In our latest edition of NBA Fantasy Timeout, discuss the difficulty of rooting for our “real” team vs our fantasy team
It’s Sunday on a cold evening in mid-March. While others are freezing their buns outside, you’re sweating out a possible heads-up victory in your fantasy league that will ensure a playoff spot. All of your opponent’s players are done and you’ve got Kevin Durant facing a leaky Kings defense that’s already scouting their latest lottery pick. Your fantasy team is already up 5-4, but can claim two more categories if KD can pour in 35 points and 2-plus three-pointers.
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Here’s the dilemma. You live in Sacramento. You’ve lived there your entire life. Grew up a Kings fan. You’ve witnessed Mitch Richmond at his (soon-to-be) hall-of-fame height. You were clanging your cowbell as Jason Williams threw dazzling passes to Chris Webber.
So, the question is very simple. Who do you cheer for?
This is a question that has fascinated me for the 15 years I’ve been playing fantasy sports. My thinking has always been to cheer for both. Durant can go off for 50 points and seven 3’s, as long as my “real” team wins. Does that make me any less of a fan of my real team if I quietly fist-pump every time the opponent’s star drains another three? What if your real team wins, but your fantasy team loses?
A quick poll among friends, garnered the following responses:
"“Definitely (favourite real team), fantasy winnings are nice, but the pride you get from your home-town team winning is worth more.”“You cheer for both. You don’t want (fantasy superstar) to have the greatest game of all time, but you want him to hit his averages and have the (real team) win. You cheer for (fantasy superstar) whole heartedly if it’s a (fantasy) playoff game.”“Always reality. Which is why you never mix fantasy with reality.”"
Not a huge surprise. Most people will side with their home team. I live in Toronto and have experienced the joy of cheering on a playoff-bound franchise. Mind you, that’s not much to brag about when those teams include the Blue Jays (playoff-bound, finally, after 22 years!), Leafs (ugh!), and Raptors (20 seasons; 1 playoff series win). At this point, just making the playoffs can cause riots!
The four major sports combine for 124 teams. That’s four champions and 120 losers. Most fantasy leagues are 10 – 12 team leagues. One champion and 11 losers. Not a bad ratio, don’t you think?
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Your fantasy team is your baby. You did your own research, read various fantasy articles, kept up with injury reports, figured out your sleepers, drafted your own team, and made the necessary waiver/trade acquisitions. Is it wrong to think that the smarter investment – financially and *gulp* emotionally – would be in fantasy? If your average fantasy league has a $50 buy-in, that’s a full season of trades, taunts, and tirades. That same investment isn’t even worth two decent tickets for your local team’s weeknight game vs a lottery-bound team.
By no means am I saying that your fantasy team is more important, especially if you cheer for a front-running team. It’s all about context. Celebrating your fantasy championship pales in comparison to your local team’s playoff success. But those opportunities are few and normally end in disappointment. Imagine being a basketball fan from Philadelphia this year – knowing they’re likely headed for another high draft pick in 2016. Would you blame a Sixers fan if they were happy to see Kyle Korver nail eight 3’s while visiting Wells Fargo Center, assuming it led to some fantasy glory?
Have you experienced this problem of fantasy vs. reality before? Do those worlds collide when you draft? In other words, do you specifically draft/avoid players from your favourite team? Share your thoughts and stories below!