Fantasy football has forever changed the viewing experience and rooting interests of fans. When money is on the line, fans tend to go all out, rooting for their fantasy teams. 

This can cause them to put rivalries aside. In the Pittsburgh, Cincinnati and Cleveland areas, the general public might see no possible reason to root for Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson. However, if Jackson is your fantasy quarterback, that could change your entire outlook. Jackson wins fantasy leagues. Winning fantasy leagues equals money. Does money equal happiness? Well, that’s not for this article to decide.

The point is, people who play fantasy football are willing to do whatever it takes to win their leagues, even if it’s drafting players that rival their favorite NFL teams.

Take the YouTube video “Fantasy Football Stereotypes” by Dude Perfect, for example. One of the characters in the video is called “The Traitor.” The character is acted out by Dude Perfect member Cody Jones, who is decked out in St. Louis Rams gear.

“Larry Fitzgerald, touchdown, that’s six fantasy points. Let’s go!” Jones said in the video. 

Fitzgerald did not play for the Rams–he was an Arizona Cardinal his whole career, meaning Jones just rooted against his own team.   

While the video was uploaded in 2013, what it portrays is still relevant today. 

My dad grew up as a Steelers fan in the 1970s. Rooting for Oakland Raiders quarterback Ken Stabler to throw more touchdowns for your fantasy team is something that wasn’t even imaginable. Now, thanks to the creation and popularization of fantasy sports, people often find themselves cheering for the opposition. 

Fantasy football also gives fans an incentive to watch games they might not have cared about otherwise. Last season, the New York Giants played the Carolina Panthers at 9:30 a.m. EST in Munich, Germany. Both teams had a 2-7 record going into the game. According to an article from touchdownmunich.com, the game attracted 4.06 million viewers in the United States. 

While a lot of those viewers could be Giants and Panthers fans, I’m sure there was a decent number of people who tuned in to root for their fantasy teams, boosting the NFL’s ratings. 

The suspense is another thing that makes fantasy football what it is. Some fantasy matchups aren’t decided until Monday Night Football. That will be the case more than usual this upcoming week, as there is not just one, but two Monday Night Football games. 

​​Whether you’re backing your favorite team or secretly hoping a rival player puts up points, every play matters in fantasy football.