Lipscomb students are, like millions of fantasy football combatants across the country, gearing up for the playoffs.
Many opt to join a random league, but plenty also partake in a private league with people they know, and that play has the added benefit of helping players bond.
For Lipscomb senior Tyler Summers, joining a league with his friends has been the most fun way to participate.
“I love fantasy football,” Summers, a Bible major, said. “It’s always fun being in a league with the guys so that you can talk trash to them all week.”
Summers is in three fantasy football leagues and enjoys the sense of community that comes with each one.
“I’m in a league with people from Smyrna Church of Christ where I interned for two years and two different Lipscomb leagues,” Summers said. “It’s great having a group of guys that you can have some friendly competition with and exchange some smack talk leading up to the game.”
Many enjoy the community a league tends to bring.
However, each game must have one winner and one loser. Lipscomb senior Ethan Johnson has been on the losing end of a lot of his fantasy football games.
“Both of my teams suck,” Johnson said. “I’m an engineering major; you would think I’d eventually devise a winning team, but that hasn’t happened for me this year.”
Johnson is in two leagues. In one league, he has a record of 3-9 and is in 13th place out of 14 teams. In his other league he is 4-8, but is in last place out of eight teams. “This just hasn’t been my year,” said Johnson, shrugging his shoulders.
Even though it has not been his year, Johnson still said that being in a fantasy football league is something he wants to do again next year.
“At the end of the day doing fantasy football has enhanced some of my friendships,” Johnson said.
“It provides an extra topic of conversation with a select group of people, and it’s fun to talk trash, too. I guess that’s kind of a guy thing.”