Why do some people hate fantasy sports so much?

I'm with Moddy, 2MCM and Cadet. It's good that fantasy sports has brought some more casual fans into the fold. But I don't want to hear it. I ran a dynasty FFL for years ... I will argue that being responsible for players long-term gives fantasy sports a little more realism, but stress on "little." Just because someone has success doesn't make them the next Ron Wolf or Scott Pioli.

And anyone who pulls for someone to get hurt to help himself and/or his/her team is sick. I got tired to keeping up with it, and having any conflict between FFL and my teams and players of interest. So I quit cold turkey - and I haven't missed it. I'll gladly help friends who seek it, but that's not to be confused with wanting to run a team again.

 

I'm with FT and Sam.

I quit playing fantasy about a year ago, maybe more, because I got bored with it and I didn't care about the nonsensical bitching e-mails that were in my inbox every 10 minutes. The odd thing is that I find myself watching and enjoying the games more now that I'm not concerned about what Player X does and does it affect a weekly fantasy matchup.

 

Because it is the epitome of your narcissistic Twitter-esque galaxy to think that anybody other than you really cares how your "team" is doing.

But you tell us anyway.

 

I can step that up a notch: People who post updates on their teams/players in video games (usually along the lines of "OMG my player is hitting .536 with 83 home runs at the All-Star break!"

 

I love playing fantasy sports, but anyone who openly at the bar cheers for one of their random players or is "that guy" who roots for your fantasy players above your own team is a jackass.

 

I recently quit World of Warcraft, but before I did I was in one of the premier raiding guilds on our server, working Naxx down to a one-day kill (with no wipes on KT, as random as that fight can be with the iceblocks). I was decked out in all 213 gear with 2/4 T7 and 2/4 T7.5, though the four-piece set bonus for holy priests is pretty lackluster as GH has kind of lost favor due the the increased incoming damage of WotLK makes a 2.5 second cast a little inefficient, at least when it's not led with a GS for insurance. And that's on a three minute CD. But that's all pre-3.1 and tons of stuff changed with Ulduar, not that I'll ever see it since quitting.

Anyway, so yeah. Your fantasy talk is kind of like that to about 99 percent of the universe.

More power to you, but it's kind of tough to sit through stories about how you need Johnson to get 3ks but give up a home run to Jones with at least one guy on base, as long as it's not Anderson.

I love that you love it, I just don't need it on deadline while I'm trying to read the story you just filed 15 minutes late.

 

Don't participate in them.

Don't hate them, per se.

But despise being forced to listen to ANYONE prattle on about their great draft,
brilliant strokes in selecting players, etc., etc., etc., etc.

DON'T CARE.

A very, very good friend . . . a major, major executive in a wholly unassociated field,
grasped what I was telling him (i. e., the above) the first time we discussed it.

He ceased and desisted, immediately.

As I say, a very smart guy.

More smart folks should follow his example.

 

I play as much fantasy as I can, but I almost never talk about it or work teams for trades.

What I love the most is the live draft. Once the draft is completed, it's more waiver wire pickups, but I will check them every morning and keep the active players starting.

What I hate is how Yahoo has made pre-rankings so good that people with zero research can have a great draft. It's almost become the person who would not know a Hoya from a Hoosier winning the NCAA pool. Fantasy is losing some of its magic.

I also hate, hate watching football with guys who keep asking "who scored in XXXX game?" That drives me up a wall.

 

I agree with this 100 percent. I can't stand listening to or watching fantasy-related coverage...it actually does make my skin crawl, like "Shit I can see why people hate us so much," some dorky, dweeby guy telling you who to get and why.

As for doing fantasy sports...I got so worked up about this shit a couple years ago that I pondered quitting. I usually spend fall Sundays cursing and stomping around about my fantasy football team (hi Zeke!). And I lost two baseball leagues on the last day of the year in 2007 (go to hell, 21 and Boom!!!!) and was so mad about losing the non-NIAFL league that I was mad at an owner the entire winter. He hadn't made a move over the last eight weeks and on the last day of the year, he lost his lead in runs to the guy who beat me by half a point. I was LIVID...at a guy I'd been friends with for nearly 15 years. Turns out he was neck-deep in law school and busy. What's wrong with that? How can I be mad at someone for that?

Now, nearly two years later, after enduring some shit that I wouldn't wish upon my worst enemy, I think I can enjoy fantasy sports in the proper context. They're a fun diversion from a real world that sucks and blows. No more stomping, no more cursing. I win, I win. I lose, I lose. It's a fun way to have a rooting interest in sports, especially since I can't root for a professional team (with one mild exception in the NFL). Covering sports has made that just about impossible for me.

 

I had a GREAT draft this year in baseball. Got Scott Downs as a reserve pick! He's closing now for the Blue Jays! And I got Victor Martinez for $14! Aren't I awesome!!

 

It's MUCH more amusing dealing with this in print than to have to endure it as bar talk in real life.

Have some great horseplaying stories (both winning and losing) but would not deign to
bore any non-horseplayer with them.

Now, another horseplayer . . . it goes with the territory.

 

Oh I can totally understand. Was just trying to be a clown (I know, hard to fathom).

I think fantasy sports are so omnipresent now that even fantasy players are beginning to tire of discussing them with fellow fantasy players. Not all that unique anymore...though I still say it's the great male bonding tool at weddings and such social gatherings.