0
SPEAKER_02
I m David Farrier, a New Zealander accidentally marooned in America, and I want to figure out what makes this country tick.
0
SPEAKER_02
What s become very clear in Flightless Bird so far is that Americans love sports.
0
SPEAKER_02
It s one of the few things besides religion that seems to bind people together here.
0
SPEAKER_02
Sometimes it makes them fall apart as well, but mostly it brings them together.
0
SPEAKER_02
We ve done whole Flightless Bird episodes just around sports like pickleball.
0
SPEAKER_03
It s like chess.
0
SPEAKER_03
It s just understanding how the game is played.
0
SPEAKER_02
and baseball.
0
SPEAKER_00
You set no expectations.
0
SPEAKER_00
And when there s no expectations, you can t get annoyed when something that you re expecting doesn t happen.
0
SPEAKER_00
So if you go out there with no expectations, everything you get is a blessing.
0
SPEAKER_02
But there s a whole other huge side to American sports.
0
SPEAKER_02
One that s entirely, well, almost entirely made up.
0
SPEAKER_02
Because around 19% of Americans over the age of 18 play fantasy sports.
0
SPEAKER_02
Not real sports, but fantasy ones, where you become the owner of your own fantasy team made up of real players.
0
SPEAKER_02
It s so big, there s a whole TV show about it, seven seasons worth, called The League.
0
SPEAKER_04
Shit!
0
SPEAKER_04
Did you lose?
0
SPEAKER_04
You shut your mouth!
0
SPEAKER_04
Every year I set this league up!
0
SPEAKER_04
Every year!
0
SPEAKER_04
And I never win!
0
SPEAKER_04
This was the year!
0
SPEAKER_02
There s a variety of fantasy sports, but 80% of Americans playing them are playing fantasy football, which is where we turn today.
0
SPEAKER_02
Of course, it s now a global phenomenon, I have friends in New Zealand that are obsessed with fantasy football, but it was birthed in New York over 60 years ago.
0
SPEAKER_02
Today, 50 million Americans play fantasy football each year, so if I was to live here, I d need to understand fantasy football s mysterious ways.
0
SPEAKER_02
So study up on those players and statistics and prepare to dedicate a lot of time to something that s mostly just made up.
0
SPEAKER_02
Because this is the Fantasy Football Episode.
0
SPEAKER_05
Flightless.
0
SPEAKER_05
Flightless.
0
SPEAKER_05
Flightless bird touchdown in America.
0
SPEAKER_05
I m a flightless bird touchdown in America.
0
SPEAKER_06
Now, I remember when we first started the show, way back when.
0
SPEAKER_02
Way back when.
0
SPEAKER_02
When we were little babies.
0
SPEAKER_02
We re tiny, bub-bubs.
0
SPEAKER_06
And I said, I think we need to do an episode on fantasy football.
0
SPEAKER_06
To me, it s the most American thing because I don t understand
0
SPEAKER_06
It, it s so bizarre and I think so specifically American.
0
SPEAKER_02
And I think from what I can tell in this episode, as an American, you either know everything about it or you know nothing.
0
SPEAKER_02
There s very few people who are sort of in the middle ground.
0
SPEAKER_02
You re either on board or you re like, F that, it s not for me at all.
0
SPEAKER_02
Cause it s starting, obviously Rob s playing.
0
SPEAKER_02
Do you have friends starting to talk about it?
0
SPEAKER_02
Is this in your world at all?
0
SPEAKER_06
It is, in Rob s League, a bunch of my friends are in that.
0
SPEAKER_06
Oh, and that may be an Easter egg.
0
SPEAKER_02
Yeah, right, and I m excited to share these people.
0
SPEAKER_06
My friend Anna is just now recently into fantasy football.
0
SPEAKER_02
She s getting into it.
0
SPEAKER_06
Yes, and she has a bunch of friends who are super into it.
0
SPEAKER_06
So it s in my world.
0
SPEAKER_06
I will say it has affected me negatively already this year.
0
SPEAKER_02
Oh, how so?
0
SPEAKER_06
So Anna and her girlfriend, Julia, Jess, and I had a dinner plan at Houston s.
0
SPEAKER_06
Oh.
0
SPEAKER_02
Huge.
0
SPEAKER_02
Huge.
0
SPEAKER_02
You love Houston s.
0
SPEAKER_06
And it was extra big because it was the last day they were serving the baked potato.
0
SPEAKER_02
Oh.
0
SPEAKER_06
I ve been missing it and I m still angry, but whatever.
0
SPEAKER_06
Last day, big day, we go and Ana has to do her fantasy football draft during the dinner.
0
SPEAKER_02
Oh my God, the draft s happening.
0
SPEAKER_06
Yes, and so she has to leave, go outside.
0
SPEAKER_06
And she s like, it ll just be a second.
0
SPEAKER_06
And then it was so long and she ruined potato day.
0
SPEAKER_02
She disappeared, because I was curious if she would sit at that table glued to her phone, but she decided to leave and do it outside.
0
SPEAKER_06
She did, but then she came back and was finishing it up.
0
SPEAKER_02
That s interesting, actually, because do you think she should have never gone to that?
0
SPEAKER_02
Because she would have known that was coming up.
0
SPEAKER_02
Do you think she shouldn t have gone to the dinner?
0
SPEAKER_02
Because I do this sometimes, I double book things, and I sort of, in my brain, I sort of go, I ll do both and everyone will be happy, inevitably end up fucking someone off.
0
SPEAKER_06
Well, it was Sophie s choice because the thing is she had to do both because it was last day of potato.
0
SPEAKER_02
It was.
0
SPEAKER_06
We only found out a couple of days before, so it wasn t like we could plan well and she had to.
0
SPEAKER_02
So it s already effing with your life.
0
SPEAKER_06
It already has had a major impact.
0
SPEAKER_02
So I m not into, just full disclosure, it s not my thing, fantasy football.
0
SPEAKER_02
I struggle with anything that s kind of made up, like tabletop card games.
0
SPEAKER_02
Have you ever got a friend like, do you play Catan?
0
SPEAKER_06
Oh, I love Catan.
0
SPEAKER_02
Okay.
0
SPEAKER_02
Right.
0
SPEAKER_06
So I love games.
0
SPEAKER_02
I really struggle learning the rules to things and like just being told a whole lot of new things.
0
SPEAKER_02
If someone s explaining a tabletop game to me or like a complicated card game, I desperately try to engage, but something in me just is repulsed by all these new rules coming in.
0
SPEAKER_02
And I think that s kind of similar to this in a way.
0
SPEAKER_02
It s just a whole lot of stuff.
0
SPEAKER_06
Yeah.
0
SPEAKER_06
Is tabletop game what we would call board game?
0
SPEAKER_02
When I say tabletop game, board games in my mind is Monopoly, Scrabble, I can cope with those.
0
SPEAKER_02
Tabletop game I think of as being a more complex, like a Catan, something a lot more intense.
0
SPEAKER_02
Like Catan and Monopoly are different things, right?
0
SPEAKER_02
I see them as being different things.
0
SPEAKER_02
You do?
0
SPEAKER_06
Interesting.
0
SPEAKER_06
Okay.
0
SPEAKER_02
But maybe in America, they re kind of all the same.
0
SPEAKER_02
And also like those complicated card games that people play where it s different points and sort of gets a bit Dungeon and Dragon-y and stuff.
0
SPEAKER_06
Oh, that, yeah.
0
SPEAKER_02
Yeah, like a whole other level.
0
SPEAKER_02
That stuff just freaks my brain out.
0
SPEAKER_02
Oh, that should be an episode.
0
SPEAKER_01
Oh, no.
0
SPEAKER_06
Yes.
0
SPEAKER_01
Oh, gosh.
0
SPEAKER_06
Because I want to learn about it.
0
SPEAKER_06
Okay.
0
SPEAKER_01
Calvin s in an after-school Dungeons and Dragons club.
0
SPEAKER_06
What, already?
0
SPEAKER_01
That s really cute.
0
SPEAKER_06
He s gonna be so good by the time he s eight.
0
SPEAKER_01
Maybe, it s one time a week.
0
SPEAKER_06
Still.
0
SPEAKER_02
I wasn t allowed to do Dungeons and Dragons when I was a kid because of all the, I was so religious.
0
SPEAKER_01
Devil.
0
SPEAKER_02
Yeah, so now it was like a portal to hell.
0
SPEAKER_02
And so I was really jealous of all the nerds that were off playing D&D.
0
SPEAKER_02
Wow.
0
SPEAKER_02
And I was genuinely kind of scared of it, because I thought bad things might happen.
0
SPEAKER_06
But Rob is an old... Oh, he s obsessed with fantasy.
0
SPEAKER_02
He s obsessed with fantasy.
0
SPEAKER_02
Seasoned fantasy.
0
SPEAKER_02
Just tell me what it is about it that gets you going, gets your blood boiling.
0
SPEAKER_01
I mean, it helps you care a little bit more about the sport.
0
SPEAKER_01
I m from Chicago, and my football team that I root for is not very good, and they haven t been very good for a long time.
0
SPEAKER_01
So I was reluctant to do fantasy football for a long time, and then the first year I did it, and it helps you care about more than just your team and the other games around the league.
0
SPEAKER_01
It keeps you more engaged.
0
SPEAKER_01
Yeah.
0
SPEAKER_01
With football.
0
SPEAKER_01
And then there s also the community of the league that you re doing.
0
SPEAKER_01
Yeah.
0
SPEAKER_01
That part is nice.
0
SPEAKER_02
How many leagues are you in this year?
0
SPEAKER_01
I m only in two.
0
SPEAKER_02
Only two.
0
SPEAKER_01
Two s my max.
0
SPEAKER_02
Okay.
0
SPEAKER_02
Yeah, no, that s fair.
0
SPEAKER_02
My journey started.
0
SPEAKER_02
Rob invited me along to- I can t wait for this.
0
SPEAKER_02
To do a draft.
0
SPEAKER_02
And this is what happened.
0
SPEAKER_04
Ready?
0
SPEAKER_04
One, two, three.
0
SPEAKER_04
Fantasy football.
0
SPEAKER_04
Fantasy football.
0
SPEAKER_04
Fantasy football.
0
SPEAKER_04
Yeah!
0
SPEAKER_02
It s 6pm and I ve just wandered into a Buffalo Wild Wings to meet a fantasy football league in the flesh.
0
SPEAKER_02
A group of friends preparing to draft their teams for the season.
0
SPEAKER_02
To be totally upfront, I have very little interest in fantasy football.
0
SPEAKER_02
About 0%.
0
SPEAKER_02
I ve got nothing against it, but my brain just struggles with statistics and numbers and constantly checking in on things.
0
SPEAKER_02
If something isn t real, my mind just doesn t really care.
0
SPEAKER_02
But I know that for some people, millions and millions of Americans, fantasy football is really important.
0
SPEAKER_02
And it s that obsession I m interested in learning about more than the football bit.
0
SPEAKER_02
Now, Buffalo Wild Wings is a big place, and I was worried I wouldn t be able to find the people I was looking for.
0
SPEAKER_02
But then I spot a big table of the most manly men I d ever seen.
0
SPEAKER_03
We started off going to Hooters, which is even more stereotypical fantasy spot, but they ve since gone out of business, so we ve switched to Buffalo Wild Wings.
0
SPEAKER_03
Yeah, Great Wings, Great Wings.
0
SPEAKER_03
You know, it s kind of the vibe we re going for, cheesy sports bar.
0
SPEAKER_02
Seems like the right place to do a fantasy draft.
0
SPEAKER_02
There are a lot of arms on display at this table, and a lot of tattoos.
0
SPEAKER_02
I sit down next to Charlie, a fitness coach, who you ll probably know if you listened to Armchair Expert.
0
SPEAKER_02
You guys have known each other forever, I m assuming?
0
SPEAKER_03
Yes, so I think our original members are Ryan, Mike, and I. We ve done this now probably 12 years, and we ve known each other even longer, and we ve just kind of been adding people.
0
SPEAKER_03
As people drop off, we add in other friends and other folks.
0
SPEAKER_02
Other folks like Rob, the producer of this show, who s sitting down at the end of the table in his Chicago white socks cap, his uniform.
0
SPEAKER_02
As for me, well, this tightly knit crew had
1
SPEAKER_05
decided to let this ignoramus sit down with them to eat some wings while they draft their fantasy teams.
1
SPEAKER_04
You have to really know your stuff if you re going more than 12, because there s only so many players.
1
SPEAKER_04
But 10 to 12.
1
SPEAKER_04
We got 12 this year.
1
SPEAKER_03
Charlie s pulled a lot of shit in the league.
1
SPEAKER_03
Charlie has been a little bit of a dictator commissioner at times.
1
SPEAKER_05
Is anyone at this table that typically comes out on top?
1
SPEAKER_04
Unfortunately, Josh at the end wins probably 75% of the time.
1
SPEAKER_04
Holy shit.
1
SPEAKER_04
Yep.
1
SPEAKER_04
So it ends up being generally we all pay Josh is what this is.
1
SPEAKER_04
This is another source of Josh s income.
1
SPEAKER_05
I glance down at Josh.
1
SPEAKER_05
Maybe it s just that I now know he tends to win.
1
SPEAKER_05
But he does stand out.
1
SPEAKER_05
He s one of the few men at the table who has their arms covered.
1
SPEAKER_05
He s quieter and he s calculated.
1
SPEAKER_05
He looks like he s up to something.
1
SPEAKER_05
I should note that everyone at the table has a laptop out or a tablet in front of them.
1
SPEAKER_05
It s a computer party in here.
1
SPEAKER_05
They all have the same website open and it s counting down till the draft starts.
1
SPEAKER_05
Right now there s about nine minutes to go.
1
SPEAKER_05
This is like fantasysports.yahoo.com.
1
SPEAKER_05
Is this what all of America is on, or are there like a million different ones you can use?
1
SPEAKER_04
There s a million different ones.
1
SPEAKER_04
I d say Yahoo!
1
SPEAKER_04
ESPN is a big one.
1
SPEAKER_04
You can do it manually.
1
SPEAKER_04
I can t do it manually.
1
SPEAKER_04
There we go.
1
SPEAKER_04
Alex has shown up.
1
SPEAKER_04
We got another one, our final member.
1
SPEAKER_04
You can do it manually, but it involves keeping track of all the stats.
1
SPEAKER_04
So Yahoo!
1
SPEAKER_04
does everything for us.
1
SPEAKER_04
So we just pick our teams.
1
SPEAKER_04
It s kind of the easiest way.
1
SPEAKER_05
Most of the people here seem to be taking it quite seriously, so I m pleased that Matthew is taking a more casual approach.
1
SPEAKER_00
It s intense.
1
SPEAKER_00
I m underprepared.
1
SPEAKER_00
I know nothing.
1
SPEAKER_00
First year I came in I didn t even know how to use the system two years ago.
1
SPEAKER_00
Second year I did too much research and it didn t pan out.
1
SPEAKER_00
I did better the first year.
1
SPEAKER_00
This year I m going in with no research.
1
SPEAKER_05
I wonder if he s not as studied up in all this because he s Canadian.
1
SPEAKER_05
Like me, he s not from here, so maybe football has less of a grasp on his psyche.
1
SPEAKER_00
Well, actually, my great-grandfather was one of the co-founders of the Canadian Football League.
1
SPEAKER_00
Incredible.
1
SPEAKER_00
Football in my blood.
1
SPEAKER_00
And I played football growing up, but Canadian football, it s different.
1
SPEAKER_05
How is Canadian football different?
1
SPEAKER_05
I ve never thought about Canadian football.
1
SPEAKER_00
The field is larger, but what s funny is the Canadian Football League, it s big, they get large audiences, but some, like my brother-in-law is the VP of Home Depot in Canada, and when he worked there when he was younger, football players are working there in the summer.
1
SPEAKER_00
they re making that little money.
1
SPEAKER_00
Like it s like some people are making like maybe six figures, but like, I don t even know if there s a CFL player that s making a million.
1
SPEAKER_05
Do you have like a main bit of advice for someone that has never played fantasy football before?
1
SPEAKER_00
Yeah, there are so many websites, you can find out everything you need to know.
1
SPEAKER_00
And honestly, last year, my TikTok algorithm just became fantasy football.
1
SPEAKER_00
So I literally would follow that and it would be like, this is a player that
1
SPEAKER_00
It was just brought up and is going to do good things and then you find him and you get him and he does good things.
1
SPEAKER_00
Like, there s people doing all the research that are putting it online so you don t need to do it.
1
SPEAKER_05
While I wait for my wings, I move around the table, talking to everyone.
1
SPEAKER_05
Some of them offer me tips.
1
SPEAKER_05
They ve each put $200 down this season.
1
SPEAKER_05
And I think something that makes fantasy football addictive is having some skin in the game.
1
SPEAKER_05
And picking your team is how it all begins.
1
SPEAKER_05
Is it about training players once you ve started, or is it all to do with what happens in nine minutes time?
1
SPEAKER_03
No, I would say it has all to do with paying attention to the waiver wire, which is all the guys that are essentially free agents during the season, and then placing your claims on them.
1
SPEAKER_03
So if you re the one paying attention and placing the claim, then you re picking up the hotter guys.
1
SPEAKER_05
Finally, the clock hits 10 seconds, nine seconds, eight seconds.
1
SPEAKER_05
It s time for these boys to draft their fantasy teams.
1
SPEAKER_04
Here we go.
1
SPEAKER_04
All right.
1
SPEAKER_04
We re on the clock in five, four, three, two, one.
1
SPEAKER_05
In.
1
SPEAKER_05
What follows is about an hour of each person getting a chance to pick players for their team one by one.
1
SPEAKER_05
Sometimes there s chatter around the table, mixed with the slurpy, visceral sounds of eating wings bathed in sauce.
1
SPEAKER_05
Sometimes, though, it goes entirely quiet, just furrowed brows around the table.
1
SPEAKER_04
Another thing to consider is, you gotta come up with a good fantasy football name.
1
SPEAKER_04
Most of them are puns or plays on a player name.
1
SPEAKER_04
So that also could play into my next pick.
1
SPEAKER_04
If I can come up with a good team name based on their name, that works.
1
SPEAKER_05
Charlie s ordered the hottest wings you can get here.
1
SPEAKER_05
The waitress warned him it would be bad news.
1
SPEAKER_05
But Charlie didn t listen.
1
SPEAKER_05
As the hour ticks by, he gets hotter and hotter.
1
SPEAKER_05
He s turned an unsettling shade of red, and there s a lot of sweat.
1
SPEAKER_04
I m dying.
1
SPEAKER_04
I m soaking wet in sweat.
1
SPEAKER_04
I m crying.
1
SPEAKER_04
My nose is running.
1
SPEAKER_04
I m supposed to pick a player now that I don t even know if I can read these names.
1
SPEAKER_04
This is not like you.
1
SPEAKER_04
You usually can push through.
1
SPEAKER_04
It s way hotter than I was expecting.
1
SPEAKER_05
I leave him to sweat, to see how everyone else is getting on.
1
SPEAKER_01
people for the next one.
1
SPEAKER_01
I was on my way out the door today, and to my girl, I was like, wish me luck.
1
SPEAKER_01
And she was like, well, why would I wish you luck?
1
SPEAKER_01
I was like, well, because it s all luck.
1
SPEAKER_01
None of this.
1
SPEAKER_01
Everyone has all kinds of research here, but no actual research.
1
SPEAKER_05
I kind of love that the people that think there s this big technique behind it and all this skill, but it really does just come down to a lot of luck.
1
SPEAKER_01
You re sitting here getting mad about this fake thing.
1
SPEAKER_01
It s just amazing.
1
SPEAKER_01
It makes me so mad on Sundays, but like I m so obsessed with it at the same time.
1
SPEAKER_01
And there s like a little dark side to it where you like kind of root against people sometimes.
1
SPEAKER_01
It s a little dark.
1
SPEAKER_05
I hadn t thought about this aspect of fantasy football.
1
SPEAKER_05
That while watching real games, you re thinking about your fantasy team.
1
SPEAKER_05
You might love a player in real life, but end up resenting them because of what they re doing to your team in fantasy land.
1
SPEAKER_01
100% because you re invested in games you wouldn t care about otherwise.
1
SPEAKER_01
And then on top of that, you get mad.
1
SPEAKER_01
Like my team passes it to the wrong guy, but like scores a touchdown.
1
SPEAKER_01
I m like fucking unbelievably bad, you know?
1
SPEAKER_04
Are you sold on fantasy football now?
1
SPEAKER_05
I understand it slightly more than before I arrived.
1
SPEAKER_05
Can t imagine this is making you eager to participate next year.
1
SPEAKER_05
Yeah, I mean, I was.
1
SPEAKER_05
Rob did make me sign up last year, and I just didn t look at anything that was happening.
1
SPEAKER_05
I just wasn t involved.
1
SPEAKER_05
I think I need to learn more about the actual game first to understand what the play is and what I love about it before I do this.
1
SPEAKER_05
Because I think with no knowledge of football, you re kind of fucked, you know?
1
SPEAKER_05
I will say, you minimally have to watch football games.
1
SPEAKER_04
Even if you don t understand the scoring and stuff, if they announce your player, you re assuming he s getting points.
1
SPEAKER_04
And it makes watching games more exciting and makes this exciting.
1
SPEAKER_04
This is what I like about it.
1
SPEAKER_04
This enhances the game.
1
SPEAKER_04
Yeah.
1
SPEAKER_04
It s like a game within a game.
1
SPEAKER_04
And there s so many football games, and I wouldn t watch any of them.
1
SPEAKER_04
But now I ll just tune into a game here or there that I otherwise wouldn t care because I might have a player.
1
SPEAKER_05
By now, everyone s fingers are covered in chicken and condiments, including mine, and the draft wraps up.
1
SPEAKER_05
It started with a bang, but ends fairly silently.
1
SPEAKER_05
Everyone at the table looks like they ve just played a game of football, mentally and physically exhausted.
1
SPEAKER_05
But this is just the start of the season.
1
SPEAKER_05
The beginning.
1
SPEAKER_04
My nose is running and clogged, but
1
SPEAKER_04
I think my team is pretty solid.
1
SPEAKER_04
I don t know half of my players, but I have a feeling that they re going to be pretty good.
1
SPEAKER_05
Someone here at this table will emerge victorious.
1
SPEAKER_05
Others will make bad decisions and have bad luck, ending the football season dejected and depressed.
1
SPEAKER_05
Only time will tell.
1
SPEAKER_05
But right now, there s a gentle buzz of anticipation in the air.
1
SPEAKER_05
Anything s possible.
1
SPEAKER_04
We did it.
1
SPEAKER_04
Yeah!
1
SPEAKER_05
How was my first fantasy football drafts?
1
SPEAKER_05
And I had a really good time.
1
SPEAKER_05
Just like men being men, you know, arms out, chicken happening.
1
SPEAKER_02
You re more focused on the arms out part, which is very strange.
1
SPEAKER_02
There were so many arms out.
1
SPEAKER_05
I ve never seen, apart from like Rob and a couple of people there, Rob had his arms in.
1
SPEAKER_02
What do you mean in America?
1
SPEAKER_02
Singlet, just like dressed.
1
SPEAKER_02
You mean with a long sleeve?
1
SPEAKER_05
Singlets.
1
SPEAKER_05
Everyone was in singlets.
1
SPEAKER_02
No, not singlets, not singlets.
1
SPEAKER_02
With tattoos.
1
SPEAKER_02
You mean tankish tops?
1
SPEAKER_02
Singlets.
1
SPEAKER_02
No, a singlet in America is what a wrestler wears.
1
SPEAKER_02
It s one piece.
1
SPEAKER_02
Oh, people weren t wearing that.
1
SPEAKER_02
Yeah, no, no, no.
1
SPEAKER_03
That s our uniform for the fantasy draft.
1
SPEAKER_02
Oh, wow.
1
SPEAKER_03
That would be amazing.
1
SPEAKER_02
You know, normally I can listen to these docs objectively because... You re detached.
1
SPEAKER_02
I m detached and I want to know if we need to cut stuff and I m aware of it.
1
SPEAKER_02
These are all my best buddies.
1
SPEAKER_05
They re really nice.
1
SPEAKER_02
They made me so happy to hear those voices.
1
SPEAKER_05
They were good people.
1
SPEAKER_02
Also, if you listen to F1, you already know Matt and Charlie and you very nicely
2
SPEAKER_02
but I feel okay to say this.
2
SPEAKER_02
You concealed his identity, but Pete is Pete Wentz.
2
SPEAKER_03
Oh, yeah.
2
SPEAKER_03
David didn t know.
2
SPEAKER_03
I had no idea at the time.
2
SPEAKER_03
Yeah, he was so lovely.
2
SPEAKER_03
Yeah, he was great.
2
SPEAKER_02
The nicest person.
2
SPEAKER_03
And gave good intel.
2
SPEAKER_03
But everyone there just was so, it s just like a group of friends that have bonded over various things but fantasy football.
2
SPEAKER_03
And that made me think this has got something going for it.
2
SPEAKER_03
Because it is, it s like a little friendship circle.
2
SPEAKER_02
Yeah.
2
SPEAKER_03
It was nice.
2
SPEAKER_02
I also, just for context, because people who don t know the group might be pissed at Josh because why does that guy win all the time?
2
SPEAKER_02
No one deserves it more than Josh Elwell.
2
SPEAKER_02
He s a very nice boy.
2
SPEAKER_03
Yeah, I really liked him.
2
SPEAKER_03
And it did confuse me though, because Pete was telling me there s so much luck involved, and yet you have Josh, who s winning 75% of the time.
2
SPEAKER_01
Exactly.
2
SPEAKER_01
He s one in four right now.
2
SPEAKER_01
He s in 10th place.
2
SPEAKER_03
Oh, he s not doing so well?
2
SPEAKER_03
Not so well.
2
SPEAKER_03
Okay, so maybe he s gonna drop.
2
SPEAKER_02
Okay, but there s still a pattern.
2
SPEAKER_03
Yeah, and obviously, so knowing players and picking wisely, it does make sense to do that.
2
SPEAKER_03
So it s not all luck.
2
SPEAKER_01
It s about being active and paying attention.
2
SPEAKER_01
You ve joined another league with me.
2
SPEAKER_03
I have this year.
2
SPEAKER_02
Another fantasy football league?
2
SPEAKER_03
Yeah.
2
SPEAKER_03
Yeah.
2
SPEAKER_03
Rob wrote me in, sort of for this episode.
2
SPEAKER_03
And I said, yes, I said, I ll do it.
2
SPEAKER_03
I did it last year and I didn t pay any attention.
2
SPEAKER_03
Okay.
2
SPEAKER_03
You re doing the same again.
2
SPEAKER_03
I think I m going to be honest.
2
SPEAKER_03
I don t think, I don t think I m going to play.
2
SPEAKER_03
Nothing in me makes me want to look at that app.
2
SPEAKER_03
I look, I sort of look at it and I m just, my eyes glaze over and I don t want to be like the downer in the group.
2
SPEAKER_03
So I guess my question to you, Rob, is there a way politely like quitting a, like a group chat or something?
2
SPEAKER_03
Is there a way I can sort of slip out where those boys don t hate me?
2
SPEAKER_01
You already have a team.
2
SPEAKER_01
Yeah.
2
SPEAKER_01
You already drafted.
2
SPEAKER_01
Half your team s injured.
2
SPEAKER_01
You re not even playing.
2
SPEAKER_01
So you just get destroyed every week.
2
SPEAKER_03
Okay.
2
SPEAKER_03
So that s fine.
2
SPEAKER_03
So I can just get destroyed and it s okay.
2
SPEAKER_01
Well, it s not great.
2
SPEAKER_01
Cause then you, when someone good is playing, you want them to lose, but then they got David.
2
SPEAKER_02
But he s saying he doesn t care.
2
SPEAKER_02
I don t care any of this.
2
SPEAKER_01
I know.
2
SPEAKER_02
So then why don t you just not look at it?
2
SPEAKER_02
And then if.
2
SPEAKER_01
That s what he s doing.
2
SPEAKER_02
Yeah.
2
SPEAKER_02
So I m saying, so at the end, if you happen to win, someone will tell you.
2
SPEAKER_02
But you don t have to watch or pay attention if you don t care.
2
SPEAKER_03
Yeah yeah I wish I cared and I tried.
2
SPEAKER_03
I even read some blogs and stuff about it and as I was reading my eyes got heavy and I just started to like get tired.
2
SPEAKER_02
It makes sense to me that you don t care
2
SPEAKER_02
because there is a little bit of a prerequisite of caring about football in general.
2
SPEAKER_02
And maybe not loving football, but caring enough.
2
SPEAKER_02
Football games, when you watch them on TV, to me, are so boring.
2
SPEAKER_02
Yeah.
2
SPEAKER_03
Yeah.
2
SPEAKER_03
They re not for you.
2
SPEAKER_02
They re not.
2
SPEAKER_02
But I also I love college football because of my school.
2
SPEAKER_02
And so I would love going to games.
2
SPEAKER_02
But when we watched, I was always just by the snacks.
2
SPEAKER_03
And yeah, the snacks are great at any American sports game, right?
2
SPEAKER_03
And I think that s what I m learning about America.
2
SPEAKER_03
If football s on and there s like a big group of people watching, I like being in the room of people and eating and seeing people.
2
SPEAKER_03
And I think it s sort of the same as fantasy football.
2
SPEAKER_03
I like sitting around eating wings with people.
2
SPEAKER_03
Don t love staring at my phone and statistics on my own.
2
SPEAKER_02
It would be one thing if every week you guys met up.
2
SPEAKER_03
Yeah.
2
SPEAKER_03
And we do all the trades and all little changes and everything.
2
SPEAKER_03
That would be more up my alley, I think.
2
SPEAKER_02
Right.
2
SPEAKER_02
But then just the one time, it s a little bit of a buzzkill.
2
SPEAKER_02
How much money is in your pot, Rob?
2
SPEAKER_01
The one David s in is like a $20 team.
2
SPEAKER_03
$20 buy-in yeah with eight teams cuz I m in there.
2
SPEAKER_03
I ll still put $20 down.
2
SPEAKER_03
That s fair.
2
SPEAKER_03
I want to do that Yeah, yeah, I don t want to be cheap in that way.
2
SPEAKER_02
What s Charlie s that s $200 a team shit Intense right any there s 12 teams
2
SPEAKER_01
But it s not, not everything goes to first place.
2
SPEAKER_01
There s like first, second, third place prize.
2
SPEAKER_02
And what s the first place prize?
2
SPEAKER_02
Is anyone rooting for Travis Kelsey?
2
SPEAKER_01
I mean, he s good.
2
SPEAKER_01
He s a good fantasy player.
2
SPEAKER_01
All right.
2
SPEAKER_01
So first place is $1,200.
2
SPEAKER_01
Second place is $720.
2
SPEAKER_01
Third place is $240.
2
SPEAKER_01
That s nice.
2
SPEAKER_01
That s nice.
2
SPEAKER_01
Have you ever made the top three?
2
SPEAKER_01
Not in this league.
2
SPEAKER_01
Okay.
2
SPEAKER_01
And then there s the highest point total also gets $240.
2
SPEAKER_02
Oh, wow.
2
SPEAKER_02
What s the most amount of money you ve ever made playing fantasy football?
2
SPEAKER_01
I don t normally play for a ton of money when I play.
2
SPEAKER_01
Got it.
2
SPEAKER_01
It s usually like a $20 league.
2
SPEAKER_01
You re not in it for the money, you re in it for the skill.
2
SPEAKER_01
I like making Sundays more fun by having a fantasy team.
2
SPEAKER_02
I get that, and you re invested in a different way.
2
SPEAKER_03
Yeah.
2
SPEAKER_03
A question I had for you, Rob, I was talking to a friend in New Zealand who s heavily invested in fantasy football, and he emailed me when I was working on this doc, and he said, I play in a totally psycho league called a Dynasty League.
2
SPEAKER_02
Dynasty.
2
SPEAKER_03
A dynasty.
2
SPEAKER_03
Dynasty?
2
SPEAKER_03
Dynasty.
2
SPEAKER_03
Dynasty.
2
SPEAKER_03
It s a format that s gaining a lot of popularity.
2
SPEAKER_03
The conceit is you have larger rosters, 25 versus usual 15, and you pick players once.
2
SPEAKER_03
After that, you have them on your team for their whole careers.
2
SPEAKER_03
And you said that s like just a very intense way to play.
2
SPEAKER_01
There s a lot of intense variations of it.
2
SPEAKER_03
Right.
2
SPEAKER_03
That s not for you.
2
SPEAKER_03
No, that s too much.
2
SPEAKER_03
He s got very excited about that.
2
SPEAKER_03
So I thought I d let him.
2
SPEAKER_03
Stay tuned for more Flightless Bird.
2
SPEAKER_03
We ll be right back after a word from our sponsors.
2
SPEAKER_03
Flightless Bird is brought to you by Warby Parker.
2
SPEAKER_03
Now, Warby Parker offers you everything you need for happier eyes.
2
SPEAKER_03
I just got my first pair of sunglasses from them recently, because I ve never owned a pair of sunglasses.
2
SPEAKER_02
Which is so strange.
2
SPEAKER_03
It is weird.
2
SPEAKER_03
I ve always just worn like hats and squinted.
2
SPEAKER_03
But having prescription lenses, it was all online.
2
SPEAKER_03
It sent my prescription and they send you the glasses.
2
SPEAKER_03
And honestly, it s a game changer.
2
SPEAKER_02
You picked me up in your car and you were wearing your sunglasses and it was a shock and they looked really good.
2
SPEAKER_02
This is a very stylish pair.
2
SPEAKER_03
Thank you.
2
SPEAKER_03
They give you happier eyes, eyeglasses, sunglasses, contact lenses, and eye exams, and you can shop with them online or in stores.
2
SPEAKER_03
Glasses start at $95, including the prescription lenses, which is what my sunglasses were.
2
SPEAKER_02
It s really great because they have so many different styles.
2
SPEAKER_02
There s no way you won t find one that works perfectly for your face because they have so many.
2
SPEAKER_03
You can also get 15% off when you purchase two or more pairs of prescription eyeglasses.
2
SPEAKER_03
They start at $95 and they re available with a prescription.
2
SPEAKER_03
And their sunglasses feature premium polarized lenses that are scratch resistant and provide 100% UV protection.
2
SPEAKER_03
You can try Warby Parker s free home try-on program.
2
SPEAKER_03
Order five pairs of glasses to try at home for free.
2
SPEAKER_03
There s no obligation to buy.
2
SPEAKER_03
Ships free and includes a prepaid return shipping label.
2
SPEAKER_03
Try five pairs of glasses at home for free at warbyparker.com slash bird.
2
SPEAKER_03
So look, I wanted to find out a bit more for the people that are listening who are like really into this, because people might be listening to this episode that are like, I fucking love fantasy football.
2
SPEAKER_03
I want to learn.
2
SPEAKER_03
And so I m going to learn.
2
SPEAKER_03
I m going to learn some more.
2
SPEAKER_02
Great.
2
SPEAKER_03
So I delve deeper.
2
SPEAKER_03
It s been a while since I witnessed my first fantasy football draft, as me and a bunch of other men stared at laptops and ate chicken wings.
2
SPEAKER_03
The season s now well underway.
2
SPEAKER_03
You listening may be deeply involved yourself.
2
SPEAKER_03
Or like me, you re just gently standing by at the sidelines.
2
SPEAKER_03
I wanted to learn more about the culture of fantasy football, so I tracked down sports reporter and ESPN correspondent Mina Kimes.
2
SPEAKER_03
Mina has a big interest in football, and fantasy football.
2
SPEAKER_03
She s one of ESPN s main football analysts.
2
SPEAKER_03
She knows her stuff.
2
SPEAKER_03
I did my first fantasy football draft and it was so many men, big men with big arms and tattoos and everything.
2
SPEAKER_03
And I m just wondering, what is the scene of fantasy football in the United States?
2
SPEAKER_03
Is it just men or is it, God forbid, other people as well?
2
SPEAKER_00
Fantasy football is actually, I think, one of the things that s onboarded a lot of different people to the sport.
2
SPEAKER_00
It s really popular with women, with kids.
2
SPEAKER_00
It s been a great way to bring people in to football because
2
SPEAKER_00
It gives everybody this vested interest in watching the games that they didn t have before, maybe if they didn t grow up rooting for a team.
2
SPEAKER_00
Now, it makes them watch the sport in a very different way, but it s been probably the best marketing tool that the NFL has had created for decades.
2
SPEAKER_03
Fantasy football was invented just over 61 years ago by Bill Winkenbatch, who was a part owner of the Oakland Raiders.
2
SPEAKER_03
According to ESPN, he dreamed up the idea along with an Oakland sports reporter at a New York hotel during a Raiders road trip.
2
SPEAKER_03
The friends had their first draft in 1963.
2
SPEAKER_03
It was called the Greater Oakland Professional Pigskin Prognosticators League.
2
SPEAKER_03
which I guess started the trend of giving your league a funny name.
2
SPEAKER_03
By the late 60s, the first public fantasy football game started at a bar in Oakland.
2
SPEAKER_03
By the 80s, over a million people were playing fantasy football.
2
SPEAKER_03
And as the internet and smartphones came along, millions more joined them.
2
SPEAKER_03
Tens of millions.
2
SPEAKER_03
Today, it s a multi-billion dollar industry.
2
SPEAKER_03
I m still a bit confused about
3
SPEAKER_03
how much the teams are involved and how much it is this whole separate entity that just sits on top of the game.
3
SPEAKER_00
The teams are not involved.
3
SPEAKER_00
As much as conspiracy theorists might believe, the teams are trying to get the football to certain people or not to certain people.
3
SPEAKER_00
The funny thing is, though, the players are very keenly aware of it because they hear about it so much from fans, like running backs and wide receivers.
3
SPEAKER_00
If there may be a little iffy and, you know, game time decision and it goes down to the wire and they don t play
3
SPEAKER_00
fantasy football managers get very upset with them.
3
SPEAKER_00
And so they re very keenly aware of how it affects how they re perceived and talked about.
3
SPEAKER_03
Do any of them play or they re not allowed, the actual players?
3
SPEAKER_00
It s funny you ask this because the NFL recently cracked down on gambling, but they re definitely allowed to play.
3
SPEAKER_00
And sometimes it s kind of funny because players will come out and admit they played a guy who was on their team and maybe they were hoping he would get the ball or they played.
3
SPEAKER_00
A lot of them say that they play themselves, which is a very athlete mindset.
3
SPEAKER_00
It s the ultimate sign of self-belief.
3
SPEAKER_03
How much of your time is spent thinking about the real game and then the fantasy side of the game?
3
SPEAKER_00
So in my capacity as an NFL analyst at ESPN, 99% of my time is probably spent talking about the real game.
3
SPEAKER_00
But I do talk about fantasy football.
3
SPEAKER_00
I actually got my start doing fantasy football radio.
3
SPEAKER_00
I talk about it in various platforms and they really inform each other.
3
SPEAKER_00
The research you do to be good at fantasy football has a lot of crossover with the research
3
SPEAKER_00
you would do to study the actual game.
3
SPEAKER_00
Now, you re looking for different things, as I m sure you ve — well, maybe you haven t learned.
3
SPEAKER_00
Maybe you re going to learn what makes a great fantasy football quarterback, for example, is different from what makes a great real-life quarterback.
3
SPEAKER_00
So it s not always the same thing, and you have to be aware of that.
3
SPEAKER_03
Can you please explain that to me a little bit?
3
SPEAKER_03
Because I m still puzzled about how much of it is luck during the season and how much skill is involved.
3
SPEAKER_03
I genuinely don t understand that.
3
SPEAKER_03
Do I have a feel for it at all?
3
SPEAKER_00
It s a mix.
3
SPEAKER_00
I would say 70% skill, 30% luck.
3
SPEAKER_00
The fantasy people would probably say more skill.
3
SPEAKER_00
Other people would say more luck.
3
SPEAKER_00
Because obviously the luck factors into availability.
3
SPEAKER_00
Football is a sport where there s a lot of injuries and that often tends to decide fantasy victories and losses.
3
SPEAKER_00
But how you respond to those injuries, the players you choose to stream, the way you manage your roster, finding sleepers, that s all skill.
3
SPEAKER_03
70% skill is way higher than I d imagined, and makes me think there s an even smaller chance of fantasy football becoming a big part of my life.
3
SPEAKER_03
I barely understand the real sport, let alone the stats and nuance needed to keep on top of a dream team.
3
SPEAKER_00
You can definitely enjoy it without knowing a lot about it, as long as you understand the keys to what makes a successful fantasy player.
3
SPEAKER_00
Things like, obviously, the productivity, you can look at some of the basic numbers, but also availability, usage, the level of competition.
3
SPEAKER_00
All of those things, however, are much easier to gauge if you know something about the actual game.
3
SPEAKER_00
You draft defense last and then that s something that you tend to change week to week based on opponent.
3
SPEAKER_00
So somebody with football knowledge would be aware of.
3
SPEAKER_00
You would rather start an inferior defense if they re playing a horrible offense as opposed to, you know, an average defense if they re playing a very good offense, for example.
3
SPEAKER_03
I m going to be honest, my eyes glazed over a little there.
3
SPEAKER_03
Something in my brain, as I said before, is just wired wrong when it comes to sport.
3
SPEAKER_03
Or sports, as you say in America.
3
SPEAKER_03
Something doesn t connect.
3
SPEAKER_03
It s like my brain turns off when people start describing the rules.
3
SPEAKER_03
But I m happy that millions find joy and camaraderie in it.
3
SPEAKER_03
I talked to another expert for this episode, Robert Mayes.
3
SPEAKER_03
He writes for The Atlantic and is host of The Athletic Football Show.
3
SPEAKER_03
and told me that for some Americans, fantasy football is the social glue that holds their friendship circles together.
3
SPEAKER_02
I think it s the social aspect of it that is very important.
3
SPEAKER_02
The league that I m most invested in is my high school home league.
3
SPEAKER_02
And those are guys that I ve known since I was a kid.
3
SPEAKER_02
And I don t know if I would talk to a lot of those guys with the same frequency and in the same way that I do because of fantasy football.
3
SPEAKER_02
And we try, I try every year to be in person for our draft.
3
SPEAKER_02
and I see these guys who I ve known since I was eight or nine years old and they re fathers now and they live in Denver and Baltimore and all over the country, but this is a chance for me to see them and talk to them.
3
SPEAKER_02
And I do really believe, and this has been written in so many different places over the last few years, that
3
SPEAKER_02
there is kind of a loneliness epidemic among American males of a certain age where there just aren t as many community places for us to gather.
3
SPEAKER_02
And I think that fantasy football really does provide that for a lot of people.
3
SPEAKER_02
It just provides a space for us to be with our friends and have our own time.
3
SPEAKER_02
And I think that s really important.
3
SPEAKER_02
I think that s why so many people attach themselves to it in the way that they do, because there just aren t that many outlets for that sort of male bonding and relationships.
3
SPEAKER_02
that fantasy football currently provides for people.
3
SPEAKER_03
I keep thinking of that scene in the league, the TV show, that I played in the intro to this episode.
3
SPEAKER_03
And yeah, in America, it can be bad for losers in fantasy football.
3
SPEAKER_03
With that in mind, Robert told me about some of the bets involved, and what happens to the losers in a league.
3
SPEAKER_02
Have you heard about this where you have to eat a certain amount of pancakes?
3
SPEAKER_02
You have to sit in an IHOP for 24 hours or a Waffle House, whatever establishment is open 24 hours.
3
SPEAKER_02
And every pancake you eat takes an hour off of your time.
3
SPEAKER_02
So if you can sit there and eat 18 pancakes, then you only have to sit in the IHOP for six hours.
3
SPEAKER_02
But if you re not someone who can put away 18 pancakes, then you re still looking at a 12-hour sit in an IHOP.
3
SPEAKER_02
I enjoy those a lot, but
3
SPEAKER_02
I think that those started creeping up in the last few years when most of us were already into our 30s and several of us had kids, things like that.
3
SPEAKER_02
So the embarrassing public shaming, I think we aged out of that.
3
SPEAKER_02
We missed the era for that, unfortunately.
3
SPEAKER_03
I talked to Mina about this too.
3
SPEAKER_03
One story sprung to mind for her, maybe motivated by the fact she s about to have her first child.
3
SPEAKER_00
I might be making this up, but I m pretty sure I remember seeing once a league where the loser, the rest of the league got to choose the name of his firstborn child.
3
SPEAKER_00
That one struck me as being a little bit too far.
3
SPEAKER_03
As I started to wrap things up, I thought it would be kind of ridiculous to have this ESPN football analyst in front of me without requesting some fantasy football tips.
3
SPEAKER_03
For anyone listening that might be really into fantasy football, I don t want to let you down.
3
SPEAKER_03
There ll be listeners to this podcast that do know about it and they ll be just rolling their eyes at me.
3
SPEAKER_03
For those people that are listening, do you have a little bit of advice that might help a game?
3
SPEAKER_00
Do you want a name?
3
SPEAKER_03
Give me a name.
3
SPEAKER_03
This is good.
3
SPEAKER_00
A guy I like, for example, this year is Jalen Warren in Pittsburgh.
3
SPEAKER_00
I think he s going to get more reps as the season goes on.
3
SPEAKER_00
I draft quarterbacks later, which is pretty standard fantasy knowledge.
3
SPEAKER_00
It s odd because it is the most important position in football, but there are a lot of quarterbacks who can produce at a pretty similar level, produce for fantasy purposes, whereas the top tier running backs and wide receivers are harder to find.
3
SPEAKER_03
Finally, I thought back to what a lot of people had mentioned at the draft I d attended.
3
SPEAKER_03
Charlie and Pete and Rob and all of them.
3
SPEAKER_03
This clash between the real worlds and the fantasy worlds.
3
SPEAKER_03
How can you cope with the team you love in real life letting you down in the fantasy worlds?
3
SPEAKER_03
Or vice versa?
3
SPEAKER_03
How does your whole brain not explode and fall apart?
3
SPEAKER_03
Mina gave me a really considered answer.
3
SPEAKER_03
An answer I enjoyed because it started with a compliment.
3
SPEAKER_03
We all love a compliment.
3
SPEAKER_00
Yes, that s a great question.
3
SPEAKER_00
So I am a Seattle Seahawks fan.
3
SPEAKER_00
I ve been public about this.
3
SPEAKER_00
I have a Seahawks Super Bowl tattoo on my arm.
3
SPEAKER_00
I can t really hide it.
3
SPEAKER_00
But when I draft for fantasy, I really try to avoid drafting Seahawks.
3
SPEAKER_00
Now, you might think, well, doesn t that make it at odds?
3
SPEAKER_00
Like, let s say they re playing, I don t know, the Pittsburgh Steelers.
3
SPEAKER_00
Would I be rooting for George Pickens, wide receiver, to get guards against Seattle?
3
SPEAKER_00
The way I view it is I like to have a series of emotional hedges built in where I have something to feel good about no matter what.
3
SPEAKER_00
So if the Seahawks lose, I m like, well, at least George Pickens got me 15 points.
3
SPEAKER_00
And then if they win, maybe I lose in fantasy, but I m like, well, my real team won, so I feel good about that.
3
SPEAKER_00
So I try not to align my rooting interest as a fan with my rooting interest as fantasy, which I don t know if psychologically that s a healthier way to approach it, but I have found it works for me.
3
SPEAKER_00
You also, by the way, will have bonds with specific players.
3
SPEAKER_00
That s another thing when you get into this, because the guys on your team, you will really feel connected to them.
3
SPEAKER_00
Whenever you see their names for the rest of your life, if they bring you success, you will think fondly of the year in which they brought you that success.
3
SPEAKER_03
She was great.
3
SPEAKER_00
That s great.
3
SPEAKER_01
I love that approach.
3
SPEAKER_03
Yeah.
3
SPEAKER_03
Emotionally.
3
SPEAKER_01
You always have something to be excited about.
3
SPEAKER_01
If you re a negative Nancy, you could say you always have something to be upset about too.
3
SPEAKER_03
That s true.
3
SPEAKER_01
But you can frame it how you like.
3
SPEAKER_03
Yeah, she was very enthusiastic.
3
SPEAKER_03
She had the tattoo.
3
SPEAKER_03
And it s crazy to me that an entire job is sports analysis.
3
SPEAKER_03
That blows my mind.
3
SPEAKER_03
She does a fantasy football podcast as well.
3
SPEAKER_00
Wow.
3
SPEAKER_03
Fantasy football podcasting is this huge thing.
3
SPEAKER_03
Some of the biggest podcasts in the world are fantasy football podcasts.
3
SPEAKER_00
What?
4
SPEAKER_01
people love them that much.
4
SPEAKER_01
And yeah, she s one of the podcasters that has a really big show.
4
SPEAKER_02
Well, okay.
4
SPEAKER_02
She explained it a little, but I m still very confused at the actual rules.
4
SPEAKER_02
Yeah.
4
SPEAKER_02
You clearly.
4
SPEAKER_02
Just didn t understand any of it.
4
SPEAKER_02
How real life football then translates since there s more than just this team won.
4
SPEAKER_02
I understand March Madness, which by the way, I do want you to do an episode on that as we come closer to that, because that s just this team wins, this team wins.
4
SPEAKER_02
Like the bracket, I get.
4
SPEAKER_02
I don t get how, when you said just now, like Travis Kelsey is a good fantasy player.
4
SPEAKER_02
What s that mean?
4
SPEAKER_00
So you re starting your fantasy lineup.
4
SPEAKER_00
You ve got a quarterback, two wide receivers, two running backs, a kicker, a defense, a tight end, and a flex player is how our league does it, which a flex player will be wide receiver, running back, tight end.
4
SPEAKER_00
You re getting points based on those players stats.
4
SPEAKER_00
So if your wide receiver gets three touchdowns, you re getting six points for each of those touchdowns.
4
SPEAKER_00
OK, plus points for all the yardage.
4
SPEAKER_00
So you re trying to get the most.
4
SPEAKER_02
How many yards they run?
4
SPEAKER_00
Oh, congratulations.
4
SPEAKER_00
So the different positions also get points in different ways.
4
SPEAKER_00
So if a quarterback throws an interception, he loses a point.
4
SPEAKER_02
I see.
4
SPEAKER_02
And is that universal, though, like the law of fantasy football?
4
SPEAKER_02
Is there a Bible?
4
SPEAKER_00
It s not totally universal, but it s generally the same.
4
SPEAKER_02
OK, that actually does answer for me more.
4
SPEAKER_00
So you re just competing like you want the best quarterback.
4
SPEAKER_02
Yeah.
4
SPEAKER_00
Out of them.
4
SPEAKER_00
And then you ve got a bench as well.
4
SPEAKER_00
So you re deciding between your bench and starters, which quarterback of your two is going to do best.
4
SPEAKER_02
So you get to decide who s going to play that day for your team.
4
SPEAKER_02
Oh, wow.
4
SPEAKER_00
You have reserves on your team that you can swap out to your starting lineup.
4
SPEAKER_02
I see.
4
SPEAKER_02
And why don t you pick your quarterback first?
4
SPEAKER_02
I know she said that was seems unconventional, but I don t understand.
4
SPEAKER_00
Cause there s a lot of decent quarterbacks that play and it s harder for the more niche.
4
SPEAKER_00
Yeah.
4
SPEAKER_00
You need a good wide receiver.
4
SPEAKER_00
And if everyone s got two or three wide receivers playing, everyone s going to be fighting for them.
4
SPEAKER_00
And there s not a ton of really good wide receivers.
4
SPEAKER_02
Wow.
4
SPEAKER_01
Do you play other fantasy sports games or just football?
4
SPEAKER_00
I have.
4
SPEAKER_00
They get more intense.
4
SPEAKER_00
The nice thing about football is that it is pretty concentrated and when it happens.
4
SPEAKER_00
So you re like setting your lineup once for the week.
4
SPEAKER_00
But if you re doing like baseball or hockey or basketball, which I ve done.
4
SPEAKER_00
They have games all week.
4
SPEAKER_02
Oh, you have to pay attention much more.
4
SPEAKER_00
Yeah.
4
SPEAKER_00
Oh my God.
4
SPEAKER_00
That makes sense.
4
SPEAKER_00
It s a lot harder.
4
SPEAKER_00
They play way more games.
4
SPEAKER_00
There s only 17 football games.
4
SPEAKER_02
How come people don t do this for college?
4
SPEAKER_00
They probably do.
4
SPEAKER_02
Oh, but it s not as big of a thing.
4
SPEAKER_00
I think the players are less... Good?
4
SPEAKER_00
Not good, but your teams are switching out.
4
SPEAKER_00
Like, your players are switching out so often.
4
SPEAKER_02
Yeah, that s true.
4
SPEAKER_01
You re in a few leagues.
4
SPEAKER_01
Do you play each game very differently?
4
SPEAKER_01
What makes them different?
4
SPEAKER_01
The randomness of the picking?
4
SPEAKER_00
Your players are different.
4
SPEAKER_00
Right, okay.
4
SPEAKER_00
But you try... I have the same quarterback in both.
4
SPEAKER_00
Okay, right, right, right, right, okay.
4
SPEAKER_02
Wow, you really put all your eggs in who?
4
SPEAKER_00
Joe Burrow, and it s not worked out for me.
4
SPEAKER_00
Oh, no.
4
SPEAKER_00
I m sorry.
4
SPEAKER_02
No.
4
SPEAKER_02
Wow.
4
SPEAKER_01
Yeah, it s just so there s millions and millions of people playing this right now.
4
SPEAKER_02
I could see.
4
SPEAKER_02
Now that I m learning more.
4
SPEAKER_01
Here we go.
4
SPEAKER_01
We re losing you.
4
SPEAKER_01
We re losing you to the other side.
4
SPEAKER_01
It s fun once you get into it.
4
SPEAKER_02
I might get into it.
4
SPEAKER_01
Maybe you should.
4
SPEAKER_01
Maybe next year is the year you sign up and you re the one at the table who s not eating a hot potato.
4
SPEAKER_01
You re off drafting a fantasy football team.
4
SPEAKER_01
That could be the new you.
4
SPEAKER_02
It could be.
4
SPEAKER_02
I just am competitive and love games.
4
SPEAKER_01
Yeah.
4
SPEAKER_02
Well, we haven t done it yet.
4
SPEAKER_02
And I ve talked about it before.
4
SPEAKER_02
And I know a lot of people are upset because I haven t done it yet.
4
SPEAKER_02
I m doing a draft Taylor Swift songs.
4
SPEAKER_02
Well, I m sorry.
4
SPEAKER_01
I m not aware of this.
4
SPEAKER_02
Yeah.
4
SPEAKER_02
Well, speaking of sports podcasts, The Ringer is a sports podcast network.
4
SPEAKER_02
Very, very big.
4
SPEAKER_02
I have affection towards The Ringer because they re a Spotify.
4
SPEAKER_02
Right.
4
SPEAKER_02
So I feel like in some ways, I don t know why, I just feel like they re cousins or something.
4
SPEAKER_01
Okay.
4
SPEAKER_01
Yeah, it makes sense.
4
SPEAKER_02
Also because there s zero crossovers so that we don t have to feel
4
SPEAKER_01
You re worried about, yeah, yeah, yeah.
4
SPEAKER_02
But they have a show called Every Single Album, and it goes through every single album of Taylor Swift.
4
SPEAKER_02
It s so good.
4
SPEAKER_02
But one of the hosts is a sports reporter, just happens to also love Taylor Swift.
4
SPEAKER_02
And on that show, they do a draft, her and her co-hosts, for building their top playlist, basically.
4
SPEAKER_01
Oh, like the top live gig or the top playlist of songs?
4
SPEAKER_02
I would say playlist more, like album.
4
SPEAKER_02
Like if they were building their own album.
4
SPEAKER_01
Right, I see.
4
SPEAKER_01
That s fun.
4
SPEAKER_02
Building their own album of all of her songs, but it s the same where if I say I want trouble, you can t then have that.
4
SPEAKER_01
You can t grab that.
4
SPEAKER_01
Trouble s off the table.
4
SPEAKER_01
So it s exciting.
4
SPEAKER_02
Oh, I like that.
4
SPEAKER_01
Yeah, that s fun.
4
SPEAKER_01
I like that.
4
SPEAKER_02
I didn t want to do it during my egg freezing because I was too emotional.
4
SPEAKER_01
It would have just ended in tears.
4
SPEAKER_01
It would have got too dramatic.
4
SPEAKER_00
It s a really sad album.
4
SPEAKER_02
Yeah, exactly.
4
SPEAKER_01
Are you going to relive her concert in cinema form?
4
SPEAKER_02
I was supposed to go on Saturday, but I am going to New York instead.
4
SPEAKER_01
It ll be in New York, I think.
4
SPEAKER_02
My swifty level does stop there.
4
SPEAKER_01
I m not going to use my time in New York to go to the movies.
4
SPEAKER_01
I think it s about three hours long.
4
SPEAKER_01
It s long.
4
SPEAKER_02
Well, I m really curious.
4
SPEAKER_02
I need people to report back.
4
SPEAKER_02
I mean, I know the premiere was yesterday at the Grove.
4
SPEAKER_01
Right.
4
SPEAKER_02
Which, whoa.
4
SPEAKER_02
Like, I have a lot of questions about why it was at the Grove.
4
SPEAKER_01
Yeah, the Grove s a very, what is the Grove?
4
SPEAKER_01
It s a very sort of LA kind of, it s a mall.
4
SPEAKER_01
I ve been to the cinema there.
4
SPEAKER_01
It s very beautiful.
4
SPEAKER_02
It is this picturesque outdoor mall.
4
SPEAKER_02
Maybe it is.
4
SPEAKER_01
Is it a good place for a film premiere, do you think?
4
SPEAKER_02
No, because there s so many people and access.
4
SPEAKER_02
I just feel like craziness, crazy, chaotic.
4
SPEAKER_01
It would have been nuts.
4
SPEAKER_01
The Swifties would have been out in full force.
4
SPEAKER_02
Oh, yes.
4
SPEAKER_01
Security would have been high, I imagine.
4
SPEAKER_02
And Beyonce was there.
4
SPEAKER_01
That s amazing.
4
SPEAKER_02
Beyonce and Taylor at the Grove?
4
SPEAKER_01
That s bonkers.
4
SPEAKER_02
But I need people to know now that people are seeing it, are there behind the scenes or is it just the concert?
4
SPEAKER_01
From what I understand, I read a review, it s the concert.
4
SPEAKER_01
So there s nothing extra.
4
SPEAKER_01
You see the whole show.
4
SPEAKER_01
I think they cut two songs that were in the set list that they shot.
4
SPEAKER_01
But no, it s not like there s interviews and behind the scenes.
4
SPEAKER_01
It s the gig again.
4
SPEAKER_02
Okay.
4
SPEAKER_01
That s the vibe.
4
SPEAKER_01
You re either on board with that or you re not.
4
SPEAKER_02
Well, it s tricky as someone who saw it.
4
SPEAKER_01
Yeah.
4
SPEAKER_01
Do you want to relive it sort of with popcorn and a bit cheaper, probably, but cheaper to see it?
4
SPEAKER_01
Good for people that couldn t pay for the actual concert.
4
SPEAKER_01
Yes.
4
SPEAKER_01
Much cheaper, accessible.
4
SPEAKER_01
And the reviewer that reviewed it said that the audience was a bit like they were at a show.
4
SPEAKER_01
They were standing up, they were singing, they were dancing, which sounds kind of great.
4
SPEAKER_01
I love that.
4
SPEAKER_01
I like that aspect to it.
4
SPEAKER_02
Okay.
4
SPEAKER_02
Yes.
4
SPEAKER_02
I ll probably see it once it comes out on DVD.
4
SPEAKER_00
DVD.
4
SPEAKER_02
Do you know they, they officially, Netflix officially stopped sending those DVDs.
4
SPEAKER_02
End of an era.
4
SPEAKER_01
That is mad, it is mad to think when Netflix began with like this, yeah, sending out discs and you d send them back.
4
SPEAKER_02
I couldn t believe they still were.
4
SPEAKER_02
Like when I just saw it, I was like, oh my God, that s still a thing?
4
SPEAKER_01
Some people, my parents have still got a DVD player sat there.
4
SPEAKER_02
I have one too for my screeners.
4
SPEAKER_01
I applied to work at the video store when I was in high school and I wanted the job so bad and I didn t get the job.
4
SPEAKER_01
And I remember I ve never felt so sad not getting a job before.
4
SPEAKER_01
It s all I wanted to do.
4
SPEAKER_02
Cause did you want to go in like the porn section?
4
SPEAKER_01
No, it was just so exciting.
4
SPEAKER_01
I could like take home any videos.
4
SPEAKER_01
In my day, VHS s.
4
SPEAKER_01
VHS, yes.
4
SPEAKER_01
I could take any of them home.
4
SPEAKER_01
It was like heaven, all the new releases.
4
SPEAKER_01
I could take all the posters home.
4
SPEAKER_01
Oh, that s exciting.
4
SPEAKER_01
All that stuff.
4
SPEAKER_01
But yeah, didn t get the job, went to Julianne Moore.
4
SPEAKER_01
And she didn t even like the movies.
4
SPEAKER_02
Julianne Moore.
4
SPEAKER_01
Julianne Moore.
4
SPEAKER_01
Julia.
4
SPEAKER_01
Oh, so annoyed.
4
SPEAKER_02
Oh my God.
4
SPEAKER_01
Anyway, fantasy football.
4
SPEAKER_02
That was fun.
4
SPEAKER_02
I feel like I actually did learn a fair amount.
4
SPEAKER_01
Good.
4
SPEAKER_01
Thanks, Rob, for contributing.
4
SPEAKER_01
That was very helpful having you.
4
SPEAKER_01
I was worried if you weren t here to be able to like, inject some more facts into the thing.
4
SPEAKER_02
Yeah, because David didn t learn anything.
4
SPEAKER_00
That s what I m saying.
4
SPEAKER_00
I feel like David is less, I don t think he really tried to learn much about fantasy football.
4
SPEAKER_01
What I really like about fantasy football, I like the scene.
4
SPEAKER_01
I think it s so incredible that all these people are into this thing that s just fantasy.
4
SPEAKER_02
And I agree with the person who was talking about male friendship, and it is really important to cultivate that.
4
SPEAKER_02
And I do think this is a good way.
4
SPEAKER_02
We know what you like about fantasy football, which is the open arms.
4
SPEAKER_01
The open arms.
4
SPEAKER_01
Just so many arms and tattoos.
4
SPEAKER_01
Yeah, if you wanna the podcasts that these people have Mina has a podcast called ESPN daily and that s a lot about football and Robert Mays was the guy talking about Male bonding and his show is called the athletic football show and if you re into fantasy games, they re really big Remember one thing about you doing the draft is you just kept talking about how attractive the players were or not All you were concerned
5
SPEAKER_02
Looking at how cool they looked, what their hair was doing.
5
SPEAKER_01
Who was the hottest?
5
SPEAKER_02
Oh, I don t remember their names.
5
SPEAKER_02
Their faces would pop up and I d just sort of click.
5
SPEAKER_02
Because suddenly there d be pressure to pick.
5
SPEAKER_02
Suddenly it s your turn and there s just a sea of people in front of me.
5
SPEAKER_01
Oh wow, you judged a lot of books by their cover.
5
SPEAKER_01
All of them.
5
SPEAKER_00
All those books.
5
SPEAKER_02
Because all the numbers meant nothing to me.
5
SPEAKER_02
There were numbers there, but what do you do with them?
5
SPEAKER_02
Yeah, you didn t even pick the right positions.
5
SPEAKER_02
No, no, no.
5
SPEAKER_02
I was picking wildly.
5
SPEAKER_02
Yeah, this team would have really sucked.
5
SPEAKER_01
What if, though, it would have been so cool if it ended up being awesome?
5
SPEAKER_00
I know.
5
SPEAKER_00
Hey, it might still.
5
SPEAKER_01
Yeah, we don t know.
5
SPEAKER_00
No, he didn t.
5
SPEAKER_00
He doesn t have a defense kicker or a tight end.
5
SPEAKER_00
We don t know, Rob.
5
SPEAKER_00
We don t know yet.
5
SPEAKER_00
Do you need those people?
5
SPEAKER_00
Yeah, I mean, you re missing 30 points.
5
SPEAKER_01
You don t need it in this version of life where it s magic.
5
SPEAKER_02
You know what?
5
SPEAKER_02
It s really good because it s not real.
5
SPEAKER_02
So I m kind of OK with it.
5
SPEAKER_01
Yeah, you re good.
5
SPEAKER_02
All right, how much more American am I?
5
SPEAKER_02
Same, less, more?
5
SPEAKER_01
I m going to say you re same.
5
SPEAKER_01
And that s nice of me because I want to say you re less because you put in a small amount of effort here other than going to my friend s party.
5
SPEAKER_02
I did.
5
SPEAKER_01
But it was also really nice to hear all their voices.
5
SPEAKER_01
I like it when there s crossover.
5
SPEAKER_01
It s a good group.
5
SPEAKER_02
Good friends, good people, 75% American.
5
SPEAKER_01
Good American.
5
SPEAKER_01
That s a brand from a Kardashian.
5
SPEAKER_02
See ya.
5
SPEAKER_01
Bye.