Research Project: Fantasy Sports

What are fantasy sports?

Fantasy sports allow users to "own" a sports team, in which their players are either bought in an auction or drafted. Players get points based on their individual statistics, such as in fantasy football where players that score a touchdown get six points and get points for every 10 rushing yards they gain. Players compete against other team owners in what is essentially a simulation of a real sporting event where the highest point total wins.

Early History

The exact history of fantasy sports varies depending on who you talk to, with various iterations of the game having existed for possibly decades. The people most associated with discovering fantasy sports was a group in New York called "La Rotisserie" which created rotisserie fantasy baseball in 1980. The group was headed by former New York Times editor Daniel Okrent and games were primarily played on pencil and paper and statistics were tracked by hand using sports newspapers and magazines.

By the late 1980's early 1990's an estimated 500,000 people were playing fantasy sports, and the first fantasy sports related texts and media began to emerge.

Explosion

Fantasy sports popularity increased exponentially in the late 90s when the internet became more widespread. The Fantasy Sports Trade Association (FSTA) now estimates that over 32 million people now play fantasy sports in the United States and Canada, a 60% increase over just the last four years. The players of one survey were 95% men and 89% white, with a vast majority (over 91%) being people under the age of 44.

The boom has created a surge in fantasy sports related content. The first fantasy sports web sites were created in 1997. Now, sports sites like ESPN dedicate entire pages solely to fantasy sports, while numerous other sites have sprouted that focus completely on fantasy sports strategy and discussion. Fantasy sports have been estimated to be a 3-4 billion dollar industry.

Fantasy football in particular has been somewhat controversial. It has been credited with helping to fuel the National Football League's (NFL) increasing popularity in the last few years, but lately home attendance has been done, which many speculate is due to people wanting to follow their fantasy teams, among other technological innovations. The NFL Red Zone channel features all of the football drives that are close to being touchdowns, which, without explicitly saying it, caters largely to fantasy football players hoping to see their players score points.

There have also been concerns raised that fantasy sports - and people's tendency to bet money on them - is a form of gambling, due to the luck involved. However, in the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) in 2006, fantasy sports were ruled to not be gambling.

Why I want to study fantasy football

I am a massive sports fan who is interested in seeing how new types of media are affecting how people consume sports. It's unlikely that any form of new media has had as big of an impact on the sports landscape as fantasy sports have, which makes me want to find out why they're so popular and the exact effects they have had on sports fans, in how they perceive and follow the games.

I'm also interested in seeing if the popularity in fantasy sports has either contributed to or been aided by new trends in how people see sports.

I also find that, considering their massive popularity, sports are frequently overlooked when it comes to serious media analysis. The things seen in sports media are likely mirrored in traditional media, which makes the topic relevant even if fantasy football isn't of interest to you.

Literature Review

Various aspects of fantasy sports and its culture have been researched through various means. However, as a relatively recent phenomenon, there is still plenty of work to be done in understanding the massive popularity of fantasy sports. A study that looked at the motivation behind fantasy sports participants found “significant segments with differing attitudinal and behavioral responses” (Dwyer 130) among the players, indicating that it’s a phenomenon that appeals to people in many different ways, much of which is user-dependent. The survey labeled four different kinds of fantasy players: the hedonist, who plays primarily for his own entertainment, the opportunist who is primarily interested in gambling, the moderate who was less engaged in the activity, and the advocate who is highly active in all areas of fantasy sports consumption. The survey by Dwyer proves that there are complicated and unique reasons that each player participates in fantasy sports. Another study by Dwyer continued to focus on the segmentation of fantasy sports players: “Ultimately, this study shows that the advent of fantasy football has created distinct groups of NFL fans that have vastly differently attitudes and behaviors” (Dwyer 216).

Another study found “The expansion of the fantasy sports universe is likely due to a demonstrated existence of fantasy sports participation as a pleasurable social experience.” (Roy, Goss 105) Perhaps more than any other reason, much of fantasy football’s success is simply because it’s fun. However, why it is fun is potentially worth looking at.

The fantasy sports websites themselves have also been the subject of research, with one study concluding that “The trust dimension, which is apparently a major concern for Internet users, was found to be a critical factor of service quality for fantasy sports websites” (Suh, Pederson 85). The results of that study showed the importance of the fantasy sites themselves. People need to trust where they’re playing or else, as the study found, their interest in fantasy sports will decrease. The success and popularity of fantasy sports is thus inextricably linked to its providers.

The area of fantasy football’s effect on NFL attendance has also been the subject of a study. The study found that the opposite of the perceived affect on attendance was true and that, in fact, fantasy players were more likely to attend live NFL games. The article also claims that “Given these findings, fantasy football arguably generates increased fan loyalty to the NFL as a whole,” (Nesbit, King 107) perhaps indicating that fantasy football has played a role in increasing the popularity and revenue of the NFL in the last few years.

The effect of fantasy sports on television viewing was also looked at in a similar study by the same authors, with similar results: “The estimation results provide strong evidence suggesting that fantasy sports is, in fact, a complement of sports television” (Nesbit, King 39). The study found that fantasy sports has little impact one way or the other on someone’s likelihood to watch sports on television. In the end, the study finds that sports fans are simply sports fans and will consume sports in different ways without one particularly influencing the other.

Research questions

• Why is fantasy football played by so many people? What is the appeal?
• Has fantasy football affected how people watch games? Do they ever find themselves cheering against their "home" team etc?
• Has fantasy football made people more aware or interested in statistics and individual accomplishments rather than team ones?
• Do people go to live NFL games less than before as a result of fantasy football? Are more choosing to stay at home and watch on television because of fantasy sports?
• How have sports leagues and sports media companies changed as a result of the fantasy football boom and the rise of new media in general?
• What kind of fantasy sports content are these sites providing? Are fantasy sports "experts" really experts (how much of the game is luck vs. skill)?

Methodology

In order to answer these research questions and get the information on fantasy football, I would conduct interviews with various fantasy football players to get their perspective on it. Because the information is extremely qualitative, it would require that form and a survey likely wouldn't have enough information. Interviews would also allow me to get a wider spectrum of fantasy football players than something like a focus group, which is an important distinction. Not all fantasy players are into it at the same level.

For the more general things like the media coverage, I will do content analysis of ESPN and other sites as well as asking the fantasy players if they see any trends in the coverage.

What I expect to find out

From my own experiences and other people I've talked to, there are a few reasons why I think fantasy sports are so appealing to people.

The first is the idea of being "in control" of a team and allowing players to act like the coach or general manager of a sports team. For many people this is a dream that is not really attainable, but fantasy sports gives a similar feel. There is also the competition aspect, which is good for those that want to compete but don't have the time or skill to do high level sports.

This ties into the strategy of fantasy football, which is another key element of its success. In my experience, the most popular games in America (such as poker) are ones where there are clear skills and strategy, but also a large amount of luck to provide the "anyone can win" facet. Fantasy sports strike the perfect balance in this regard, in that there are skills like drafting/buying/trading players, but also a large amount of luck as players have bad seasons or injuries. Fantasy sports also take relatively little time commitment (depending on how hardcore you are) compared to the potential entertainment value gained.

There's also the fact that, for many people, fantasy sports are just fun and add to the enjoyment of watching the game. This year the Vikings are 2-9 but I'm still invested in the NFL season - and enjoying it - because of my fantasy teams. Games that don't involve your home team now relate to you in some way, which makes it more entertaining to watch. I think, for a lot of people, it is also just friendly competition between friends which is fun in and of itself.

I also expect to find that fantasy sports have affected how people view and perceive sports, for better or worse. There is now more emphasis on individual statistics and accomplishments than before, which is likely a result of these teams being made up of groups of individual players. I do think that people are being driven away from live NFL games in lieu of watching at home on HD and being able to follow all of their fantasy players. However, I think that people are still mostly loyal to their "home" or "chosen" team and will rarely actively cheer against them, despite the fantasy stakes.

I think that sports leagues and media have adapted significantly to the fantasy sports craze, whether it be with live tickers (like on CBS) that show "fantasy updates" or things like the NFL Red Zone network that focus on scoring plays. The sites are also putting out more fantasy content and integrating it into shows like "SportsCenter."

Overall, the use of fantasy football ties in well with new media concepts like the Uses and Gratifications Theory. People seek out fantasy sports for various reasons: To make sports more entertaining for them, to have something fun to do with friends, or because they're drawn to the strategical elements. Either way, people do it because it provides them some sort of pleasure, and the business wouldn't exist if they didn't.