Throwing his phone down with the ESPN Fantasy app open, Liam Zakrzewski ’27 leaps off of the sofa, narrowly escaping a weekly punishment—a milk mile—after beating his friend in the close matchup. Laughing, he recalls the recent trade where he swapped Phoenix Suns Forward Kevin Durant in exchange for Miami Heat Forward Jimmy Butler, a move that clinched his victory.
Fantasy sports leagues are leagues where participants create virtual teams of real-life athletes and compete based on their performances. Fantasy League betting allows participants across the globe to wager on their performance in actual games, which combines strategic planning with competition and the potential for monetary rewards. According to the Fantasy Sports & Gaming Association, in 2022, there were nearly 62.5 million fantasy players, 79 percent of which play Fantasy Football.
At Stevenson, a growing number of students participate in Fantasy League and some design punishments for bets based on their team’s performance. Zakrzewski enjoys the creative process of coming up with unique punishments to keep his league entertaining and competitive.
“In our friend group’s league, we like to keep things interesting and fun so there’s always a punishment for the person who finishes last,” Zakrzewski said. “This year, the loser has to drink a full gallon of milk and then run a mile.”
Zakrzewski believes that punishments are a good motivator in fantasy sports. However, he also notes that team identity and background knowledge play significant roles in the league’s excitement.
“There’s something satisfying about seeing the players on your team perform well in real life and knowing it’s helping you win,” Zakrzewski said. “Beating my friends and even strangers in other leagues is always fun, and keeps the games exciting.”
Social studies teacher Clayton Duba agrees with Zakrzewski , highlighting the sense of community with other players in his league and the social aspect of Fantasy Leagues. This camaraderie often leads to friendly banter and the development of shared identities around the game.
“One of my favorite [rewards for winning my fantasy leagues] is the person who wins gets to come up with the theme for the names next year,” Duba said. “Another year, ours was Billy Joel songs. So we had to come up with team names that were plays on that.”
Duba notes that the growing popularity of fantasy leagues has shifted fans’ focus from identifying with teams to supporting individual players. This shift centers on how players contribute to their fantasy team’s success through their stats.
“For example, there’s a lot of Kobe fans, more than there were Lakers fans,” Duba said. “And I would say that wasn’t the case, pre-2000.”
Fantasy Leagues have involved students combining sports interest with competition and wagering. Ronav Lamba ’27, a participant in the Fantasy Leagues, also uses punishments—particularly weekly ones—which add excitement to the game and helps keep everyone motivated and engaged through the season. Lamba explained that factors such as injury proneness, fantasy point consistency, and minutes played are crucial when selecting players to build a successful team.
“It doesn’t take much time to manage the team, however people who trade more will spend more time and effort on fantasy,” Lamba said.
Nevertheless, Gawade acknowledges that fantasy leagues as a whole have made him pay attention to the NBA. According to an IPSOS poll, in conjunction with an increase in sports betting, 64 percent of Fantasy players say they are watching more sports because of fantasy leagues.
“I think at the start I was more of a casual watcher, around 2018, I didn’t watch as much,” Gawade said. “But now that I’m in the fantasy league, I’m much more tied to the game, I look at the stats more, I think I’m more knowledgeable overall, and I just watch all the games more intently.”