The Devil’s Advocate
5/20/10

Some call it gamesmanship, some call it cheating. I myself call it fun, but gamesmanship can often become less than amusing when another owner takes issue with a move you’ve made. No matter how things turn out, fantasy sports—like real sports in at least one way—will constantly expose those who push the limits, bend the rules, and stir controversy among their fellow owners. While most fantasy leagues might have those who play the role of the frugal Bill Bidwell, the no-nonsense Tom Coughlin, the self-promoting Jerry Jones, or the chemistry-killing Daniel Snyder, just as many have the harebrained Al Davis or the ingenious Bill Belichick. And trouble soon follows.

Any owner involved in that kind of trouble knows that a different viewpoint can be helpful. And who wouldn’t want the benefit of two viewpoints like, say, those of the devil and the angel on Pinto’s shoulders in Animal House—well, maybe “benefit” is not quite the right word in that particular case. Here’s hoping it helps anyway…

The Guardian Angel

Come on! This is supposed to be fun! This is a game, and that means there are rules. There’s a structure in fantasy sports that is tough to come by in reality. The rules are not here to limit any of us, they’re here to keep things fair for everyone. If owners start bending the rules, they’ll eventually break, and then no one ends up having any fun. Those who break the rules cheat the rest of us.

You show respect to your fellow owners by wishing them good luck and being a graceful winner or loser. You show respect to the league by following the spirit of the rules, not by trying to find loopholes and taking advantage of other owners who do the right thing in playing by the rules as they stand. The game stands above all else, and its inherent ethics keep it pure. Win a good clean fight and there is no feeling quite like it. That’s why we play.

The Fallen Angel

Come on! This is supposed to be fun! There’s no morality in games. This is precisely why we play them: to escape the morality we’re forced to muddle through daily. The rules are the rules. You follow them to the letter. But you don’t follow them blindly. You use the rules to guide your team to victory. Those who choose to ignore the flexibility built into the rules as they are written ignore their own potential.

You show respect to your fellow owners by trash-talking a good game before the real game starts, by getting their goat, by competing with them to the best of your ability. You show respect to the league by pushing the rules as far as they go so that they can be strengthened in the future. The game stands above all else, and you compete with all you have. Winning by taking any advantage you can is the way you play. Win a nasty tooth grinder and there is no feeling quite like it. That’s why we play.

…And Here on Earth

There are of course many variations of those diverse viewpoints. Bringing money into the equation brings even more variety. But another cause of controversy lies in the title “fantasy sports” itself: Is the game more about the fantasy or the sport? Are owners stat-tracking or are they role-playing?

Take the fantasy aspect out for a moment. In real sports, more than just an owner is involved. Fans fuel the franchise. Lose them and you’ve essentially lost your livelihood. The players, the coaches, the trainers, the scouts, and hundreds of others—along with their respective families—give the franchise a heartbeat. At the moment those people are hired, morality and ethics are born. There are rules on and off the field which most at least try to follow. Break them and get caught and you have a good idea what will happen.

In fantasy sports, the lines are a little blurry. There you are, the owner, with only the league above you and the rest of the owners at your level. You have no responsibilities to fans or players or coaches. There are rules for the game on paper, but the rules outside the game become more subjective. Morality comes into play at times, but where the ethical line is drawn is anyone’s guess. If an owner feels cheated out of money or pride, or cheated by another owner’s neglect or recklessness, things move beyond the league rules and into reality, where dogma can differ from person to person.

All that said, one might conclude that the best leagues are those without the rebels, rogues, and trouble-makers, those in which every owner follows the same ethical standard. Aside from being almost impossible, that can lead to a pretty boring league. The best leagues are those where every owner is a stat-tracker and a role-player. That is, every owner knows his or her stuff, and learns more each week; but every owner also develops a persona. They become a Snyder or a Davis or a Belichick—or more likely something in between.

 

Rogue?

Rebel?

Trouble-maker?