For Fantasy Footballers, Draft Day Is Nigh
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Fantasy football enthusiasts are getting ready for another season, and the apex of their season is Draft Day, many of which are being conducted this week.
(For the unfamiliar, fantasy football is an interactive, virtual competition in which people manage real professional football players as fictional team coaches and managers.)
Jim McCormick parlayed a passion into a career. He covers the Phillies for the local web site Philadelphia Sports Daily and fantasy football for ESPN. He says he got hooked on fantasy football nearly 20 years ago.
"I've been playing fantasy football since 1992. We actually used to draft and send in our results to a service," he recalls. "My first pick was with Emmitt Smith, which pained me as an Eagles fan but I really enjoyed his numbers."
The Internet has helped fantasy football grow into a multibillion-dollar industry. McCormick says about 19 million people in North America play.
And for most players, the biggest day of the season is Draft Day.
"Some people rent out the back room of a bar," McCormick says. "I find the best way to do it is set it up in someone's living room or, if anybody has what's becoming more popular, a man cave."
There's a lot of trash-talking and camaraderie. When the rosters are filled, says McCormick, everyone's a champion, at least for that day.
Reported by Paul Kurtz, KYW Newsradio 1060
