The fantasy sports industry is one of the fastest growing industries on the market because of one simple, logical reason. It is the best thing to happen to sports since the invention of the television.
In the '20s, America spent its nights huddled around the home radio set listening to the familiar voices of their hometown radio announcers calling the ballgames. Fans suddenly were able to listen and follow along with the game as though the were actually there. It was amazing.
Then along came the television and now you didn’t have to dream about what it looked like. You actually saw it. This was groundbreaking. Now you could really be at the game. But what If I told you that you could connect with these players like never before? That you could actually own these players worth millions of dollars? That you could actually own a professional team?
That’s what Dan Okrent did in 1980 with his invention of rotisserie baseball. It was an idea he created with nine other friends to select 28 players and pitchers from all of the National League teams of Major League Baseball and compare their stats to the other nine players in the game. The players with the best statistics at the end of the year, won. It was a simple enough concept, but its implications were endless.
For example, before the invention of NFL Sunday ticket, you had to watch whatever game was on FOX, CBS, or NBC. It didn’t matter if you liked the teams or not, that was the football on TV. You didn’t necessarily want to watch the teams, but you wanted football. Here comes fantasy football to save the day! Now you have players from all over the NFL on your team, and that means you have a stake in every game. You are okay watching the Jags and Raiders, so long as Michael Crabtree hauls in a couple of touchdowns and at least 80 all purpose yards. Sundays were no longer bleak to dwell watching the pitiful Jets get pummeled by the AFC. Football fans, rejoice.
Unfortunately that means that every Sunday is now stuck glued to the television set watching every single game. But that’s okay. We were going to procrastinate on that homework anyway, but now we have an excuse.
