starting your kids on fantasy football (1 Viewer)

[seahawk 17]

I don't get all this kids should be outside talk.

Other than the draft my son spends maybe 10 mins a week on FF during football season.

Of course that could explain his 6-7-1 record.

 

[Neil Beaufort Zod]

my soon to be 2nd grader LOVES football. i purchased a couple of the draft previews for him so he could learn a bit about the incoming rookies and he is going nuts with them. before then he looked through numerous preseason guides i had from several years ago (BARRY SANDERS was in a couple of them... lol) because i quit buying them when we finally got high speed internet.he's not gifted but we do know that he's getting bored in school... and he causes trouble when he's bored (provokes it actually, he's never caught)... so some of the teachers have suggested finding something he's fascinated in and letting him explore it as much as possible from as many angles as possible.i'm considering introducing him to fantasy football this summer and setting up a very basic league for him.does this sound like a good idea for somebody this young, or is it a big risk? i do NOT want to turn him off to the game. plus he's ultra competitive, so that's a concern.has anybody else introduced their kids to fantasy sports? if so, how'd you do it and do you have any advice?

I agree that it does challenge the mind with a lot of things the others have brought up (ie. value of picks, etc) however, I think it's best not to subject kids to computers that early. Maybe it's just my opinion but fantasy football won't get your kids isolated or cause them not to have friends....it's computers. The use of instant messenging has killed interpersonal skills. I fimly believe this. Considering the world we live in now-adays where it's technology driven....I wouldn't say holding the computer back from them is the key. Rather, set a minimal amount of supervised time he is allowed on it per day and weekend. And ensure the computer is in a room that he can't access without you (or have a lock on the computer). Like I said, maybe it's me, but computers are addicting and I feel parents need to be careful with the amount of time their kids spend on it, among other reasons that aren't named (porn, child predators, morally wrong web sites, explicit web sites, etc). I guess my point is that, sure, it's a good idea to let him get involved with it. But certainly limit his time on the computer so he won't have a chance to become obsessed with it....not at this age anyway.

So what's the point of playing? Everyone else in his league will have computer access, he'll know he's way behind from an information standpoint and he'll be playing a game where he has a huge disadvantage. It's not like several years ago, where internet access gave you a competitive adantage. Now, if you don't have it you're in a deep hole. Do you limit his checking injury reports on Sunday morning? How about scores and stats throughout the day? Practice schedules during the week? Message boards for info? I understand your concern about computers, but that just tells me that maybe ff isn't for a young person. It's a computer-based game now, like it or not.

I completely understand that FF now is very computer based. But this is only a kid. If he's "reduced" then yes he will have less of an advantage but it's just a kid. You want him to have any access at all times to stay up on information (= addicted) and that's what I'm voicing my opinion by trying to avoid. Whether it's the addiction to FF or to computers.I agree with JohnnyU.....kids need to do kid stuff. I think you can find other ways to challenge kids mentally than fantasy football.

Yeah, that was my point. It's hard for a kid to keep "fantasy football" separate from just football. It depends on how you grow up with it.The first time I watched college basketball, I had a March Madness bracket. I enjoy it every year, but I don't enjoy just watching the games to watch them. If the bracket isn't involved, I lose interest. I wonder if I had watched them without the bracket first if I would feel differently. I'd hate to see a kid feel that way about football.

 

[Neil Beaufort Zod]

I didn't have to "start" my son in this hobby. He became interested himself & started asking questions when he was about 9. He participated in his first draft at the age of 10. My son is now a young man & is a well-rounded person. I'm very proud of him. BTW, he doesn't spend an inordinate amount of time on FF (certainly much less than me, LOL).

That's great. But can he watch a game without looking at the stats, or running to the computer to see who did what? Can he watch the home team and not think about ff, just how the team is doing?In 1999, the Rams defeated the Buccaneers 11-6 in the NFC Championship game (the only game in NFL history to end in that score, btw). I'm very into fantasy football, and had a playoff ff team going. As a Bucs fan, I agonized over the entire game, and it wasn't until hours after, when the sick feeling of being *that* close to the SB was settling into my stomach, did I realize that all my playoff players were still alive. I didn't think about it once the entire game, and didn't care afterward. I think that came from being a Bucs fan for two decades, and only being into fantasy fotoball as an adult. My memories of football were just as a fan with nothing else on the line but hometown pride...and I went right back into that mindset during the playoffs. That was great, and I'd like to think that all ff players can do that-- go back to when it was just them, the TV, a jersey and their family. I'd worry that a young person who grew up with fantasy football wouldn't be able to do that, that it would always be a numbers game in there somewhere. In that instance, I think they're missing out.

 

[waylander]

Well said. I agree completely.

I think FF adds something to my experience as a fan, but it no way is the cause of it.

Let them be a true fan of the game first, and then if FF interests them, let them give it a shot.