Fantasy sports club brings
fans together
By Alicia Swan
Staff
Writer
Many students dream of being professional athletes.
Others dream of being team owners. But one group of students on campus
is bringing themselves closer to those goals, sort of.
Purdue's Fantasy Sports club founders Mark Downs,
a senior in the Schools of Engineering, and Jason Waclawek, a senior
in the School of Management, are anxious to see how many sports fans
the young club will bring together at 7 p.m. today in Wetherill Room104.
"We're not only a Sports Fantasy Club, but a sports
club in general. We offer a forum for sports fans to meet others with
similar interests, while becoming more involved on campus," said Downs,
club president and commissioner of the league.
The group participates in both the football and
basketball seasons of fantasy sports.
Much like fantasy sports on the Internet, club
members are grouped in eight to 12 people per league. A number that
is drawn from a hat by each participant determines the order in which
they select the players that they will have on their teams, known as
drafting.
Unlike Internet sports fantasy organizations, Purdue's
group gathers in a boardroom in Stewart Center for a live draft.
From there, the group functions mostly online,
meeting occasionally for informal and general sports chats.
"Purdue Fantasy Sports Organization allows Purdue
students to compete in a fantasy league with other Purdue students,
rather than just a screen name online," says Waclawek, club director
and treasurer.
Also like the online version, the Purdue Fantasy
Sports Organization tracks points by tracking how well the separate
players are doing in real life.
How well players compete in regular season games
in real life determines how well a fantasy sports team can do. Players
from different teams in real life can compete next to each other on
a Fantasy Sports team.
Although there is no prize to be won, Downs insists
that the club is a great time. "It comes down to how much you want to
put into it, "he said.
In addition to the league, the group also plans
trips to assorted sporting events. Last year they attended a Pacers
game, and they anticipate tailgating for the Purdue football season
and perhaps catching a Colts game in Indianapolis.
"Fantasy sports allow members to draft and manage
their own team of players. It's like being the general manager of a
professional sports franchise except you won't get fired if you make
a couple of bad trades," said Downs.
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