For many, the end of the NFL season is an exciting time. The playoffs give fans of less successful teams one last chance to watch their favorite players in action, while the Super Bowl brings football lovers together to enjoy a thrilling showdown between the final two teams. Even if you’re not into football, the Super Bowl halftime show offers amazing live performances with renowned artists. However, the end of the season isn’t all fun and games for everyone. For fantasy football players, it means the losers are revealed, and the person who lost has to face their punishment.
“My league decided on the punishment for the loser during the first week to keep it fair and unbiased,” senior Mykyta Pohrebniuk said.
Choosing the punishment at the start of the NFL season is a smart way to ensure everyone agrees and that no one feels targeted. It also helps build anticipation as the season nears its end and the losing players begin to panic.
“Our punishment was that the loser has to go to an open mic comedy show and perform surprise jokes that the rest of the league wrote for 10 minutes,” Pohrebniuk said.
The pressure to perform this unlucky punishment in front of a crowd only adds to the terror of it all. The league plans to have their loser perform this punishment in the coming weeks. However, other losers have already faced their consequences.
“We did the ‘concoction’ punishment,” junior Zach Frazier said, “basically everyone besides the loser has to bring an edible item and we blend them all together for the loser to drink”
This unusual punishment serves as a reminder for how crazy and unpredictable fantasy football punishments can get when a group of friends decides to get creative.
“Getting a good draft is the most important part of fantasy football, but that’s not really up to you,” Frazier said. “It’s more important to sub out your player if they need to be subbed.”
A strong draft is key to a successful fantasy football season. However, since the draft order is random, getting good players might not always be in your control. Another tactic to help ensure success is to switch out players who aren’t working for you or who got injured, in order to stay competitive.
“To avoid losing again next year, I won’t be drafting a quarterback in the first round and I will do more research about the players,” junior and loser of his league Jack Cance said.
Losing is never easy, but having already faced his punishment, Cance is determined not to make the same mistakes next year. He plans to work on his strategy and prepare better for next year.
“My punishment was that I had to wear a tutu, wig and a shirt that said ‘I suck at Fantasy Football’ to school,” Cance said.
Cance’s punishment involved public humiliation, as he had to wear the ridiculous outfit for two school days, making sure that everyone in both his A-day and B-day classes saw his fantasy football defeat.
As the NFL season wrapped up this past weekend, punishments are being carried out around the school. For some, the thought of facing another year of potential defeat is enough to motivate a whole new level of strategy and preparation.
“The punishment can be annoying sometimes, but if you laugh about it and make it into a joke, it can become super fun,” Jack Cance said. “It gives everyone a good laugh and it’s a great way to get closer to your friends.”
