In 2022, voters across California voted against two bills that would have legalized all forms of sports betting in the state. That being said, betting culture and fantasy sports are still legal and certainly prevalent. It is not uncommon in the months between September and January to see a large part of the student population at Aragon participating in fantasy football leagues. Students often create these leagues with several of their friends, and play throughout the National Football League season.
“You pick players that you think are going to be good,” said senior Max Thronson. “Then, based on how they’ve performed, that’s how your team does.”
Football is not the only sport that prompts fantasy leagues. Just about any televised sport, such as basketball and Formula One, can be subject to fantasy betting, but the process is the same. With all these fantasy leagues, more often than not, comes a monetary prize for the league’s winner, thus making it a form of sports betting. At the beginning of the season, those participating put in a certain amount of money into the pot. This money is then won by the participant that has the most wins at the end of the season. However, most would argue that the monetary prize is not what draws them to playing, but rather just an added bonus.
“Obviously there might be prizes like money on the line,” said senior Paul Feghali. “But the satisfaction you get from beating your friends is so much more important.”
Students at Aragon have been participating in fantasy sports for a multitude of reasons, one of them being that it can bring friend groups together by creating a sort of friendly competition. Groups will meet every year for a “draft,” in which they will select their players, an event that ends up being something that participants look forward to every season. Every week, there is the possibility of a new winner, which keeps things interesting amongst friends.
“Fantasy has made us really competitive, but it’s all friendly,” said senior Eden King. “It’s just fun to tease your friends when you win. All of the jokes and trash talk make it fun and push us to keep playing.”
Furthermore, for many fantasy players, watching the sport on TV is already part of their daily routine.
“I want to watch football anyway, so I might as well have some stake in it, [an] incentive to watch games you wouldn’t otherwise watch,” Thronson said. “And since I play football, I’m going [to] play football in college [and] I like watching [football]. It’s almost like watching film.”
Fantasy sports give some viewers a chance to take their love for sports even further, as they have the opportunity to look into the analytical side of sports.
“You have to check [statistics], analyze their play from game to game, and then basically make an educated guess about how they are going to do the following week,” said senior Lequan Wang. “You definitely have to pay pretty close attention to the games every week.”
However, despite the overall positive outlook amongst Aragon students on fantasy sports, betting culture does have a certain downside: addiction.
“There is a rush of adrenaline that comes from a win,” Wang said. “But what you don’t realize is that you really only hit one out of ten times … But people love winning, so they ignore the nine losses.”
The extent of sports betting and fantasy sports on Aragon’s campus is finite. In most cases, students participate in fantasy within a regulated environment, so the risk of addiction is minimal. When played safely, fantasy sports can bring people together and create bonds over a shared passion for sports.
