Recent hype has heightened over an online fad – fantasy football. The hobby, now officially an online, national craze,  encourages football fanatics of all ages to hold competitions that put their knowledge of the NFL to the test.

“I compete with my whole family, kind of a family rivalry,” Marine Biology teacher Mr. Osuna said. “I enjoy the sport already, so it keeps me up to date with what’s going on with the players and the sport as a whole.”

Groups usually consist of 10 people who design personal leagues, draft players and compose their own “fantasy team.” There are free websites and apps created by large sports sponsors such as ESPN and NFL that facilitate in the team-making process. Individuals also have the option to decide whether or not they would like to include cash prizes.

“I’ve been a huge football fan since I was little, therefore, I love the idea of creating my own team and being able to compete against my friends,” sophomore Danny Ajabshir said. “It also doesn’t hurt that I make money out of it.”

Participants watch the games their players take part in and hope for increased performance points. The scores are totalled at the end of each week according to how they played. Later, they are compared within each league and the player with the largest sum of points is declared the winner.

“It’s all a game of pure strategy. You have to do research and figure out what your best options are,” sophomore Alec Lanzas said. “I choose players based off their records and injuries.”

Fantasy football goes hand and hand with the NFL season, it only lasts as long as the regular football season does. Therefore, towards the end of the 16-17 week season, the player with the most points overall is named “Best in the League.”

Many participants say that playing fantasy football allows them to learn about relatively undiscovered players and teams that potentially may earn high levels. If someone’s a fan of a bad team, they still have the option to feel apart of a greater whole and not get knocked out of the competition quite so fast.