As several popular professional sports teams gear up for their seasons, many Berkeley High School fans are preparing to cheer on their favorite sports teams through fantasy sports, an online game where participants build and manage their teams using players from professional sports. Fans must decide which players to draft, who to put in their starting lineup for the week, and whether or not to trade with other teams. Several different types of leagues exist for many sports, with some of the most popular being fantasy football, soccer, baseball, basketball, and hockey. Points are earned based on players’ performance in actual games. Many people compete in a league with their friends, managing their teams as they face off against one another, with the team that earns the most points coming out on top. For many participants, the competitive aspect of fantasy sports is central to its appeal. “For me, fantasy sports are a way to restore the competitive rush I feel I have been missing for a while,” Kato Kiggundu, BHS senior and fantasy football manager, said. In some leagues, winning isn’t the only thing at stake. Losers must complete a challenge chosen by the rest of the league. “The idea of punishments adds a lot of thrill to the competitive nature of fantasy, because nobody really wants to go out and do embarrassing things online or at school,” Kiggundu said. Whether it’s through watching sports games together or creating unique punishments, fantasy sports has offered a way for students to enjoy the sports they love while connecting with others. “I think fantasy sports is appealing because it is a way to connect with other people and focus on something specific,” Skylar Hockenbrock, BHS junior and fantasy basketball manager, said.
Puzzle in the dark
“Our punishment is that the loser of the league has to do a thousand-piece puzzle in the pitch black with only a headlamp,” Cedar Nicholson, junior and fantasy football manager, said. The bottom-placed finisher is given a twenty-four hour limit on the puzzle and the other members in the league are allowed to check up on their friend throughout the process. The league has also elected the first-place winner of the fantasy season as the person who chooses what type of puzzle the last place-finisher must complete.
“I think fantasy is a fun way to compete with friends, watch football, and overall just have fun. The forfeit makes people try throughout the entire season so nobody gives up and you have something to play for,” Nicholson said.
Full kit to school
One week, the lowest-scoring player in BHS senior Lalo Maguire-Shashoua’s Fantasy Premier League was tasked with wearing their full soccer kit to school. “He had to wear cleats, soccer shorts, his club jersey, soccer socks, and everything in class and he was clacking around all day with those cleats,” Maguire-Shashoua said. Some leagues decide to hold their punishment at the end of the season for the lowest placed finisher, while others elect on doing a forfeit every week for the lowest scorer of that matchweek. Maguire-Shashoua enjoys the competitiveness that the challenges provide and values the community that it delivers.
“It’s a fun culture when everyone’s involved and willing to do the challenges. Everyone is having fun with it and there’s a little bit of risk to it too, that’s the beauty of it,” he said.
Milk Mile
“Last year we did the milk mile, which is pretty typical for fantasy football,” William Le-Khamnouane, junior and fantasy football manager, said. “I’m in a league with my friends, and we all get around together, do a draft together, and come up with a punishment at the end for last year’s bottom finisher.” The milk mile is a penalty in fantasy sports where the last-place finisher must run a mile, chugging milk at every lap. With each lap involving another serving of milk, the punishment becomes increasingly difficult to finish. For Le-Khamnouane, spending his Sundays watching football with friends is a highlight of his week. “It (fantasy football) brings people together; that’s my favorite part about doing it,” he said.