Living the life of a fantasy sports guy

By JEFF CASPERSEN/Post Independent Staff

One bookmark on my laptop's Web browser dominates all others in terms of times clicked.

It reads "Sign into Yahoo!"

I bring up the page, punch in my user name and password, and I'm in.

Into a constantly growing world swarming with addicts and junkies. Only you won't find these vagrants crouched on street corners begging passers-by for spare change to feed their habit.

Instead, you'll find them slouched over their computers, agonizing over statistics and desperately trying to predict the sports future.

If you've yet to figure it out, I'm talking about the world of fantasy sports.

And count me among the addicts.

It all started probably four years ago. A colleague invited me to join a fantasy baseball league. Intrigued, I accepted.

Now I had never been much of a fantasy sports guy before that. The whole concept seemed, well, dorky. But the idea of competing against friends and co-workers was all too enticing.

Despite obsessively tweaking lineups and rushing to nab emerging stars from free-agent pools, I didn't fare so well that first season. But, if there's one thing to know about me, it's that I'm addicted to competition. I was hooked.

And, over the past four years, my fantasy sports addiction has grown exponentially. To the point that I played in four football leagues last year and am currently battling it out in two baseball leagues, a golf league and - this one's embarrassing - a NASCAR league.

Yes, a NASCAR league. You should see the trash talk littering the message board in that one ...

So what other sports have fantasy leagues? My friend Google and I did a little exploring.

Beyond the aforementioned, we found leagues for hockey, cricket, the Canadian Football League, English Premier League soccer and the Arena Football League.

I'm sure that's barely scratching the surface.

I even stumbled across fantasy celebrity leagues, where you select celebs and receive points based on the press coverage they receive or what magazine covers they grace.

And, for the poli-sci geeks, there's even Fantasy Congress, where you draft members of the House and Senate and track their participation within the U.S. Congress.

I'm not kidding.

I'm feeling much less nerdy now.

Besides, I'm far from alone in the Titanic-sized fantasy sports boat. An estimated 16 million adults in the U.S., 18 to 55 years old, play fantasy sports. That's not even counting international participation.

Fantasy sports have such a presence in this country that the Fantasy Sports Trade Association took form in 1999 to represent the industry. There's even the Fantasy Sports Writers Association, formed in 2004 for scribes penning solely about fantasy sports.

See, this is credible stuff. Right?

Seriously, there are benefits to fantasy sports.

For starters, playing can be a unifying practice, boosting camaraderie among co-workers or friend groups. There's nothing like friendly competition to expose one's true character.

As a new sports reporter here at the Post Independent, participation in our completely wager-free (gambling is illegal, kids!) NCAA Tournament Pool back in March served as a handy tool for introduction to my new co-workers.

As a sports reporter, participation in fantasy sports only fortifies my sports knowledge. There's no better way to memorize statistics or track up-and-coming stars than by perusing free-agent lists or league-mate's rosters for trade ideas.

Honestly, there's no way I'd know half the Milwaukee Brewers' lineup if not for their slew of fantasy heavyweights. Prince Fielder, J.J. Hardy: You rule.

How else would I know that the Pittsburgh Pirates have a pair of wonderful young arms in Tom Gorzelanny and Ian Snell?

Thank you, fantasy sports, for your shining presence in my life.

Now, if you excuse me, I have to go start up a CFL fantasy league and set my NASCAR lineup for the week.

Should I start Mark Martin or Clint Bowyer?

Contact Jeff Caspersen at 384-9123 or jcaspersen@postindependent.com.