 people according to Answers.com to play Fantasy Football each season?
In my effort to find out why, I asked my boyfriend over dinner why he plays. He smiled and replied, “To beat my friends. There is also a chance to win money and I can use my football knowledge.” His response was very interesting to me and I found myself thinking about our class readings about motivation in games and why we choose to play or not to play certain games.
Using the concepts developed by Maslow: Fantasy Football could very well be the perfect example of his model of motivation. It includes elements of safety, belonging, and self esteem (levels 3-5). It does this in a number of ways. Safety can motivate a player by providing an opportunity to win money and thus use that money to meet specific life needs. Belonging can motivate as it provides the player with not only a feeling of belonging among their small group of friends but also gives player’s a topic to discuss with 72,000,000 of their closest friends. Self-esteem may also motivate by providing an opportunity for recognition, respect, achievement and mastery.
Fantasy Football is also a multi-player game with players competing against each other every week that can be a motivating factor since it allows players to feed their competitive urges. It also can motivate players by allowing them to meet up with their friends online in what we might call the ultimate Fantasy. After all isn’t it called Fantasy Football?
Go Chargers!!!
December 1st, 2009 at 2:19 am
I love playing fantasy football, but it’s not because of my love of the sport. It’s because of the comaraderie (and the smack talk).
Two years ago I started a family league. We have 10 teams and nearly every team has two owners – so we have almost 20 family members involved. Moms, Dads, brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles, cousins, significant others, and family friends. Since we’ve started the league, holiday get-togethers have taken on a new meaning. Now everyone sits around and talks about the players on their team and how we might agree on a trade that would help “both” teams. I say “both” because everyone is just trying to screw each other out of their best players in return for benchwarmers.
I know this doesn’t sound like fun to everyone, but for us, it’s really just a way to do something together for 16 weeks while everyone is spread across the country.
December 1st, 2009 at 11:12 am
Andy – I love that your family plays this together. And, yes, smack talk and hijacking other players is key and part of the fun.
December 6th, 2009 at 4:56 am
I’ve been playing these things for a couple years now as well. It started when a friend asked me to join a league full of people from an old sports team. This was also used as a tool to stay in touch with friends, similar to what Andy mentioned.
After that, I started 2 teams because I loved the competition. I agree with you that its motivation not necessarily for money but more for winning.
December 8th, 2009 at 12:28 am
I’ve been playing fantasy football since 1992 when my buddies and I were in Jr High. Of course, everything is online now, but back then it was quite an undertaking. You would select your team at the start of the season by mailing in a form to the league headquarters, and then they would mail you back (usually by the following thursday) a weekly newsletter that contained all the stats and standing from the previous sunday. Nowadays, i get stat updates texted to me instantly on my cell phone, but, nonetheless, few things were as exciting to me back then as receiving that newsletter in the mail every week.
And now that I’m older, by far the #1 motivating factor that keeps me playing year after year is that it gives me and my friends a great excuse meet up in Vegas each August for our fantasy draft.