With start of NFL season comes the yearly fantasy football phenomenon
NEW YORK -- The NFL season begins Thursday night. Football is the most popular sport in the U.S., partly due to fantasy football.
Nearly every office has a fantasy football league and the value goes deeper than just football knowledge.
The most interesting football battles might not unfold on the gridiron, but in living rooms and offices.
"We have a draft starting right now and we got the whole gang here," Adam Aizer recently said on a YouTube show.
Aizer is the host of CBS Sports Fantasy Football Today. It's where ordinary folks become armchair coaches, united by their shared love for America's sport.
"You get to evaluate talent, put it on your team, make trades, make add-drops. It's just a different world and it is so fun," Aizer said.
It's a national phenomenon, with more than 37 million people competing in leagues. It's a game of strategy, but at its core is camaraderie.
"I have friends that I barely speak to throughout the year, but fantasy football season comes along and we talk a lot," Aizer said.
Unlike gambling, fantasy football is built on a social element.
"I love the stories about leagues that get together, fly in from around the country to do their draft together, those types of things. There's such a bonding experience," Aizer said.
It's a unifying experience, even though there might be some rivalries that crop up.
"I think people love the trash talk. They love the games. They love the trophies they get to win," one person said.
Yes, the banter emerges as the season progresses, but those experiences bring people closer together because it transcends boundaries of age, occupation or background, which means you never know who might be a secret fantasy football guru.