In 1962, with John F Kennedy as our President, the Ranger IV landed on the surface of the moon, John Glenn orbited the earth, and an Oakland area businessman created the game we know today as Fantasy Football. Since then, we have developed the internet, personal computers, smartphones and the population of the United States has almost doubled, but Fantasy Football has withstood the test of time and is as popular as ever. An estimated 33 million people play Fantasy Football and the majority of the people are under the age of 35, calling for a projected growth of players in the upcoming years.

There are many reasons why this nationwide hobby is growing so fast, and it is mostly due to the fact that we have advancements in technology like smartphones that allow for premium fantasy performance. Also, Fantasy Football is fast-paced and constantly evolving, a seemingly necessary characteristic to keep an easily-bored, American audience interested. Fantasy football also gives users one more chance to succeed at something in their life; on a week to week basis, they have essentially a fifty percent chance of winning, meaning each week they have a fifty-fifty shot at victory – a shot to shed light on their miserable and tedious lives. After all, what better way to get over your mid-life crisis than by bringing home a Fantasy Football championship? Who cares about being laid off and your failed marriage when you have Jimmy Graham running slants routes to lead your team to victory over your obnoxious, now ex-coworker?

With that being said, it is also one more thing for them to potentially lose at. With most leagues ranging from 8 to 16 teams, that leaves you at around an eight percent chance of winning your league every year. When you lose, it is never your fault, it is quite clear they drop passes and throw interceptions intentionally, and these days, it is hard to find a loyal player who will perform week in, week out. I find myself guilty of this every Sunday, growing angry and blaming my players for purposely sabotaging my team. We obsess over Fantasy sports, despite having a stunning lack of control over the end result. Although the factor of luck seems to be obvious, owners  typically refuse to admit it to the factor of chance playing any role in their successes.

The name perfectly wraps up what the whole hobby is about, having a chance to control something in a sport where we usually can only spectate. In regular football, the only way fans contribute is by performing superstitious rituals that even the most committed of fans deep down know do not make any real difference on the outcome of a game. However, in Fantasy Football, the fan controls everything, and an argument can be made that skill often times will persevere over luck during a head to head match.

The majority of participants are under 35 years of age and above 22. This age group perfectly fits the draws of Fantasy, old enough to feel the need to compensate for their declining physical ability, while upbeat enough to keep up with technological advantages such as smartphones and new apps for these phones. The truth is that a person hardly ever turns their focus on Fantasy Football because everything else in their life is running seamlessly. Life is about finding the silver lining and when you start winning in something, even if it is something as miniscule as Fantasy Football, it makes all the other parts of your life seem a little bit more tolerable.

Fantasy sports, like real sports, are merely a distraction from the struggles of the real world, and although the odds may be against you, the satisfaction of beating a friend or coworker in a head to head match up make the dice well worth rolling. Regardless of league rules and implications, its hard not to celebrate every time your QB throws a forty yard bomb to a player you placed in the Flex just minutes befor kickoff. Similarly, it is nearly impossible not to curse under your breath while watching your opponent’s top wide out catch a slant route for a TD to put him ahead of you on the week.