“Dude have you checked out the latest draft board this year?” is a sentiment that is never lost on the certain type of individual who seeks to captivate in the realm of virtual sports. Yes, virtual sports.

Over the last 10 years or so this concept has reached new heights, drawing in competitors of all ages who aspire to gain fame or riches by picking sports players and teams accurately. The remarkable thing though, is how many variations of this there are. Fantasy football, baseball, basketball, hockey, alongside bracket (team) “pick em” in each of these activities come to mind. How it works may still be puzzling though… Each year before the season starts, the online sites compile lists of players ranked by a plethora of metrics. Then, when one signs up to play and joins a league, they may schedule a draft to decide which team gets which player! Too, there are point awarding systems that are incentivized based on individual performance. The team who scores the most in a head to head matchup wins each week. Then at the end of the season there are playoffs to decide the winner of the league.

Fantasy sports have become a staple of the world. It is essential to participate, serving as a method of competition for those who cannot physically be out there in the action. The humorous thing is how far some leagues go to make this business official. Many host draft parties, weekly watch parties and forage the waiver wire daily to add new players. One of Wilsonville’s own fantasy sport gurus, senior Caden Keyston declared this about fantasy sports, “Fantasy sports allow regular people to feel like general managers, and give them something to root for every week beyond their favorite teams.

On behalf of WBN, we wish all of the team owners have great success this year, and if you do not play already… to consider trying!