Fantasy football is a pastime enjoyed by many Ladue High School students; in fact, some leagues have existed for one to two years without losing many members.

On the face of it, fantasy football is quite simple. You, as a fantasy owner, try to draft the best players in the National Football League (NFL). Each week, when those real players compete in actual NFL games, your fantasy players receive a certain amount of points based on how well they did during the game.

But is fantasy football simply a light-hearted, enjoyable hobby for one to play during the fall? I would argue that it often gets far more intense than that.

For one, some leagues require every owner to pay a certain amount of money to get into the league. Certain teams can then win large chunks of this money back at the end of the season for finishing high in their league standings. These are obviously going to be more intense than free leagues. After all, money is a great incentive for some owners to waste their time doing overly detailed projections to create a “stacked” team.

However, even free fantasy football leagues often are ruined by overly competitive owners who forget that most people play fantasy football for fun. You’ll know who these people are. They’ll be the ones constantly bugging you about trades or screaming at you if you make a bad trade with someone else. Most likely, they’ll also be the ones wasting the most valuable time by the end of the fantasy season.

I’ve played fantasy football for the last four years and I’ve enjoyed it less and less every year. Most things are only good when done for pure enjoyment. Even when pride is on the line.

I’m just saying.