Hi, please

Tag Archives: sports

Why Is ESPN Zone Always So Cold?

Because it’s full of fans! Get it?

I was feeling kinda stuck in my travels this time around. I got to talk to some of the people in my league about fantasy football and I asked my friends a few questions while we were watching the games but I felt like I was missing something. Yeah, ok, fantasy football has an effect on how people watch the game, but what else? How could I experience the craziness that ensues during a football game and see the fans reactions? Ask the real die hards and fantasy nerds about their teams? What else could I learn? Two words…and one incredibly profitable franchise: ESPN Zone.

I really lucked out this time. This Sunday the Giants played the Cowboys at Giants Stadium. ESPN Zone may have been one of the craziest places in the country–no, the world to be on Sunday. The rivalry between these to teams runs deeper than the Hudson. Mention the Dallas Cowboys to a Giants fan and his blood boils.

I walk into the bar and find myself drowning in a sea of blue. Manning, Burress, Toomer; they’re everywhere–at least their jerseys are. There was an occasional Cowboys hat. Brave men, those ones. I went two hours before the game started and the place was already packed to the brim. Even taking into account it’s popular Times Square location, the hour and a half wait seemed excessive. Once I finally got in the place was roaring. Football was the only topic of conversation. From professional to minor league to fantasy to pee wee, these people lived, breathed, ate and drank football. PERFECT! Read More »

By Lynn 14:18, Nov 3rd, 08 3-travelogue Uncategorized 2 Comments

Watching Fantasy Football With A Bunch of Schizophrenics

Update: Tuck (my beloved computer) is still under the weather. I believe they are shock testing him (how scary does that sound?) today so as soon as my access to computers is greater (hopefully by Thursday) you can expect another post. My travelogue was effected by Tuck’s absence but it allowed me to look at yet another side of fantasy football.

Read More »

By Lynn 12:57, Oct 28th, 08 3-travelogue Uncategorized 1 Comment

Confessions of an NYU Outcast

Interested? Read on.

So, first of all let me apologize for my tardy posts lately. My computer (You’ve seen him. His name is Tuck) has fallen ill and is staying at the Apple store for a while so I am at the whim of NYU computers. Awesome. 

Second let me be completely honest with you: I enjoy football. THERE. I SAID IT. I ENJOY WATCHING OTHERS PARTAKE IN PHYSICAL ACTIVITY ON A SUNDAY AFTERNOON. I’d even rather watch the Giants game over E! News. I don’t flock to the tabloids and I’ve only ever been on Perez Hilton’s site three times. I didn’t know Marc Jacobs had anything to do with Louis Vuitton until my first class of the semester (If you were wondering, we played a game to determine the years assignments in which we had the name of a famous person on our back. The looks I received were chilling. The assignment? Less than desirable). My parents being Irish immigrants think our sports in the US are stupid and loathe my weekend indulgence. I was introduced to football by my ex-boyfriend (I swear my story has a purpose). Read More »

By Lynn 23:23, Oct 20th, 08 3-travelogue Uncategorized 5 Comments

Foosball is The Devil

“Foos-ball? Buncha overgrown monsters man-handlin’ each other…”

Ahh yes. The memorable quote from the groundbreaking film “The Waterboy.”

Though the devil foosball (or American Football as it is more commonly referred) may be, it rivals baseball as America’s favorite pastime. If you haven’t noticed, it’s football season. You may be seeing Facebook status’ like “Jane Sparkowitz is PISSED AT THE GIANTS RIGHT NOW! WHY ELI MANNING? WHY?” If you haven’t yet, expect to.

Football is so popular they even have fantasy football leagues. According to our favorite community based encyclopedia, fantasy football is

a fantasy sports game in which participants (called “owners”) are arranged into a league. The person who creates the league is called the commissioner, and that person invites other owners into his/her league. Each team drafts or acquires via auction a team of real-life American football players and then scores points based on those players’ statistical on-the-field performances. A typical fantasy league will employ players from a single football league, such as the NFL or an NCAA division. Leagues can be arranged in which the winner is the team with the most total points at the end of the season, or in a head-to-head format (which mirrors the actual NFL) in which each team plays against a single opponent each week. At the end of the year, win-loss records determine league rankings or qualification into a playoff bracket. Most leagues set aside the last weeks of the regular season for their own playoffs. Three major fantasy football sport providers are CBS, ESPN, and Yahoo!.

Football fans young and old sign up to participate in leagues at NFL.com. Many of my friends have fantasy teams. Fantasy teams are made up of players from all different teams, not only your favorite home state team. “Owners” are faced with a dilemma. Do they root against the team they’ve adored since childhood in favor of their fantasy team quarterback? Are participants getting more caught up in stats to benefit their online team at the cost casually enjoying the game on a Sunday afternoon?

What effect has Fantasy Football had on football fans?

By Lynn 13:16, Oct 18th, 08 3-travelogue Uncategorized 1 Comment