Did you know that you can major with a focus in race track industry at the UA? What is that? You can major in history, women’s studies, psychology, physics and other ridiculous and unnecessary topics. It’s time we introduce a major that will be more useful to people in the real world: fantasy football.
If I can major in any of these things, if I can take “”Survey of Mexican Folk Music”” here at the UA, “”Simpsons and Philosophy”” at the University of California, Berkeley, “”Age of Piracy”” at ASU or even “”Lost Wax Sculpture Casting”” at Pima Community College, then why shouldn’t I be able to take a class focusing on fantasy football?
The UA wants to make money, right? You’re not going to attract a lot of students to the Germanic studies major, so why not shake things up a bit? It’s estimated in a Harris Interactive study that almost 30 million people play fantasy sports in the U.S. alone, the large majority participating in fantasy football. The industry, according to a study by Challenger, Gray and Christmas Inc., costs businesses over 4 billion dollars in lost revenue and productivity every year. This shows that fantasy football is a foe too great — and if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em. A sentiment shared by the study, which suggests that by banning fantasy football, the damage to relationships and moral could easily be more costly than the short amount of time employees spend online managing their fantasy team.
Fantasy football doesn’t merely sap money from businesses, it has created numerous careers and tens of thousands of jobs while generating billions of dollars — more than can be said for the field of archaeology (Attention archaeology/anthropology majors: it’s not too late to look at something else!).
How is it then that I can major in anthropology and not fantasy football? Who decides that anthropology is more deserving of study than fantasy football?
Think about all the real world applications of the skills developed by playing fantasy football. Talent recognition, for example, is an important tool to have. You evaluate and choose players based on their talent and your expectations for their performance. You do the same as a manager. Sometimes you get resumes from college graduates, rookies who don’t have a lot of experience off of which to base hiring decisions, and instead have to base the decision on their potential.
For example, I drafted Vernon Davis, the tight end for the San Francisco 49ers, his rookie year because of his incredible athleticism and potential for NFL success. He was a bust, big time, playing in only 10 games and averaging 26 yards and two catches per, and being out with an injury for the other six games. My mistake. And from it I learned to be more cautious and spend less money on rookies rather than making big commitments with high risks.
It only seems fitting that classes in fantasy football be offered, seeing as how the first documented fantasy sport league was created by a Harvard professor and Guggenheim Fellowship recipient, William Gamson, who competed with his colleagues in a primitive fantasy baseball league in 1960.
What mathematics professor wouldn’t enjoy teaching a “”Statistics of Fantasy Football”” course? What student wouldn’t want to take a “”Sociology of MLB”” course, or a class on the “”Philosophy of Bill Belichick””? Sorry, but they sound more interesting than boring old “”Ethnic Relations in the U.S.”” or “”Ancient Philosophy.””
Fantasy football brings people together in social situations and offers a fun hobby for everyone, even those who aren’t fans. It’s a great way to generate interest in a sport and even in school it should be made available as an area of study. If it’s something a person really loves it could quickly blossom into a career as a fantasy sports researcher, writer or statistician. Or you could become one of the many marketers targeting the 18 to 39 year olds who play fantasy sports, one of the lawyers who arbitrates fantasy disputes or one of the people employed by the insurance companies that offer coverage to people’s fantasy studs should they go down with an injury.
This isn’t for me, people. I’m a senior. I feel that the coming generations of Wildcats deserve a chance to study something they love, and nobody loves physics, am I right? Right now I love Steve Smith from the New York Giants and the fact I picked him up for 2 dollars. I would love to have a job related to fantasy football.
— Christopher Ward is a junior majoring in English. He can be
reached at letters@wildcat.arizona.edu.
