What is your level of interest in the NFL when your FF season is over? (1 Viewer)

[Ministry of Pain]

There were 3 games this past Saturday that all featured teams with winning records in Week 15, Playoff implications all over the place but I wondered how many people were actually glued to the television sets if they were no longer playing FF. Some folks like the Lions' fan base has a lot to watch right now with a Division Title in their sights and a 30 year drought since the last time they won the Division.

In fact the last time the Lions won their Division, it was called the NFC Central and had 5 teams including Tampa Bay
Do you watch the NFL Playoffs when your home team is no longer playing.
18 teams do not make it and many of them know it by the end of September/early October which makes it a long season of misery.
I vaguely remember the Miami Dolphins going 1-15 and basically a punt return for a TD saved us from going 0-16 as I recall. We took Jake Long in the Spring, what an exciting time it was.

I was curious if some of you have already checked out or if there are some NFL stories you want to see happen even if you are not active in FF right now or perhaps just no rooting interest in the remaining teams still in the mix for Playoff spots like so many in the AFC Wildcard slots.

 

[karl.Racki]

For Gambling reasons..High

 

[renesauz]

My interest wanes only a little. I might tune out of the games between mediocre/weak teams. Still follow my team until they're out, and the playoff caliber games in general

 

[Gottabesweet]

I’ve got season tickets. When they are eliminated I find myself in DraftKings leagues or other playoff pools.

 

[gucci little piggy]

I'm actually more interested, well as long as the games are good. Fantasy football just made the games too stressful for me, and very unenjoyable. This was my first year playing FF after a 5 year hiatus, and it will likely be my last year. Like next week's game between SF and BAL should be awesome, especially with no fantasy implications for me. On the other hand, yeah I have no interest in watching loser teams play(like that ATL-CAR game from yesterday, or the first 2 Saturday games from this past week)...although I'll still unfortunately watch my loser Giants try to not lose for the millionth time in a row against the Eagles...at least until they get down by two possessions, then the game will be off.

I'll be rooting for the Lions as my team going forward this year, I guess. I had several Lions in fantasy this year, so I got attached to them...plus them and the 9ers are my only hope for the Eagles and Cowboys not winning the NFC.

 

[travdogg]

Honestly, probably more as it tends to be NFL playoff time, and I can watch things more analytically, without having as strong of a rooting interest. I don't know if that would carry me through an entire season, but for a month or so, sure. I've been playing fantasy since 2003, and it'd feel weird not to ever again. I have 5 teams (2 redraft, 2 keeper, 1 dynasty) and if AJ Brown doesn't have one of his best games of the season tonight, all 5 will still somehow be playing next week.

Then again, I think I'm probably more in the camp of just enjoying the sport of football than really having a strong rooting interest. I'm a Bears fan I guess (since 1989) but if they were to go 0-17, it wouldn't bother me at all. I care much more about my fantasy teams than my NFL team, but I probably care even more about watching good football, and being right about what I think is going to happen even more.

I think it also depends on if you care about other sports too. I used to watch football, baseball, basketball, and hockey. I don't think I could name 20 baseball, basketball, and hockey players combined, that aren't at least 10+ years in. So, I've doubled (tripled? quadrupled?) down on football being my sport.

 

[amnesiac]

the Browns are usually out of contention by week 10, and if my fantasy team is bad there may be a few weeks that my attention wanes, but i love the playoffs.

 

[dukezib]

(...) especially with no fantasy implications for me. (...)

travdogg: I think I'm probably more in the camp of just enjoying the sport of football than really having a strong rooting interest.

I feel the same. The lack of FF concerns turns the games more enjoyable. The real life playoffs always have the fun factor, even without the team that I root for.

I am a Saints fan, and with all the NFC South being so bad last 2 seasons, I am looking for fun while watching other teams.

 

[The Future Champs]

In Dynasty, there is no "over".

 

[-OZ-]

I enjoy watching the playoffs, but generally join a FF playoff league. Interest definitely increases even with free FF at stake.

It’s been a long time since I haven’t had any team in the FF playoffs. (Multiple leagues) but if I didn’t have a team going now, with the titans being bad, I’d probably stop watching this year.

 

[Army Eye]

Level of interest doesn't really change, since it coincides with the NFL playoff race getting into the final stretch.

 

[Ministry of Pain]

For Gambling reasons..High

Junior and I wanted to check out the new sportbook at Hard Rock...
-First of all, there are NO cashiers or cages like I remember when I was in Vegas back a few years. It's like you are buying movie tickets at the vending machine.
-We had downloaded the App which is no different than if you standing in the middle of the sportsbook at Hard Rock, you don't have to leave your couch now in Florida.
That's a new thing here and sure people were gambling in Florida but it wasn't like this new app the Seminoles have unleashed on the public around here.

It's like DK or FD in a sense but what I find interesting is for a lot of the bets and winnings, those folks will just leave the money on the App so they can reload for next weekend I don't see how they will ever have to pay anything out. I cannot figure out what took them so long to launch this App, it's a license for them to print money.

We bet a parlay with Mostert and the Phins, anytime TD and the Phins win, we had that wrapped up before halftime so we made a few more small bets and turned $100 into about $450 on their app by the end of Sunday. My son had downloaded the app on his phone so I sorta made him cash out and put it all back in his bank account and asked him not to use it without me for a while.
We should have cashed out BEFORE Bal-Jax because I was a sucker for the Jags last night. We still had a great day all said.

 

[JohnnyU]

In dynasty there isn‘t much of an off-season.

 

[Insein]

Still in it till I'm out of my pickem league. Then I don't care until the playoffs.

 

[Ministry of Pain]

I enjoy watching the playoffs, but generally join a FF playoff league. Interest definitely increases even with free FF at stake.

It’s been a long time since I haven’t had any team in the FF playoffs. (Multiple leagues) but if I didn’t have a team going now, with the titans being bad, I’d probably stop watching this year.

For the first time in a while, one of my oldest redraft leagues I found myself looking in from the outside this year, even with the most points scored I missed the playoffs.
I decided to re-vamp the toilet bowl and I also offered a straight up bet to the person who was the 1-Seed but actually had less points scored on the season than I did
All 4 toilet bowl participants threw in a few bucks and I offered $25 to any one who wanted to play me H2H this past weekend, the 1-Seed was the only taker and we are locked up pretty good going into tonight although i never planned on Hurts having the flu the day before and almost missing the game. I hear they flew Hurts in on a different plane than the rest of the team.

 

[Pip's Invitation]

I pay attention up to the Super Bowl.

In the offseason, I check out the results of the draft. Otherwise I don’t pay much attention until FF prep season starts (late July or so).

 

[Brunell4MVP]

I gave up fantasy football a few years ago and my team really, really sux. Sadly I live for the offseason becasue WAS hasn't won a playoff game since 2006. .

 

[eighsse2]

If my fantasy team is out and the Bengals are out, I'm pretty not interested. I'll follow along. But I am mostly an empty shell at that point, not really into it.

 

[TheWinz]

My NFL interest can be prioritized like this:
1 - How well the Chargers are doing
2 - How far I advance in the FBG subscriber contest
3 - How far I advance in my main redraft league
4 - How far I advance in my secondary redraft league

I can say though, it is fun watching a good game with no FF implications. As another in here said, in my younger years I used to follow MLB and the NBA, but that fizzled out years ago.

 

[FarFromHome]

Great question. First off, for me, when the fantasy season is finally over I'm actually relieved. Its a long grind. Then I finally get to enjoy football like it should be enjoyed. Watching football for fantasy reasons compared to no fantasy reasons is quite different .

 

[zamboni]

Great question. First off, for me, when the fantasy season is finally over I'm actually relieved. Its a long grind. Then I finally get to enjoy football like it should be enjoyed. Watching football for fantasy reasons compared to no fantasy reasons is quite different .

This essentially describes my take as well. When the NFL playoffs come, it’s nice to view things much more from a real fan perspective rather than a fantasy one. So many times throughout the season I tend to lose sight of what it means for NFL teams (beyond my own Jets), focusing more on my own FF players.

All that said, for my keeper/dynasty team, I remain focused on them during the NFL playoffs - albeit mainly praying they don’t get badly injured (Pollard last year for example).

 

[fatness]

I get into fantasy curling once FF is over. And man do I have some fantasies.

 

[JohnnyU]

Prospect hounding.

 

[ignatiusjreilly]

Count me as another one who enjoys it more when I don't have to worry about fantasy. Week 18 is great -- I've been rooting for or against various guys all season, and suddenly that gets thrown out the window. If my teams (Lions and Commanders, though living in Miami I have a secondary rooting interest for the Dolphins) are still in it, that's a lot of fun, too. But even if I have no rooting interest, watching an exciting game without having to think at all about the fantasy implications for my team is a lot of fun. I still remember where I was when Tyler Boyd's long TD knocked the Ravens out and put the BIlls in, and when Dre Greenlaw stopped Jacob Hollister at the one-inch line to clinch the division/No. 1 seed for the Niners (coincidentally, I was at my parents' house for both of them)

 

[Joe Bryant]

This is a great topic.

 

[Wigglytuff's Gruff]

I enjoy it more, but care less.

As I'm from the UK I don't really feel anything emotional for the NFL team I follow, so really my fantasy teams are my emotional teams. When it's done I can detach and just watch the sport more casually, and to a large degree it's more enjoyable when you don't have a vested interest in how specific players do. But other than just appreciating the sport, I really don't care what happens with any team. And as your primetime kick offs are 1am here, I don't watch them.

I have actually watched a lot less this year than other years. As a product, I'm not finding the NFL to be as enjoyable as when I first got into it a decade ago. Maybe with familiarity and more understanding of what is happening it has lost some of it's allure and mystique. I enjoy Fantasy Dynasty most of all. The strategic roster construction and player trading game. Without that aspect, I'm not sure I'd devote much time at all to the NFL really.

 

[pollardsvision]

So many compelling storylines this year.

Flacco/Browning/Minshew/Stroud duking it out to go to the playoffs!

Then there's the Bills who could win it all if they get in

Watching the Steelers completely fall apart is just good fun for the whole family.

 

[BassNBrew]

Much higher. This time of year I'll tune into games due to there importance. Early in the year I'll spend less tim watching and more time surfing the net checking fantasy stats and updates. I will say that I'm less likely to watch a solo primetime game if it's not a good matchup later in the year.

 

[Da Guru]

For me since the Lions are finally good interest is very high.

 

[Timmay]

I watch football no matter what, I only get 18 regular season weeks + playoffs to enjoy one of the most entertaining products on earth, I have to take advantage of it. I'm definitely more involved if the Bengals are playing or I have money on the game, but I would watch football regardless.

 

[IHEARTFF]

dynasty never ends, but once redraft leagues end, there are always intriguing playoff implications and then of course the playoffs which has always had my attention

 

[Ministry of Pain]

This is a great topic.

Thank You!

 

[Ministry of Pain]

Toilet Bowl Semi-Winner and now in the Finals for $100 this weekend, not a bad kick in the pants
Swept all my H2H match ups even with a Breece Hall-Bijan Robinson combo at the 1-2 slots for RB.
Cooper and the other Cooper, Gibbs and yes those Miami Dolphins with a healthy 26 on Defense in my league helped push across the finish line.

The Miami Dolphins are keeping my interest level very high in the NFL despite losing some of our best players the last 2-3 weeks.

 

[Todem]

The Postseason is my favorite part of watching the NFL.

My fantasy season ended this weekend. Ho hum.

Bring on the postseason.

 

[wlwiles]

If I'm alive in fantasy, I'll watch every NFL game no matter who is playing.
Once my fantasy season is kaput, I start focusing on NFL playoff races and am much more willing to let go of watching Carolina vs. Arizona type matchups that have no playoff implications.

 

[Zeppelin]

I don't play fantasy anymore but it didn't matter when I did or now that I don't. I love football. I look forward to it, especially in the playoffs. It's even better this year because I am a Lions fan and we are on the verge of clinching out first division title in 30 years and even more important a home playoff game.