Fantasy or Fact

For men who deeply wish they could experience the feeling of being a part of a professional sports organization, but lack the big size, explosive speed, and athletic agility to play professional sports; Fantasy football is a dream come true. Fantasy football is a game that originated in 1962 from a genius idea of Bill Winkenbach, then a limited partner in the Oakland Raiders, with assistance from Bill Tunnell, the Raiders' public relations man, Scotty Stirling, the beat writer from the Oakland Tribune, and George Ross, the Tribune's sports editor, as well as Philip Carmona, Winkenbach's friend. Fantasy Football is a fantasy game that allows participants -called owners- to create their own fantasy team using players from all over the National Football League(NFL). The game requires extensive knowledge about team organizations, player positions and stats, injuries, salary caps, and trading deadlines. Fantasy Football has become a subculture in American sports with an estimated 18 million adults participating each year. According to Scott Linzer, director of media with iCrossing, a digital marketing agency, "Marketing research has shown the average fantasy football player to be predominantly male, married, in a high income bracket." However, the research fail to mention that 6% to 10% of those fantasy football participants are women.

Although fantasy football is marketed towards men, it also appeals to women because of its intellectual, strategic, and competitive elements. Female presence on the sideline provide balance and diversity to professional sports, and their visual existence is significant to the potential growth of female sports journalists. Not only do women enjoy writing about professional sports and playing fantasy football, but they also enjoy competing in their own professional Women's Football League.