Dang, there's no game today. When's the next game? I need more matches NOW! Fantasy football is so addictive that it should come with one of those health warnings that you get on cigarette packets. You know, something like, "May totally ruin your social life and turn you into a stats nerd." What's interesting is that, just as with more conventional addictions, fantasy football addiction is intrinsically linked to the dopamine effect in the brain.
Dopamine is a neurotransmitter in the brain that, when released, induces feelings of pleasure. It's understandable that individuals want to repeat actions that create pleasure but unconsciously what we're doing is finding triggers that will release our next shot of dopamine. Sometimes the pleasurable activities that generate dopamine can be said to be healthy. For example, food generates dopamine and we need to eat to survive. Sex also generates dopamine and sex is good for the survival of the species. However, dopamine can lead to addictions that are anything but healthy, such as serious drug addictions.
So, how does this link to fantasy football? Well, doing well and winning prizes in fantasy football is pleasurable and will trigger the release of dopamine. As we seek further rewards, there is a danger that we will go to unhealthy lengths to satiate that need, possibly neglecting family and work commitments as we spend untold hours tinkering with our fantasy football picks. This effect has been observed in studies that have looked at gambling addiction, albeit that such behavioral addictions are somewhat less potent than addictions that include a chemical element, such as cigarettes or cocaine.
Where an addiction takes hold, the sufferer typically finds that their body requires increasingly large dosages of whatever element is triggering dopamine. And any attempts to kick the habit will be met by resistance as the individual's body attempts to resist any attempts to deprive it of those pleasurable dopamine hits.
For those of us who have become fantasy football addicts, the effects can be quite distressing. You may find yourself sitting in a dark room following all the latest football scores. And despite your best efforts, you can't help cheering when a team you despise scores because the scorer is in your fantasy football team. You're crying at your disloyalty to the team you've supported since childhood and realize that you need help. There's no Fantasy Football Anonymous, however, so in desperation you attend your local drug and alcohol rehab class and here are the similarities that you find:
* You're always wanting that next hit. You've already got ten teams entered into various fantasy football competitions, but it's still not enough!
* When following your fantasy football team, you often get the munchies.
* There's a slippery slope. When you started, it was just your office's free fantasy football league and it was a light-hearted bit of fun. Now you're paying $30 a shot to enter nationwide competitions offering the lure of huge prizes.
* The cold turkey is hell. You know that fantasy football is ruining your social life and you've tried to quit, you really have. However, after those first few days, you just can't keep away from the sports pages and have logged back on to enter a new team.
* Highs are followed by lows. When you're "using," it feels so good, seeing your team's points accumulating and your team rising up the table. But then it all crashes down and you're left in despair - the season's over.
Of course, most fantasy football users don't talk about their addiction. It's their dirty little secret and they're not about to own up to having a problem. Time for an intervention!
Here's some further reading and viewing:
* The Fantasy Addicts NFL Mock Draft:
* Fantasy Football addiction: http://www.mikeindustries.com/blog/archive/2005/01/fantasy-football-addiction
* Strange addictions: http://www.oddee.com/item_96496.aspx
* Fantasy Football: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fantasy_football_(American)#History
* Addiction: http://www.addictionjournal.org/
* Signs of addiction: http://www.drugrehab.co.uk/drug-addiction-signs.htm
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