In Week 2 of this young NFL season, the Eagles' DeSean Jackson set off a regular e-riot of angry fans fuming, venting, and flaming over the Internet. Jackson's casual flip of the ball behind him an instant before crossing the goal line smacked of hubris, selfishness, and shortsightedness as he cluelessly danced in the back of the end zone without the ball, unaware that he had not scored six points. Surely, football fans the world over were infuriated that he had cost his Eagles dearly in a big game and disgraced the game with his antics.
What's worse was that the Cowboys were just as clueless, neglecting to pick up the live ball and return it the other way while everyone else walked off the field. As a result, the Eagles were awarded the ball on the Cowboys' goal line and Brian Westbrook punched it through for a touchdown on the next play. Jackson's gaffe was foolish but, no harm, no foul. Right? Wrong.
It appears, the major outcry from this play came not from Eagles fans or football purists, but from fantasy football owners. And lots of them. ESPN.com's page was practically blown up with fan complaints. Jackson's infamous move was compared to Westbrook's slide at the 1-yard line in Dallas last year that allowed the Eagles to run out the clock, as well as cost Westbrook (and his fantasy owners) a touchdown's worth of virtual points.
A few angry fan quotes posted on the site read like this:
"Count me in among those that lost their matchup on the DeSean Jackson pre-goal line toss. He should be forced to send hand written apologies to the hundreds (if not thousands) of owners he punched in the gut."
"Thanks for losing my fantasy league game for me DeSean Jackson, you IDIOT! You took 9 points away from [Donovan] McNabb in my league and I lost by 4 ... FYI: You have to pass the goal line to score! Apparently, you didn't learn that in high school! You won't be in this league very long doing that."
The problem is Jackson owes it to his team and his Eagles fans to play hard and play smart, he owes absolutely nothing to all the fantasy football fans who had Jackson starting on their "team" that night. Yet some fans, perhaps just as shortsighted as Jackson himself, actually took it personally. These fantasy owners believed Jackson should have felt remorse to them, as if they should have played into his thought process at all.
And alarmingly, it seems more and more football fans are watching the game this way. A major part of the job of being a fan is to share in the joy and pain of competition with your favorite team, players, coaches and fellow fans. Instead, many now root for individual players to rack up high numbers en route to an individual victory in their own little league somewhere on Fantasy Island. All this merely so they can earn the joy of sticking it to their rivals with online comments and little more.
Columnist Bill Simmons even attributed the Monday night game's all-time high cable ratings to the amount of fantasy owners who were affected in a game with so many big-name players on the field, and claimed in his title "The NFL is all about fantasy now." While he may not be entirely right, there is a ring of truth to it that shows up anytime you turn on the 7 PM SportsCenter on a Sunday only to find a ton of numbers and graphics on your screen and only a tiny window to see any action. The goal of football media on TV has now become to feed the fantasy frenzy just as much as provide the game highlights.
I will admit that fantasy sports raises the fan IQ. It forces those who play it to become more well read on each player's stats, which players are having good or bad years, and be the first to know about an emerging rookie or under-the-radar player who could suddenly be a major threat in next week's game. In that sense, it does serve a purpose beyond entertainment, but this Jackson incident has exposed the negative side of fantasy sports, as well.
Mainly, it causes fans to look at the game from an unintended, almost distorted perspective that skewers the objective. Suddenly, the goal is not to find a way to outscore and stop the other team, it is to get the ball to the players you have designated as often as possible and rack up all the yards and points they can possibly manage, even if it conflicts with what the team needs to do to win, or the scoreboard at the top of the TV set. You're also asking (or in some cases, begging) certain players to accomplish goals you have set for them that they themselves are completely unaware of.
Last season in a similar situation, Brian Westbrook broke away from the Dallas defense, then slid down to a stop at the Dallas 1. He had turned down a sure touchdown so his Eagles could run out the clock, ensuring no chance of a Dallas comeback. Many in the media applauded the rare act of selflessness and team-first mentality in an ego-driven game.
Not fantasy owners. They were just heartbroken Westbrook had denied them their precious fantasy points. The act of giving to the greater good of the team and of winning the game for the Philadelphia Eagles was lost upon them.
Obviously, there are many who can play fantasy football and accurately balance this with the sense that they are watching a game of two teams trying to win and that is the true objective. They would like if Peyton Manning — who's on their team — throws for 300 yards. Yet if Indy has to instead get it done on the ground with Joseph Addai — not on their team — in order for the Colts to have the best chance to win, then that's something they can at least understand if not accept. However, the pages of quotes and comments from the fans on the website of the Worldwide Leader suggest otherwise.
In the final analysis, history will not remember what your fantasy team did in 2008 or 2007, it will only remember the outcome of the actual game played on actual gridiron. While it is true that stats and numbers will always be important to fans, the fantasy game may have proven that you can have too much of a good thing.
October 5, 2008
Big K:
There is nothing wrong with being enthusiastic about fantasy football. You just can’t take it too far. What I will say though is that true fantasy guru’s don’t get upset when Payton Manning keeps handing it to Addai because they didn’t start Peyton that week because they already KNEW that was the game plan because the opponent’s run defense was weak and their secondary was strong. Instead they started Eli Manning who was playing Seattle who had a piss poor secondary. That’s what a real fantasy guy does. If he doesn’t, then he is the reason for his own misery. :-)
You have to remember, there are tons of fantasy players. While theere are some who only care about the guys they draft, there are a number out there who will only pick players from their teams. Imagine a guy taking Marc Bulger or Tory Holt with the number 1 overall pick with LT or pre-injury Brady still on the board. Those guys care about their fantasy teams and real teams all rolled into one. I don’t know if that makes things better or worse, but I had to throw that out there. :-)
And I disagree with you. You are right, history won’t remember your 2007 and 2008 victories…but if you are playing with a group of close friends like a number of people do, 10 years from now you can brag about the Dynasty you had back in the day in your keeper league from 2006 to 2010. And really, that’s what it’s all about. :-)