The Rise Of The Female Fantasy Football Player and Fan

Fantasy football has become a culture phenomenon and more women than ever are getting involved. What is it that attracted women to fantasy football?

Fantasy football is easily the biggest of all fantasy sports. It’s hard to really pinpoint how fantasy football started, but it was believed to be started by a group of men in Oakland. After that, the rest is truly history because fantasy football immediately blew up and has become almost as big as America’s Pastime.

According to a CBS LA story, females playing fantasy football has increased slowly in the past year or two. In 2014, CBS said that around 20% of women were playing fantasy football and the number jumped up 14% in 2015. A year later, there’s no telling how many women are actually playing fantasy football but with that increase, I would estimate almost 50% because half of the NFL’s audience is female.

Being a female sports fan is nothing new, either. As much as some men like to say so, female sports fans have been around forever. There might not be one of us on the field yet, but that doesn’t mean we can’t play off the field.

Women play fantasy football for all the same reasons men do. One of the biggest reasons is the  love of the game. Why even bother playing if you don’t watch the game and see how you do? The second reason is that it’s a great way to stay in touch with your friends and have something that you all bond over. It might seem cliche, but it gives both men and women something to talk about and it doesn’t have to be friends you see every day, it can be friends who have moved away or don’t see as much but you can still communicate with them.

Competition is easily the reason why fantasy football is still successful. Competition is healthy and something that men and women thrive off of. Another reason cited in the CBS LA article is women are more likely to pay closer attention to details and be more organized, a must-have for fantasy football players.

Fantasy football is a great way for women to get involved and learn about football.  In the end, it helps you figure out what running an actual NFL team would be like and what strategies team use on and off the field. It helps you learn plays especially depending on what position you’re looking for and learn the dynamics of what plays are being run and why.

Fantasy football is a woman’s game. Female fantasy football players and fans are no longer hiding in the shadows….they’re hosting podcasts, running websites, writing books and making a living doing  what they know and love. If the popularity of fantasy football keeps growing, women will overtake men in leagues in no time.