There’s a lot more to fantasy football than the glitz and the glamour, the ladies hanging off every open arm and all that time spent in well-lit rooms, but in all seriousness, there’s a side to it that rarely gets talked about in blogs, expert sites and in mainstream media coverage.
It’s the fraternity of fantasy football–the camaraderie of being with your buddies, competing against them and, of course, shaming them in open forums.
You play to win your league, to trash-talk endlessly and to add an element of excitement to your football watching, but along with that, you grow closer to your leaguemates, brothers and sisters in the fantasy football experience, that can last for years as long as the fantasy football league exists.
One of the best parts of trying to put together a trade, which I’m doing a lot of this week, is getting back in touch with your friends who you may not have spoken to in a few weeks, months or years, especially if their trade prospects in fantasy football haven’t been very good for several seasons.
In documentary style, “10 Yards: Fantasy Football” follows one entire NFL season in a special fantasy football league, a league which has stayed together over several post-college years through marriage and babymaking. The league battles for Twinkies, not cash.
The film tracks the records of three teams in the league, but more importantly, it focuses on the relationships, the good times and bad, had by all the fantasy footballers of the Intergalactic Championship League.
The director and editor of the film also got a chance to interview several of the men behind the creation of fantasy football, fantasy football experts around the U.S. and current NFL players who comment on the increased popularity fantasy football has brought to kickers. You know the kickers love it.
Sure, I could make a joke about playing for Twinkies, the odd team names or commissioner j.fred’s costumes and mustache, but this movie was a really good watch. I highly recommend it, and I didn’t get a chance to give it justice by reviewing it last season when it was released.
Now, it’s available to watch on YouTube [UPDATE: No longer available on YouTube], but I suggest you also buy the DVD for the commentary and special features. It’s worth it for a few more scenes with j.fred in action.
If you have a spouse or significant other who calls fantasy football nerdy, silly or otherwise harasses you about your addiction, before divorcing them, you should make them watch “10 Yards.” It’s possible that it could save your relationship.
Of course, it could just reinforce what s/he already thinks of your growing neglect of everything outside of fantasy football. Your call, buddy, but you should watch it and buy it if you feel the same way I do.
UPDATE: The film is no longer available on YouTube, but you can now watch it for free online at SnagFilms (embedded below).
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[Disclosure: Fantasy Football Fools received a review copy of “10 Yards: Fantasy Football” on DVD. http://cmp.ly/1]
This documentary by far is the most ridiculous I have ever seen. A bunch of film nerds acting like they know fantasy football. It’s a joke. No “real” FF fan would like this. I mean seriously. There was no football atmosphere at all, not one of you geeks wore anything NFL, nor did you know anything. And real fans can spot fake retards when theyn see them. I am just glad that you gave me one more reason for not watching the Documentary Channel EVER again… Next documentary you should do, is film each other taking a football class together. DORKS, leave this kinda crap up to Damon and Affleck
You have to wear NFL gear to be a fantasy football fan? That’s one take. I’ve heard the counterpoint that no one should wear jerseys but the players, but to each is own. As far as the documentary is concerned, I think it does a great job of showing the dynamic between a fantasy football league, even if it’s not the most expert group of fantasy football pros out there. They do talk to a few of the original fantasy football creators and NFL players, which was authentic enough for me. Again, you’re certainly entitled to your opinion, but that’s my two cents.
I’ve heard good and bad things about this documentary. It’s hard to take one person’s opinion as your own, so I’ll just have to wait and watch this one on my own – preferably for free somewhere.