You’ve probably seen people with fantasy football open on their phone or have heard people discussing fantasy trades.

Fantasy football is very popular around the country because people can draft their own football team and can pick the players they want in a draft-like process. Every week participants decide who starts based on the player’s talent, matchup, projected points, etc.

To play fantasy football you draft your own fantasy roster and have weekly matchups, bye weeks, and real game stats that will translate to the chosen players that you own on your fantasy team. There are many aspects and ways you can make the league fun such as trades, punishments or even a prize for first place. Fantasy football can also build friendships and bring people closer together. Many leagues will have a league group chat that everyone can talk in and express their opinions. Discussing trades with people can build a stronger relationship and you can get to know them better.

Not only can fantasy football help you build relationships with your leaguemates, but it can make you more of a fan of different players or become less of a fan of them depending on how they do for your team.

There are multiple types of leagues you can do for fantasy football which include a redraft league. A redraft league means you draft a new team every year for the same league.

Another league is called a dynasty league which means that you keep the same players on your team from year to year. Dynasty leagues are especially good for building friendships with members because you will be with the same leaguemates every year.

Fantasy football also motivates you to watch the actual games and cheer on the players that you have on your fantasy roster. There are many ways for league members to come up with a way to draft. You can draft online, through the app itself or come together to have an in person fantasy draft party or game watch party with the members in the league.

Fantasy football has reached many schools across the country including our very own Granite Bay High School Math Department. This is the second year the Math Department has done their own fantasy football league.

Mr. Honberger and Mr. Jones are in charge of the league, which means that they make sure the league is running smoothly. The math teachers came together and decided to do a 14-team PPR (points per reception) league with a head-to-head format.

“We’ll face off against each other the first 14 weeks of the season and the top eight teams will make the playoffs,” said Mr. Jones.

The points each team gets are dependent on how well the players do in their real weekly NFL games. The winner of the entire league gets bragging rights for the year as the best Math Department fantasy football player.

The first round of the Math Department fantasy football league has seen many different strategies. Honberger went with Los Angeles running back Austin Ekeler who finished as the RB1 (running back 1) last season. Mr Honberger mainly went with Austin Ekeler at pick #4 overall because he is very good for PPR leagues and can catch short passes.

On the other hand, Jones went with Wide Receiver Cooper Kupp who finished with one of the best seasons ever for a wide receiver back in 2021. Unfortunately for Kupp, he suffered an ankle sprain last season which only allowed him to play eight games during the regular season.

“My first pick was Cooper Kupp because I think he’s one of the top 3 WR in the league and will continue to dominate the target share in LA. He’s coming off an injury so some people are down on him this year, but I think he’s going to have a great season,” said Jones.

Mr. Fagan from the Math Department went with Eagles wide receiver A.J. Brown, who ended the season with nearly 1,500 yards and 11 touchdowns.

“I chose him because our league is a PPR and I wanted a solid receiver to anchor my offense. I enjoy the challenge of fantasy football and it also gives me a reason to watch more games on the weekends,” said Fagan.

The Math Department fantasy football league is going to be something very exciting to watch week after week.