HEMISPHERESMAGAZINE.COM
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OCTOBER2015
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ILLUSTRATIONBYBLAIRKELLY
49
E
veryyear,assummerturnstofall,millionsofAmericans
cast aside earthlyworries and enter a fantasyworld
populatedbysweatymen intinypolyesterpants.They
examine thesemenclosely,judging theirhistoriesand
predicting their futures.Then theychooseahandfulof them
toplayon their fantasy football teams.
These fantasydraftshavebecomeoneofAmerica’shomes
formale bonding (withwomen also increasingly getting in
on the act).The events bring friends together to talk sports
(not just football, but baseball,basketball andhockey), eat
unhealthy food,poreoverstatistical spreadsheetsandcriticize
eachother’s facial hair.Most fantasy sports enthusiasts agree
that thedraft experience is thebestpart of being ina fantasy
league;unfortunately,traditionaldraftshappenonlyonceayear.
In the last fewyears,however,anewvariationon thegame
haspoppedup:dailyfantasysports,orDFS,whichallowpeople
todraftanewteameachday.Now,competitionsthathavetypi-
cally lasted formonthsarebeingcondensed intoa fewhours.
“Itgivespeopleasenseof immediategratification,”saysPaul
Charchian,presidentoftheFantasySportsTradeAssociation
the fan
OneDayataTime
Dailycompetition ismaking thegreatAmericanpastime,
fantasy sports, evenmore immersive for fans
BYADAMK. RAYMOND
hemi culture
