Every year, millions all across the world partake in fantasy football, and every year, hundreds of thousands finish last and therefore, suffer a punishment. For those unaware of fantasy, here is a quick rundown. Every week, players set up their teams of real NFL players and go head-to-head with other teams in the league. Points are scored by skill players in the league (QB, WR, RB, TE), as well as defenses and kickers. Teams can get points by players scoring touchdowns and getting yards or potentially lose points due to touchdowns. All in all, there is usually one goal at the end of the season and that is to win at all costs. However, there is another goal for many other players of fantasy football: do not get last place so to avoid punishment.
The team with either the worst win-loss record in the regular season, the player who loses their constellation playoffs of teams who didn’t make the playoffs, or even both, will have to pay for their team’s inability to perform in the brightest lights. At the end of every season, someone will be punished only if the league administrator decides on a punishment. The idea seems ridiculous to some, but that’s what others find fun. Some punishments are harmless. Some examples include taking the SAT and getting a certain score, getting a buzz cut, or embarrassing TikToks.
However, there seems to be a border between funny and harmful when it comes to fantasy punishments. Sam Magers, a senior who plays fantasy football, agrees with this: “There is a fine line between ok and too far. Even if someone loses their fantasy league, there are still things you wouldn’t do to a friend.”
Amelia Mooradd, who doesn’t play fantasy football, said the punishments she sees on TikTok remind her of frat hazing but isn’t against the idea of harmless punishments: “It sounds fun. [Punishments] seem like the fun part about it. It’s funny to see friends do it, but also fun if you are doing it, too. I wouldn’t do anything permanent, like shaving my head, but anything else is fine.”
However, some punishments don’t seem very fun. One of the most despicable punishments is called “The Cage.” This punishment is set up to allow league-mates to pour food on you while in a dog cage. “It sounds pretty nasty,” says Ethan Hanson’s mom, Jess. Despite being the first punishment we listed, Amelia seemed to agree immediately after we named it: “That one is the worst out of all of them.”
Other punishments seem very unenticing. This includes things such as the milk mile (drinking a gallon of milk and running a mile), 24 hours in a Waffle House, where each waffle eaten takes off an hour of your time, being paintball bait as other league members shoot at you, and stand-up comedy without jokes. Sam Magers feels like that is the worst of all of them. “It’s just so awkward,” Sam claimed. “I don’t want to go through that without jokes set up.”
However, punishments for fantasy football don’t come without opposition. Mr. Jewell, the middle school tech ed teacher, feels there shouldn’t be fantasy punishments, especially the cage: “We used to do that to people in the 17th century here in Ipswich, it is so wrong in the 21st century.” The cage isn’t the only one he is against, as he thinks all of them are bad: “It’s stupid, it’s wrong, it’s hazing.”
The idea of fantasy football being referred to as a form of hazing isn’t exactly anything shocking. This is especially true since the punishments fit the definition of the word as the imposition of embarrassing tasks as a form of acceptance or entertainment. Kids at IHS, though, feel like hazing at the high school level isn’t as severe as in college fraternities. “It doesn’t happen as much as it does in college,” Magers claimed. Jewell disagrees: “Hazing is wrong, whether it’s for your football team, or in a fraternity, or the military, it’s wrong. It doesn’t matter who agrees to it. It can hurt people mentally and physically.”
Writers, patrons, readers, and almost losers can understand the argument that punishments are wrong. However, it keeps fantasy football competitive for players to ensure people don’t get last, and those who go into it most likely understand what is coming. At the end of the day, though, we can all agree that there are lines that we shouldn’t cross with friends, family, and league-mates, making it a safeguard for even those who drafted Austin Ekeler and Joe Burrow this year.
