Ever wonder why so many football fans go crazy and start looking into random players in July or August? Welcome to Fantasy Football. Fantasy football is a virtual game where a fan assembles a team of NFL players, and earn points based on their real, in-game performance throughout the season. Teams compete for a championship, commonly money or bragging rights, in a league. But what about the worst team? Some may have seen fantasy players doing embarrassing things after a season but why? They do this because they finished last in the league and the members decide to punish them for doing so bad.
The punishments are designed to be for the last-place player of each league and are done as an act of motivation for next season. Punishments are now starting to be seen here at Trinity.
Sophomore Gino Lesako had fallen victim to the punishments as he finished last in his league. His form of punishment is posted on TikTok for all his friends to see.
Some underestimate the embarrassment that comes with these punishments.
Lesako stated, “Yes, the punishments are worse than I thought. I never thought I’d be on all fours meowing at a camera.”
Posting on social media is a popular punishment for most players, but some can be taken even further, as the winner of each league is in control of what punishments are imposed.
Some make the loser post embarrassing videos every day for a set period of time. Other punishments are public performances, 24-hour challenges and wearing embarrassing costumes in public.
The purpose of these embarrassing punishments is for the entertainment of the rest of the league.
Sophomore Evan Klick stated, “I think they are funny and are well deserved.”
Although some have mixed opinions on whether or not these punishments go too far or not, they are overall done for the pleasure of the winner. Some punishments are based on who scored the least amount of points in the season.
Each week, the team’s total fantasy points are compared to each opponent, and the team with more points wins the matchup. The overall goal for the season is to continue to pick players who are performing well on the field, as they will rack up points for a player’s team. Many jump into the waiver wire to pick up players who are replacing injured players, players who are performing well, or just getting simple depth players.
Many last place players are there due to injuries or just getting unlucky with their draft and not getting the right players to replace them.
Lesako said, “Omarion Hampton was my worst pick because he got hurt in week three.”
After the regular season ends, a certain number of teams are qualified for the playoffs based on their win-loss record.
If a tie were to happen, the team that won more matchups previously would receive the higher seed, or in some leagues, they may use a coin flip to determine who wins the match. Some base off of head to head matchups or who scored more points in a season.
The playoff tournament is single elimination over four weeks and continues until only one team remains. Each matchup of the four teams that make it is two weeks long. Round one being weeks 15 and 16, Round two being weeks 17 and 18. Some leagues have consolation brackets for the remaining teams that did not make it to the playoffs.
Although one may place last during the current season, the results don’t carry over from one session to the next, so players have a chance to get revenge on the league with the first overall pick next year.
