Winners or losers: participants in fantasy games redefine leisure sports

Parks & Recreation, Feb, 2004 by Joseph P. Flood

According to a study conducted by the Office of Communication and Marketing at Indiana University (2000), about twenty percent of the respondents listed two primary reasons they joined a fantasy league--to pass time and for something to do at work. Findings also indicated that time spent on fantasy sites were slightly higher at home than at work. However, the actual time spent engaged in fantasy sport activity is difficult to pin down. Respondents often miscalculate, or fudge about what and how much they actually play. In a pilot study, Flood (2003) asked a fantasy league manager how much time per week he spent participating in fantasy sports during his team's season. The manager responded that each week he spent 15 hours, both managing the site and watching the games in real time on television.

As recreational professionals, ask yourselves whether this level of participation influences a parent's ability to teach their son or daughter how to play catch with a baseball, build a tree house, swing a racket, or learn the skill of fly-fishing Is this in fact a valid substitute for kicking a soccer ball or actually swimming laps? Will parental involvement in fantasy sports result in a failure to spend enough quality time with their children? Moreover, park and recreation professionals need to investigate the potential health care costs our society will incur as Americans move into an increasingly sedentary lifestyle. Today childhood and adult obesity as well as diabetes and heart disease, are becoming alarmingly more frequent medical issues. One challenge to the recreation profession is to begin investigating the influence fantasy sports has on families. A second challenge is whether parks should facilitate fantasy sports: For instance are teen recreation centers an appropriate location to facilitate this kind of activity? Recreation and park professionals can choose to be in the driver's seat as look in the rearview mirror. Although participants recognize few downsides to their participation, it seems prudent to monitor and continue investigating the long-term effects of this rapidly growing phenomenon.

Fantasizing About the Future

As park and recreation professionals position themselves for the future, they need to face this new and wildly popular "virtual reality" of fantasy sports and decide if it has long-term social ramifications or if it's simply a passing phase in the evolution of recreation and leisure. Although growing numbers of fantasy sport players enjoy the fun and relatively carefree experience of owning and running a team, it is important to remain cognizant of the potential problems directly resulting from this inactivity Park and recreation professionals must determine if the potential benefits of fantasy leisure outweigh the potential harm: Loss of quality family time, healthy interpersonal relationships, and sedentary lifestyles, which foster health problems.

Most importantly, park professionals need to deckle if creating a virtual world is easier, and more reliable, as well as being more palatable for the younger generation than the one their parents experienced. The question is whether fantasy sports are "recreation wise" when television and computer screens dominate people's free time.