Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen is currently the No. 1 fantasy player in the position.
Courtesy of @buffalobills on Instagram
By Anthony Rivera
The National Football League (NFL) is officially back, which means so is the time-consuming hobby played by countless college students across the country –– fantasy football.
For those unfamiliar with the online game, users create their own football team that consists of actual NFL players and are awarded points based off those players’ performances in real life.
If someone drafts Tom Brady as their fantasy football team’s quarterback and he throws for 250 yards and three passing touchdowns in a Buccaneers’ game, the fantasy team will be awarded 22 points — one point per 25 passing yards and four points per touchdown.
The nationwide phenomenon is enjoyed by a variety of players, ranging from die-hard gamblers who practically live in front of their TV on Sundays, to those who just play casually with friends.
Of these fantasy football fanatics is Michael McCredy, a freshman business major at the University of South Florida St. Petersburg (USFSP).
McCredy was introduced to the game back in 2018 when his uncle invited him to a family league, and he’s been hooked ever since. He’s now the head commissioner in one of his leagues and even has specific strategies for choosing his players.
“I participate in multiple mock drafts before my real drafts to get insight and practice,” McCredy said. “I tend to draft running backs and wide receivers first, and then later pick a quarterback because there are a variety of good ones to choose from.”
McCredy, who originally grew up in New Jersey, is a big fan of the Philadelphia Eagles, so he made sure to draft some of his favorite hometown players like quarterback Jalen Hurts and wide receiver A.J. Brown. He admitted that drafting favorite players is sometimes risky because of personal bias, but luckily, it’s been working out for him so far this season.
Aside from winning the championship, McCredy says one of his favorite parts about fantasy football is being able to play with his family and friends and watch the games together, either at home or a sports bar.
Another dedicated fantasy football participant is Josh Degaetano, a fourth-year digital communication and multimedia journalism major at USF St. Petersburg.
Degaetano says he began his fantasy football journey in 2017 and now finds that it has become one of the biggest reasons why he looks forward to the NFL season.
“I enjoy it because it gives me something to do with my friends,” Degaetano said. “I’m always down for a competition.”
Unlike McCredy, Degaetano says that he rarely ever drafts players from his favorite team, the New England Patriots, because of the team’s offensive play schemes and its usage of a variety of different players.
Degaetano is a huge sports fan and says he can simply “never consume enough.” He believes fantasy football adds a whole new excitement factor to the NFL season.
If you are interested in starting your fantasy football career, grab a group of friends or sign up by yourself on websites such as ESPN, NFL or Yahoo.
