What Do NFL Players Think About The Game We Love?
Fantasy football is normally a fun hobby for most people, but for others, it is something more. Some people get so mad at how the players on their fantasy team perform that they threaten the players. Other people are so happy with their fantasy players performance that they will thank them. Most NFL players don’t care about fantasy football, but they can’t ignore what people say about their fantasy football performances.
Some players joke around about fantasy football, while others are very serious about fantasy football. Reggie Bush, Detroit Lions running back at the time of the interview, said,”Sometimes you want to say something back to them, like screw your fantasy football league.” He obviously doesn’t like fantasy football and how people talk to him about fantasy football. Stevan Ridley, New England Patriots running back at the time, said,”I’ve been cut, I’ve been cussed out, I’ve been unfollowed. I’ve heard it all. It is funny that people’s fantasy is my reality.” He seems to not mind too much about fantasy football. Eric Decker, New York Jets wide receiver, said,” They let you know for sure that they own you.” Eric doesn’t seem like he likes fantasy football too much. Roddy White, Atlanta Falcons wide receiver, said,” Fans are some really, really bad people sometimes.”, while Larry Fitzgerald, Arizona Cardinals wide receiver, on the other hand said,” It’s great to see people playing and bringing fringe fans to the game.” There are a lot of different opinions about fantasy football, but most players seem to not care about it unless people tell them something negative.
People take to social media sites like twitter to send out their thoughts. Sometimes these thoughts that are posted are not cheerful. In one case Brandon Jacobs, New York Giants running back at the time, received a tweet from Andre Rayner @DMMeBoo saying,” ON LIFE BRANDON. IF YOU DONT RUSH FOR 50 AND TWO TOUCHDOWNS TONIGHT ITS OVER FOR YOU AND YO FAMILY NI-ER”. Rayner also said,” FULFILL MY ORDERS STATED IN THE PREVIOUS TWEET OR THATS YO LIFE BRUH AND IM NOT PLAYING”. Brandon Jacobs didn’t play in that game because of a hamstring injury. Jacobs took it seriously and contacted NFL security. Rayner then begged for forgiveness tweeting,“BRO RELAX ITS NEVER THAT SERIOUS. ITS JUST TWITTER MAN. I TRULY APOLOGIZE I COULD NEVER ACTUALLY DO THAT. RETWEET THIS PLEASE. FORGIVE ME MAN ITS NOT EVEN LIKE THAT. REALLY IM TRYNA BE YOUR FRIEND!!.” Jacobs also received a tweet from a different user saying,”next time tell us you’re not playing before I have to set up my lineup #ilostbecauseofyou #droppingyou #p****.” Jacobs said to a reporter,”This is horrible. Fantasy football has really gone too far.” Jacobs also said,”Play in a cheaper league, maybe you won’t take it as serious. I don't care about your fantasy team whether it is good or bad. I don’t want to hear anything about it.” Jacobs wasn’t the only NFL player to receive threats. Rob Gronkowski, New England Patriots tight end, said,”We are just trying to win some football games and people are mocking you saying that your terrible and that I ruined their fantasy football team.” He was talking to a reporter about a tweet he received saying,” I swear if beiber hanging with gronk screws my team in fantasy playoffs I’ll kill him.” Gronkowski and Jacobs both received “death” threats that didn’t actually happen. Arian Foster, Houston Texans running back, got hurt one year and people constantly asked him about his status. He responded by posting a tweet,”4 those sincerely concerned, I’m doing ok & plan 2 B back by opening day. 4 those worried about your fantasy team, u ppl are sick.” He clearly doesn’t like how people pester him about his status for their fantasy football team. Jamaal Charles, Kansas City Chiefs running back, tore his ACL in 2011 and received some criticism for it from fantasy football participants. He said to a reporter,”I guess I was a top ten pick in fantasy football. I can't help it. I couldn’t help that I got hurt. Did you think I wanted to get hurt.” All of these players did not like how people responded to their injury or just who they hung out with.
Not all cases of fantasy football participants communicating with NFL players are negative. Eli Manning, New York Giants quarterback, said he hears people say,”Nice job, great game, you really helped me out.” But then he says,”We lost.” Then he hears,” You threw three touchdowns and got me 28 points.” Eli Manning laughed when he described this situation showing that he doesn’t understand why people compliment him when his team loses. In a similar case, Jeremy Maclin, Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver at the time of the interview, said he dropped a critical fourth down pass in a game, but fans said,”That’s alright, you got me such and such points.” In both of these cases, these players did well for “fantasy standards” and were complimented for it even though their team lost or they made a critical mistake. Both of these players laughed while describing the situation showing us why they think fantasy football is a “fantasy.”
Some NFL players actually play fantasy football themselves. Antonio Gates, San Diego Chargers tight end, says,” I don’t necessarily see a problem with NFL players being involved, because technically we are already involved.” Greg Jennings says,”Anything that's extra competition, guys want to be apart of it.” Brian Robinson, Minnesota Vikings player who doesn’t play fantasy football, says,” I feel like my time should be spent on concentrating on my job, instead of worrying about what else is going on around the league.” Blair Walsh, Minnesota Vikings Kicker who is an avid fan of fantasy football, said, ”To me, it’s about talking smack to my friends.” No one knows for sure how many NFL players actually play fantasy football, but when Bleacher Report asked 21 NFL players how many players they think play fantasy football, the answer range was from 1% to 75%. One player said 1%, three players said 75%, while 12 players said that less than 1/3 of the league plays fantasy football. It is important to note that all three of the estimates of 75% came from players on the Minnesota Vikings. Drew Stanton, current Arizona Cardinals quarterback and previous Detroit Lions quarterback, said
"It's probably a team-to-team thing."He said his Lions teammates did play fantasy football, but his Cardinals teammates don't. This shows that certain teams could have a lot of players playing fantasy football, but others not so much.
Fantasy football is supposed to be a fun hobby that entertains people. Sometimes this isn't the case, and sometimes people are more worried about fantasy football than the actual football game. Most players seem to disregard fantasy football and think that it really is a “fantasy.”
Some players joke around about fantasy football, while others are very serious about fantasy football. Reggie Bush, Detroit Lions running back at the time of the interview, said,”Sometimes you want to say something back to them, like screw your fantasy football league.” He obviously doesn’t like fantasy football and how people talk to him about fantasy football. Stevan Ridley, New England Patriots running back at the time, said,”I’ve been cut, I’ve been cussed out, I’ve been unfollowed. I’ve heard it all. It is funny that people’s fantasy is my reality.” He seems to not mind too much about fantasy football. Eric Decker, New York Jets wide receiver, said,” They let you know for sure that they own you.” Eric doesn’t seem like he likes fantasy football too much. Roddy White, Atlanta Falcons wide receiver, said,” Fans are some really, really bad people sometimes.”, while Larry Fitzgerald, Arizona Cardinals wide receiver, on the other hand said,” It’s great to see people playing and bringing fringe fans to the game.” There are a lot of different opinions about fantasy football, but most players seem to not care about it unless people tell them something negative.
People take to social media sites like twitter to send out their thoughts. Sometimes these thoughts that are posted are not cheerful. In one case Brandon Jacobs, New York Giants running back at the time, received a tweet from Andre Rayner @DMMeBoo saying,” ON LIFE BRANDON. IF YOU DONT RUSH FOR 50 AND TWO TOUCHDOWNS TONIGHT ITS OVER FOR YOU AND YO FAMILY NI-ER”. Rayner also said,” FULFILL MY ORDERS STATED IN THE PREVIOUS TWEET OR THATS YO LIFE BRUH AND IM NOT PLAYING”. Brandon Jacobs didn’t play in that game because of a hamstring injury. Jacobs took it seriously and contacted NFL security. Rayner then begged for forgiveness tweeting,“BRO RELAX ITS NEVER THAT SERIOUS. ITS JUST TWITTER MAN. I TRULY APOLOGIZE I COULD NEVER ACTUALLY DO THAT. RETWEET THIS PLEASE. FORGIVE ME MAN ITS NOT EVEN LIKE THAT. REALLY IM TRYNA BE YOUR FRIEND!!.” Jacobs also received a tweet from a different user saying,”next time tell us you’re not playing before I have to set up my lineup #ilostbecauseofyou #droppingyou #p****.” Jacobs said to a reporter,”This is horrible. Fantasy football has really gone too far.” Jacobs also said,”Play in a cheaper league, maybe you won’t take it as serious. I don't care about your fantasy team whether it is good or bad. I don’t want to hear anything about it.” Jacobs wasn’t the only NFL player to receive threats. Rob Gronkowski, New England Patriots tight end, said,”We are just trying to win some football games and people are mocking you saying that your terrible and that I ruined their fantasy football team.” He was talking to a reporter about a tweet he received saying,” I swear if beiber hanging with gronk screws my team in fantasy playoffs I’ll kill him.” Gronkowski and Jacobs both received “death” threats that didn’t actually happen. Arian Foster, Houston Texans running back, got hurt one year and people constantly asked him about his status. He responded by posting a tweet,”4 those sincerely concerned, I’m doing ok & plan 2 B back by opening day. 4 those worried about your fantasy team, u ppl are sick.” He clearly doesn’t like how people pester him about his status for their fantasy football team. Jamaal Charles, Kansas City Chiefs running back, tore his ACL in 2011 and received some criticism for it from fantasy football participants. He said to a reporter,”I guess I was a top ten pick in fantasy football. I can't help it. I couldn’t help that I got hurt. Did you think I wanted to get hurt.” All of these players did not like how people responded to their injury or just who they hung out with.
Not all cases of fantasy football participants communicating with NFL players are negative. Eli Manning, New York Giants quarterback, said he hears people say,”Nice job, great game, you really helped me out.” But then he says,”We lost.” Then he hears,” You threw three touchdowns and got me 28 points.” Eli Manning laughed when he described this situation showing that he doesn’t understand why people compliment him when his team loses. In a similar case, Jeremy Maclin, Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver at the time of the interview, said he dropped a critical fourth down pass in a game, but fans said,”That’s alright, you got me such and such points.” In both of these cases, these players did well for “fantasy standards” and were complimented for it even though their team lost or they made a critical mistake. Both of these players laughed while describing the situation showing us why they think fantasy football is a “fantasy.”
Some NFL players actually play fantasy football themselves. Antonio Gates, San Diego Chargers tight end, says,” I don’t necessarily see a problem with NFL players being involved, because technically we are already involved.” Greg Jennings says,”Anything that's extra competition, guys want to be apart of it.” Brian Robinson, Minnesota Vikings player who doesn’t play fantasy football, says,” I feel like my time should be spent on concentrating on my job, instead of worrying about what else is going on around the league.” Blair Walsh, Minnesota Vikings Kicker who is an avid fan of fantasy football, said, ”To me, it’s about talking smack to my friends.” No one knows for sure how many NFL players actually play fantasy football, but when Bleacher Report asked 21 NFL players how many players they think play fantasy football, the answer range was from 1% to 75%. One player said 1%, three players said 75%, while 12 players said that less than 1/3 of the league plays fantasy football. It is important to note that all three of the estimates of 75% came from players on the Minnesota Vikings. Drew Stanton, current Arizona Cardinals quarterback and previous Detroit Lions quarterback, said
"It's probably a team-to-team thing."He said his Lions teammates did play fantasy football, but his Cardinals teammates don't. This shows that certain teams could have a lot of players playing fantasy football, but others not so much.
Fantasy football is supposed to be a fun hobby that entertains people. Sometimes this isn't the case, and sometimes people are more worried about fantasy football than the actual football game. Most players seem to disregard fantasy football and think that it really is a “fantasy.”