Fantasy Football is Genius

Fantasy Football.  For those of you who don't know (I am assuming there are a few) Wikipedia defines Fantasy Football as:

"a fantasy sports game in which participants (called "owners") are arranged into a competitive league, earning “fantasy points” by using the statistics of real football players. The owners of each league draft real-life American football players, typically from either the NFL or NCAA, filling a roster containing the various offense or defensive positions on a team, such as Quarterback, Running Back, Wide Receiver, and Tight End. Depending on how well the players on an Owner’s team do in a given week, the team earns Fantasy Points to compete against the other owners in the league."

My boyfriend (@bryanschnicker) and guy friends are all Fantasy Football freaks. Ladies, I'm sure you know a few of them/your boyfriends may be one. Fantasy football freaks are glued to their computers on Sundays and their conversations revolve around "who they are playing this week, injuries, points, and key match ups."  They live and breathe the NFL and their moods are often directly correlated to the performance of a) Ben Roethlisberger b) Aaron Rodgers c) Tom Brady or d) Peyton or Eli Manning (Drew Brees always plays great so he isn't included).

I am a huge football fan and I love the NFL so my boyfriend crowned me "pseudo assistant coach" of his team and before I knew it I was tuning into every game to see how well my players fared. A moment of truth hit me and I realized what I was becoming. I also realized that this "fantasy football league" was making me crazy. I was obsessed with the NFL which is why I believe fantasy football is genius. Dare I say fantasy football is a stealthy public relations campaign?

The league incorporates many facets deemed necessary in any successful public relations campaign. Most of which are being discussed and valued by professionals attempting to connect with consumers today.

1. Engagement: F.F.F. (Fantasy Football Freaks) are engaging with the NFL brand on a daily basis. They are picking their NFL players and visiting the NFL and ESPN (Also Yahoo, etc) websites numerous times a day to check on their team and stay on top of what is happening in the league.

Another facet of engagement are the feelings experienced while participating. I believe that many F.F.F.s get a rush from Fantasy Football. How is their team going to do? How many points are they going to get this week? No offense men, but we all now the male species thrives on these kind of emotions. At the end of the day, most F.F.F.s are loving the NFL strictly based on the excitement that is Fantasy Football.

2. Loyalty: A F.F.F. will most likely never miss a game that their players are participating in. You can count on them tuning in to Sunday Night Football, Thursday Night Football, and Monday Night Football.  In the highly unlikely chance that they do miss a game, you can count on the F.F.Fs to be checking ESPN.com or watching highlights from the games on ESPN the next day. The F.F.Fs are loyal to the network and to the NFL brand. Not to mention, most F.F.F. create a new team and join a league every year. 

Apart from engagement and loyalty, Fantasy football has progressed into a nationwide phenomenon. ESPN has an entire show dedicated to Fantasy where sports casters make predictions, report injuries, and discuss stats. A television show, The League, has also been created based on Fantasy Football!

Personally, participating in the league has made me buy into the ESPN and the NFL brands. Not only do I love football season, I love fantasy football season. If that makes me a Fantasy Football Freak so be it. Great public relations tactic, NFL. I'm sold.

What do you think? Any self proclaimed F.F.Fs out there? Come on, fess up.