SPORTS
Fantasy sports and me do not see eye to eye
With the National Football League starting this Thursday, the last few weeks have been prime time for the hundreds of thousands of fantasy football leagues to narrow down who they want to invite.
During this time, if you are a person who has expressed even a glimmer of interest in football to anyone you know, chances are someone will message you about joining their fantasy football league.
For those who do not know, fantasy sports are where fans draft real life players and earn points on a weekly basis based on how well they perform week-to-week. Fans can choose any professional sports league they care about to participate, but the most popular and accessible is a league following the NFL.
With almost all of the games in a week happening on one day and a head-to-head format, football is just easier to follow and an easier commitment for some casual fans. It is expected in this day and age if you are any kind of sports fan who knows how the internet works, you must play fantasy football. I am not one of those and people seem genuinely shocked when they find out.
As a kid who got into watching and following sports in fourth grade, about four years before some of my peers really started diving into that world themselves, sports has always been a personal interest for me.
Even if it was not widely popular amongst the general public, sports would be something I would be just as into. I am not a social sports fan, like my sister Carla who got into sports in her mid 20s riding the bandwagon of the Texas Rangers back-to-back World Series appearances in the early 2010s, likes all the social aspects of being a sports fan. She loves going to games, interacting with her favorite teams fan bases, buying team gear and has finally gotten enough courage to dip her toe into the fantasy sports scene. I love that about sports, it’s just not how I choose to consume them. The thing that really turns me off to fantasy sports is the potential situation of having to choose between rooting for the players on my fantasy team to do great when they are playing the actual team I root for. I have seen it first hand where Andrew was rooting for an opposing player to do well, but still hope Dallas wins.
I do not want to face those dilemmas. I’ll cheer individual players on other teams because I like them and will wish for their demise when they play the Cowboys. It’s just that simple for me as a fan, but for some fantasy sports players, their drafted players doing well mean more than if their team happened to win that day. Money is on the line in most cases.
I know fantasy sports are not going away and are only getting bigger. With the advent of daily fantasy becoming bigger, fantasy sports are just getting more and more accessible when it comes to other sports like basketball, baseball and soccer.
I see the value and entertainment value behind it, I just wish people would stop being shocked I do not participate.
To read the full story, pick up a copy of the weekend edition of the Bowie News.
In its first match since last year’s state semifinal appearance, Saint Jo hosted Bryson Aug. 11 and took a 25-13, 25-12, 25-21 win over the Cowgirls.
The Lady Panthers lost some talent to graduation but have five seniors ready to have a successful season. Savannah Hil, one of the five, got Saint Jo rolling offensively with a four-point serving string, including a pair of aces. Abby Carter’s kill and Kamron Skidmore’s block helped put the Lady Panthers up 5-2 in game one.
Hadleigh Moore added a four-point string of her own to extend the lead to 10-3. Tatum Morman’s pair, helped by a Hill kill, gave Saint Jo a 14-5 lead. Bryson got within five before a Hill 3-pointer, with help by a Carter kill, put the lead back at 18-10.
After an Olivia Johnson kill broke serve, Jordyn O’Neal served up the final five points, with Johnson providing a kill to move things along.
For further details, pick up a copy of Thursday’s Bowie News.
Despite being the smallest school in the Brock varsity classic volleyball tournament, the Lady Indians finished 4th out of the eight teams there.
After losing to the host team in its first pool play match Aug. 14 18-25, 14-25 and also to Class 3A Wall 12-25, 8-25, Nocona rebounded to close out pool play with a 20-25, 25-23, 25-20 win over Christoval. Sy Parker had 16 kills and 7 blocks in the three matches. Raylea Bowles had 12 kills, 17 digs and served up three aces. Maddyn Bowles had seven kills and 14 digs while Paige Davis had seven kills and 15 digs. Baylee Thomas added 11 digs.
From the setter spot, Kasi Castro had 20 assists, served up five aces and contributed 14 digs. Leah Meekins added 18 assists and six digs during the three matches.
To open Saturday’s bracket play, the Lady Indians posted a 25-18, 18-25, 26-24, 25-19 win over Fort Worth Christian. Castro staked Nocona to a 2-0 lead in game one. Kills by Parker set up pairs of points from Raylea Bowles and Leah Meekins helped Nocona negate an early deficit and take a 10-9 lead.
For further details, pick up a copy of Thursday’s Bowie News.
County football teams had their first scrimmage of the season Aug. 14 with mixed results.
Forestburg hosted Azle Christian and Victory Christian. Under a new system with new head coach Cori Hayes, the Longhorns looked pretty good in the coach’s eye.
“The first team looked good,” Hayes explained. “Overall we need to work on our pace and blocking assignments and blocking assignments. Overall we looked good for the new regime.”
Forestburg hits the road to scrimmage Newcastle Aug. 21.
For further details, pick up a copy of Thursday’s Bowie News.
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