While comradery commences across the 30 NFL stadiums on Sunday afternoons, students can form new relationships through a simple game. Fantasy football is a popular game among people of all ages, and inside the school, students are meeting for the first time through the game. 

Fantasy football is a points-based game where users can draft a team of real NFL players that get points based on their on-field performance through yardage and touchdowns. The game has become more readily accessible through mobile phone applications and has recently boomed in popularity. The accessibility of the game is leading students that would otherwise never meet to build new friendships. One student, junior Cade Flannery, says he has made several new friends through the game.

“I started playing fantasy football about three years ago,” Flannery said. “At first I thought it was just going to be a fun game, but now I look back on it and I have gotten way closer to the people in my league and have even started to hang out with some of them.” 

While Flannery just began playing several years ago, math teacher Kevin Ritter began playing decades ago and has kept several relationships throughout the nearly 30 years from the game. 

“I started playing with my friends in elementary school.  There are four of us who have played in the same league since 1992,” Ritter said. “In the 90’s you would pick your team with a draft at your friend’s house and the only way you scored were touchdowns, 100 yards rushing, 100 yards passing, or 300 yards passing.  We are currently in a league now with 10 players but I believe we will play this until one of us is too old to know what is going on.”

While the game has had influences on Ritter’s friendships, he says the game can also have an impact on professional relationships.

“I have made multiple friends when guys come and go from our league,” Ritter said. ”It definitely can increase your personal network if you meet with the guys in person and get to know them. That can go a long way in the future to helping you in your professional life if one of them has connections that can help you.”

The game has been a constant part of Ritter’s life, and he even hosts a rethink for the game every Thursday for students interested in the game. One student, junior Sutton Clark, is a member of the rethink and says he enjoys the friendships that he has made through the group. 

“The fantasy football rethink has been extremely fun,” Clark said. “I have gotten into new leagues since I joined and have already made new relationships from constantly interacting with people in the league. I have liked the opportunity to bring something that is not normally in school to rethink.”

This story was originally published on The Insight on November 11, 2021.