Fantasy Football, but not football.
August 7, 2018 9:17 AM Subscribe
Fantasy football sounds like a lot of fun- except I have no interest in football. Are there other ‘fantasy _____’ leagues a person with other interests can join?
I do one day fantasy via Fanduel and DraftKings for auto racing (Yeah, Chase Elliot!), football, baseball and golf.
posted by AugustWest at 9:32 AM on August 7, 2018
posted by AugustWest at 9:32 AM on August 7, 2018
Keep in mind for baseball - there are A LOT of games.
posted by Chrysostom at 9:49 AM on August 7, 2018
posted by Chrysostom at 9:49 AM on August 7, 2018
The short answer is yes, yes there are. Online communities, like the kind found on Reddit, for example, are a great place to find this.
Cycling, F1, Ultimate frisbee are subs that I follow and even though I don't play fantasy I am aware that leagues exist.
ESPN and other sports outlets also have fantasy leagues for soccer, basketball and hockey.
The thing about them is that all you need is updated statistics for players in order to have something to build fantasy teams around, so theoretically Survivor, Dancing with the Stars, the Bachelor could all have fantasy leagues if someone takes the time to compile stats. (for all i know leagues do in fact exist for these shows, but i haven't encountered them)
posted by OHenryPacey at 9:57 AM on August 7, 2018
Cycling, F1, Ultimate frisbee are subs that I follow and even though I don't play fantasy I am aware that leagues exist.
ESPN and other sports outlets also have fantasy leagues for soccer, basketball and hockey.
The thing about them is that all you need is updated statistics for players in order to have something to build fantasy teams around, so theoretically Survivor, Dancing with the Stars, the Bachelor could all have fantasy leagues if someone takes the time to compile stats. (for all i know leagues do in fact exist for these shows, but i haven't encountered them)
posted by OHenryPacey at 9:57 AM on August 7, 2018
If you're super nerdy, you can create your own economics department.
posted by teleri025 at 10:37 AM on August 7, 2018
posted by teleri025 at 10:37 AM on August 7, 2018
I'm quite enjoying playing Motorsports Manager right now. And Super Mega Baseball 2 looks really fun. But maybe you're looking to interact with other humans.
posted by humboldt32 at 10:48 AM on August 7, 2018
posted by humboldt32 at 10:48 AM on August 7, 2018
If you are into Peak TV, The Verge has been running a Game of Game of Thrones fantasy league for a few seasons now.
posted by Rock Steady at 11:00 AM on August 7, 2018
posted by Rock Steady at 11:00 AM on August 7, 2018
In addition to fantasy football, I've played fantasy NASCAR and fantasy EPL before, and I've run a fantasy Bachelor league a couple of times. Leagues exist for nearly any competitive sport, and there are "stock" markets for betting on things as well (Intrade was the big brand name; it shut down a few years ago, but there are others.) And then there are dead pools, which I find tacky, but it's the same basic idea: you draft celebrities and get points when they die.
If you can't find what you're looking for, running your own league only requires Excel and access to reliable information. It's pretty easy and you can let your imagination run wild. You and your friends can draft local newspaper columnists and get points for each time they use certain phrases in their columns, for example.
I will also add that interest in football is not necessary to play fantasy football. In fact, some of the best fantasy team owners are people who don't know the first thing about the sport, and conversely, some of the worst are passionate fans who draft based on players' reputations. Fantasy is really about data analysis with a little intuition. Football stats are just the data set used for the analysis.
posted by kevinbelt at 11:01 AM on August 7, 2018
If you can't find what you're looking for, running your own league only requires Excel and access to reliable information. It's pretty easy and you can let your imagination run wild. You and your friends can draft local newspaper columnists and get points for each time they use certain phrases in their columns, for example.
I will also add that interest in football is not necessary to play fantasy football. In fact, some of the best fantasy team owners are people who don't know the first thing about the sport, and conversely, some of the worst are passionate fans who draft based on players' reputations. Fantasy is really about data analysis with a little intuition. Football stats are just the data set used for the analysis.
posted by kevinbelt at 11:01 AM on August 7, 2018
I used to LOVE playing the Hollywood Stock Exchange.
I haven't touched it in a dozen years.
They start you with $2M of fake money.
I used to OBSESS over opening weekend box office results.
Shorting movies, betting on the pipeline, it was ridiculous, but a great way to keep up with what's out there.
Right now, I have almost $530M in my account. I should start playing again.
posted by Major Matt Mason Dixon at 11:12 AM on August 7, 2018 [1 favorite]
I haven't touched it in a dozen years.
They start you with $2M of fake money.
I used to OBSESS over opening weekend box office results.
Shorting movies, betting on the pipeline, it was ridiculous, but a great way to keep up with what's out there.
Right now, I have almost $530M in my account. I should start playing again.
posted by Major Matt Mason Dixon at 11:12 AM on August 7, 2018 [1 favorite]
It's offline now, but back in peak American Idol days, I was in a fantasy American Idol league where the goal was to pick the bottom three each week. It's probably not an exaggeration to say there is a fantasy league for just about everything.
posted by COD at 11:29 AM on August 7, 2018
posted by COD at 11:29 AM on August 7, 2018
Fantasy site for reality TV - the Bachelor in Paradise first episode is tonight, so pick your team ASAP. 30 points for riding in a helicopter, but only 10 points for sitting in a hot tub, so choose wisely.
posted by true at 1:33 PM on August 7, 2018
posted by true at 1:33 PM on August 7, 2018
There are some Survivor and Big Brother fantasy games out there.
posted by bluesky78987 at 6:31 PM on August 8, 2018
posted by bluesky78987 at 6:31 PM on August 8, 2018
This thread is closed to new comments.
There’s Fantasy Movie League, which picks movies based on box office predictions.
ESPN has had a Bachelor/Bachelorette fantasy game, where you pick who you think will go how far.
You can also play a game with US Weekly, doing some sort of celebrity league. The defunct site Grantland used to have an ongoing column for a not-really-serious “Grantland Reality TV Fantasy League”.
posted by Huffy Puffy at 9:28 AM on August 7, 2018