Fantasy Sports Is Here To Stay
Not exactly a news flash, but if anyone thinks fantasy sports are an isolated fad, they are crazy. And this is proof:
In todays Pittsburgh-Jacksonville playoff game (and likely, the prior game between the Seahawks and the Redskins), the NFL aired a commercial for it's own Fantasy Football Playoff Contest.
First of all, giving up that ad revenue is a pretty big decision, and the fact that - shudder with me here - they did it to that godawful "So You Had A Bad Day"song -- means it was an expensive decision. But the fact that it's for a fantasy football PLAYOFF game is, to me, the proof in the proverbial pudding.
Look, I know a LOT of people who play fantasy football, and it's quite clearly a huge industry that most folks accept is no longer a fringe interest. But I know fairly few people who, like me, play fantasy football playoffs. It's GREAT, and in some ways like a salary cap league that occurs during the regular season. But it's far less common.
A fantasy football playoff commercial is pretty ridiculous. And I love it. Just lose the song.
As for the first playoff game, I was shocked to see that every ESPN football columnist picked the Redskins to win - though in fairness, I think Bill Simmons picked the Hawks. While Seattle isn't great, they seemed to be - before and during the game - a notably better team. I'm not sure how to say this without it sounding crass and insensitive so let me preclude it by saying that I feel horribly about the loss of Sean Taylor, and I don't doubt for a second that it helped motivate the team to play better over the last few weeks. But that can only take one so far, and going into Seattle is always tough to do. The reality is that the Redskins are a very decent team, but in really no aspect of their game are they extremely good. You can't really go deep in the playoffs that way, even if you are inspired.
But, good on ya, Redskins. As for Seattle, going into Green Bay is going to be just as tough for them as it was for the Skins today. That should be a great game and we'll be watching it up in Tahoe.
Yeah, boy.