When math teacher Konstantena Houmpavlis mentioned she was joining a fantasy football league to her class, her students were eager to give her advice.
“Last year, there was one student that was very quiet, and he found out [I] was doing fantasy football, and he stayed after class and just started talking about football,” said Houmpavlis. “After that, he just started really opening up throughout the year and just wanting to talk about it.”
Fantasy football is an online competition in which participants draft imaginary teams of NFL players and earn points throughout the footballseason based on each player’s real-game performance.
Fantasy football is not only about the sport, but is also about competing with one another in a healthy way and uniting through conversations about players, Houmpavlis said.
Even though state lines separate sophomore Shaan Rana and his cousin, they keep in touch through fantasy football.
“We met [up] in Atlanta, and then we created a league, and now I feel like we talk about it from time to time … [the league] definitely gives us something else to talk about,” Rana said.
Rana is a part of several different leagues, one with his friends at Glenbrook North, another with his friends at Glenbrook South and two others with family and friends. Last year he was in a league in one of his classes.
“In physics we created a league, and I think it definitely made the class closer [with] the people we didn’t know,” said Rana. “I think we met everyone through the fantasy league.”
Each fantasy league holds a draft day, which includes 15 rounds where participants pick one player for their team each round.
“Draft day was awesome,”Houmpavlissaid.
My family had a big get-together where we ate desserts and barbecued, and everyone had their iPads orcomputers to draft their players, Houmpavlis said.
Players can change their fantasy football lineups weekly.
“This week, it was exciting for me because I was projected to lose against mybrother-in-law, and we’re very competitive with them,” said Houmpavlis. “And then I drafted a guy… and he had the best game of his career,” Houmpavlis said.
The fantasy football draft typically takes place in September, with members of the league competing until the Super Bowl in January.
Fantasy football leagues are a unique passion that all of his friends have in common, Rana said.
“Fantasy football is that additional step that makes [football] so much more interactive and fun and enjoyable, because it just gives you something to look forward to,” said Rana. “I am a Bears fan, and sometimes when the Bears lose, I’m still happy because my fantasy team did [well].”