What the Internet means to fantasy football
As I prepare to head out from work today, I’m reminded again about just how important the Internet has been in my life. Or at least one corner of it.
I’ve always been something of a fantasy football fanatic. I started my first league in 1991 in Tulsa, Okla. Including that league, I’m now in six.
Back in the beginning, it was my job to comb through the fine print of Monday morning’s sports pages to manually figure out statistics and scoring for each of the 12 teams in my league. I also had to track weekly lineups and roster changes. Probably spent at least 6-7 hours (most of it on Monday night) a week just doing the administrative work and composing a weekly newsletter.
Thanks to the Internet and the popularity of the hobby, all that work is a thing of the past. Sites like ESPN, Sportsline and Yahoo! do the dirty work these days - for free or a small fee. My Monday nights during the NFL season have been given back to me.
There are, however, been some odd situations created by the Internet. I’m getting ready for one of them tonight. Here’s the deal: I’m a league that’s made up primarily of other Post-Dispatch employees. We’re all meeting later this evening at a local sports bar for our draft. An online draft.
A dozen of us will lug our laptops to a downtown sports bar, where we’ll sit together and spend two or three hours watching our computer screens in relative silence. How weird is that?
Tim has covered a wide range of topics, including tourism, crime, aviation and gambling, since becoming a reporter in 1990. The Oklahoma native joined the Post-Dispatch in 2007 after spending nine years in Orlando. In his spare time, he's often exploring one virtual world or another. He can be reached at tbarker@post-dispatch.com. 
As someone who will be sitting in that bar with you, I can categorically say that we’re geeks. You’re one, too. Deal with it.
I’m all for fantasy football…but my true love is baseball, and fantasy b-ball.
You think it’s difficult to track a league that has one game a week? Back when we started our fantasy baseball league in the early 90s, we had to scan the paper EVERY DAY day to compile stats! Talk about a time commitment.
With families, jobs, and the desire to have some semblance of a “life”, there is no way any of us could continue if we were still doing it the old way!
I am all for fantasy football…but my true love is baseball, both real and fantasy.
You think it’s difficult to track a league that has one game a week? Back when we started our fantasy baseball league in the early 90s, we had to scan the paper EVERY DAY day to compile stats! Talk about a time commitment.
With families, jobs, and the desire to have some semblance of a life, there is no way any of us could continue if we were still doing it the old way!
Very true Joel.
I cannot imagine having to do daily scoring by hand. I thought I had it rough on those long ago Monday mornings.