When it comes to fantasy sports
every sports fan becomes a fanatic. There are leagues for many sports. Each league is different. Some are very intense and competitive while
others are just for fun. Most leagues have a huge amount of smack talking. People that participate in leagues take them
very seriously. Often blaming the
players for not doing good for the reason why they lost their match up. We see this in the show The League. The character Ruxin yells at a Professional
Football player for the reason he lost his matchup, when he sees him at a
spa. Yet, leagues are considered a
religion and each league has a ritual.
The FX comedy The
League, follows a group of friends that are involved in a fantasy football
league. This League's league is highly
competitive. The members hold a draft
every year at someone's house. They use
a board and do the draft in person. This
is very old fashion, because now drafts are automated. This is a ritual of this league. Also, each member is playing for the
SHIVA. The SHIVA is the trophy of the
League. It is named after a girl form
their High School. This isn't uncommon
many leagues have trophies or something that is given to the winner. In my league the ritual is a NFL football
form one of the Super Bowls and my Pap always gives it to the winner like he is
announcing a wrestling match. Many people treat this trophy as a god and they
worship it like a religion. In The League the members have a song that goes along with this. They also, worship it like a god; by taking it everywhere, having a shrine for
it, or treating it like it has feelings. This would make the trophies a part of the religion
of Fantasy sports.
Apart of leagues is
smack talk. This consist of telling your
opponent how bad they are and how you will beat them. In the show The League there is a lot of
smack talking. The one that does it the
best and the most graphic would be Ruxin. In Fantasy leagues this seems to be more potent. These are the extremely serious
ones. I looked up some good smack talks
well ones I thought would be funny. For instance, these one-liners made ESPN's
top smack talkers. The list consisted
of:"Grab a Spoon and taste defeat.",
"Go make me a sandwich.", "What time is cheerleader
tryouts?", and my favorite "Save your breath you'll need it to blow
up your date." (Here's the rest of the best smack talks). Smack talking is what makes Fantasy sports fun. It’s
the competitiveness of this ritual that people love.
Another ritual would be having the worst record in your league. In The League the punishment for having the worst record was that you had to keep the Sacko: a disgusting looking trophy. Some other ones that people had to do in other leagues were: Make them wear a dress if you have your draft in a public place, have a humiliating that they have to keep on their mantel all year, or make them do the cinnamon challenge. Many leagues make players that get the worst spot do something extremely embarrassing.
Another ritual would be having the worst record in your league. In The League the punishment for having the worst record was that you had to keep the Sacko: a disgusting looking trophy. Some other ones that people had to do in other leagues were: Make them wear a dress if you have your draft in a public place, have a humiliating that they have to keep on their mantel all year, or make them do the cinnamon challenge. Many leagues make players that get the worst spot do something extremely embarrassing.
I talked about the League too, and I completely agree with you. Every league has their own types of fans, motives and rituals. The League portrays a very good example of those different types of people and reasons they play. That's a really good example of the SHIVA.
ReplyDeleteI have never seen this show but you did a good job explaining it. It is crazy how fantasy leagues almost become more important than the real leagues. Depending on the person and whether they are a vested fan or just a social fan they might only be concerned about their fantasy team and not necessarily the success of the real team.
ReplyDeleteFantasy Sports can get pretty serious. It hasn't really been talked about but most leagues and participants are playing for money. The money that is at stake is the reason people spend so much time researching for the draft, talking smack, and worshiping the trophy (if they win it). The money is a big part of it; for example, I am in one league which was $20 to get in and the winner gets $200, and I'm in another league that was free and you would win nothing. I tend to keep an extremely closer eye on the league which put me out $20 compared to the league that doesn't really have any meaning. I will research and talk smack in the $20 league but not really at all in the free league. It's all about the money.
ReplyDeleteI'm in the same boat as Andy. I play for a league with a ten dollar buy in between the old high school soccer players and me. It certainly does draw a lot more attention than the league I pay nothing for, and I usually do a lot better in the league I pay nothing for....
ReplyDeleteTo me, it is always fun to see the different levels of fandom come out during fantasy. The smack talk is always the best, and depending on the person's team it changes often. Even with a strategically picked team, it is still unpredictable.
ReplyDelete