My first article for Let’s Fantasy Game was The “Why” Behind Steve Pimental. In that piece, I describe my journey with women’s sports and how that brought me to the Let’s Fantasy Game team. But there is another why that is also important to me, and that is why I play fantasy games. I believe the people in my life who don’t play fantasy think I just do it to try to win money, and there is certainly some truth to that. One of the reasons I rarely play daily fantasy baseball is that I know I would essentially be lighting money on fire. If I don’t feel like I have much of a chance to win, I am less motivated to play. That being said, there are several other reasons that I play that have nothing to do with money, some of which I have never seen discussed outside of group texts with my buddies. I wanted to share them with you today in the hopes they might help someone else find their own “why”.

Reason Number One: Cheer on players I like to root for.

In a future article, I will get more into which players I like to root for and why, but I enjoy having a little extra incentive to cheer on the players I like. For me, this comes out most when I’m playing fantasy golf. I don’t know if it is because golf is an individual sport versus a team sport, or because I wind up playing multiple lineups, but I often devote one lineup entirely to players I like.

Again, there is some element of wanting to win. I won’t play someone if I don’t think they have a chance, but it makes it even more fun when that lineup does well.

While I sometimes construct entire fantasy lineups with players I like, I more often use my personal feelings as a tie-breaker. If I have a close decision between two players, I’ll default to the player I most want to root for. At the end of the day, fantasy is supposed to be fun, and while winning is fun, cheering on players I like is also fun.

Reason Number Two: Hedge my bets emotionally

When I’m rooting for a team, especially in a big game, I sometimes pick against them for my fantasy teams. For instance, if I’m cheering on Chicago Stars FC against Portland Thorns, I will play the Thorns for fantasy. The idea behind this is if the Stars win, I won’t care how I did in fantasy. If the Stars lose, there is a good chance I won some money. It is a good way to have my cake and eat it too.

LFG’s fantasy offerings, powered by Sparket and Fantasy Sports EVO are perfect for this, since you can play an entire team in your fantasy contests, rather than needing to choose individual players from that team.

Reason Number Three: Stay more engaged in a live sporting event

There is something to be said for entering a fantasy lineup in the morning, going and living my life during the day, and then logging on at the end of the day to see how I did. There is also something to be said for sweating out every play and watching your fantasy fortune swing as a result. This is especially true for me when I am attending an event live. I watch every play with increased interest when there is a little something extra on the line. This is especially true if I’m watching a game that doesn’t feature one of my hometown teams. If I’m on vacation in a new city and want to check out a game, a fantasy contest is the perfect way to make that game even more interesting.

Reason Number Four: Talking with friends

Finding Julia Lopez Ramirez during my research for the U.S. Women’s Open was exciting, as was winning my FRL bet (even though we split it six ways) and rooting her on all weekend. I was even more excited because she was one of my six players to watch coming into the tournament. Knowing that I had shared my research with our Let’s Fantasy Game community and that they were rooting for her too, was thrilling.

That is often how I approach fantasy sports with my friends. We share our research and players we like, and argue when we disagree. We brag about our successes and lament when luck is not on our side. There are plenty of times I have only played a fantasy game because my friends were too, and I didn’t want to be left out.

Reason Number Five: Utilize my knowledge

I cannot tell you how many times I will read an article or listen to a podcast or watch a game and learn something that I will immediately try to use for fantasy. I’ll decide I need to use Skylar Diggins, and then I will build the rest of my fantasy lineup around her. I obviously love these sports and learning more about them; using that knowledge for a fantasy game feels like the natural next step. Just like I want to share my fantasy insights with my friends and the LFG community, I want to put them to use in fantasy contests as well. What is the point of knowing that Brittney Sykes leads the league in free throw attempts if you don’t play her in a fantasy contest when she faces a team that fouls a lot?

I have played fantasy sports for nearly 30 years, so I am sure I am forgetting some of the reasons I do it. Let us know on Discord or social media why you fantasy game.