Intro
This article is another one of my more fluffy pieces. I did one last week on the life of a fantasy football creator, where I talked about some of the challenges of writing and creating content in this space. Now, I want to step into a different arena.
Let’s talk about something that rarely gets mentioned, but I feel it is essential. There are two kinds of fantasy football managers in your leagues: those who care most about winning and those who care most about having fun. I know that sounds overly simplified, but I think mostly true.
Honestly, I think having a mix of both types of managers makes for the best league. A league full of one kind or the other will often devolve into specific problems. If the league is all people who focus on winning, it will be cutthroat and overly competitive. The people in the league won’t make friends, and they could even break the friendships they had previously.
However, if the league is so casual and all about fun, it takes away from the competition’s integrity. Fantasy football is like any competitive game or sport; there are winners and losers, or in this case, one winner and some losers. Therefore, it’s hard to have fair competition if your leaguemates don’t all care about the outcome.
The Competitive Managers
I fall into this group. In fact, I’m too competitive, and I take this style to an extreme that makes me at least somewhat unpopular in almost every league I play in. I’m well-known for doing anything to win, yes, literally anything. I don’t know how to play any other way, but there’s a silver lining to my competitive spirit.
While I love to bring 100% to fantasy football, I found a new way to do that in my content. If I work every day creating articles or answering questions, it doesn’t bother anyone or cause any issues. That’s why I’m so glad I found my role as a creator because it allows me to channel that intensity to a better place. Plus, my leaguemates are thankful.
But that’s enough about me. I’ve come across plenty of competitive managers, but they do so calmly. Those are probably my favorite people to play fantasy football with, and I think that’s perhaps the ideal goal for most players. Be competitive enough to win, but don’t be a complete monster.
The Fun Lovers
Look, I don’t want to be too harsh on this group. At the end of the day, fantasy football is supposed to be fun. I think we all want to enjoy ourselves while playing the game we all love.
With that said, there are certain behaviors that some fantasy managers continuously do in the name of fun that I can’t stand. Most of these actions come up more frequently in dynasty leagues, as there are more trading and more interaction between leaguemates. The main problem tends to arise when this archetype makes terrible moves for the sake of fun. They might trade for a player they like at a lousy value simply because they want that player.
While there’s nothing wrong with building a dynasty team the way you like, I do think there’s a dividing line. I know plenty of dynasty managers that have a slight bias toward players from their favorite teams or against those from their least favorite teams. I have nothing wrong with that approach because it’s generally not a big deal. However, if someone trades Ezekiel Elliott for Antonio Gibson because they hate the Cowboys and love Washington, that would represent a problem.
Final Thoughts
Overall, I understand that not everybody takes fantasy football as seriously as I do. I’ve always tried to gain insight into how people see this game, and I’m curious if I nailed this one or if I’m way off. How are your leagues, and how is the mix of fantasy managers? I suspect one of the most significant factors is the buy-in amount for the league, but maybe that’s not true either. Anyway, I just wanted to put this out there and see where it goes. I like sharing some of my more personal thoughts, and I want to do that throughout the season.
Thanks for reading this article. You can find me on Twitter at @DFF_Karp. I love to interact with anyone in the community, so reach out at any time! I take fantasy questions and help with all formats, so keep sending those questions my way.
