Major League Baseball's All-Star break is upon us with fantasy baseball team owners gearing up for their second-half push to win their league. But gaining momentum is fantasy football with fantasy football sites on Yahoo.com, ESPN.com, CBSsports.com and Sandbox.com bombarded by owners with thousands of leagues forming every day.
I know first hand because my three email addresses are also being bombarded by requests to join leagues throughout the country. Right now I'm in five leagues and counting....When I go the various sites mentioned above it's amazing the number of leagues that have formed and are forming.
While some sports enthusiasts believe fantasy football popularity is starting to level off, the numbers found on Internet reports, from Associated Press reports or the Fantasy Sports Trade Association indicate the numbers are still impressive.
-Depending on which report you find, anywhere from 27 million to 40 million people in the United States are playing fantasy sports
- Participation in fantasy sports grows between 7 and 10 percent each year.
- The economic impact is estimated between $1 billion and $2 billion annually.
- Fantasy sports players spend an average of $493 a year.
- Fantasy players spend an average of three hours per week managing their teams.
- About 85 percent of all fantasy sports participants play fantasy football, mainly online.
Football season is what I live for...I could watch football year round and as a result I've become a huge fantasy football fan.
Last season I was in 11 leagues, made the playoffs in 10, advanced to the championship game in six and won two titles.