Dreaming versus Winning
It turns out that sometimes these different goals conflict with one another. When you own a player, and get emotionally tied up
with their successes and failures, it’s much more satisfying when it is a player you happen to like. Even though David Eckstein
doesn’t hit many home runs, when he does it’s invigorating because he’s just so darn plucky. You’d love to have him over to hang
out and play some foosball. And yes – Kobe Bryant does score a lot of points, but he’s so selfish that you just don’t enjoy being
connected to him in any way. If you did own a team, you wouldn’t want him on it, because you believe in your heart of hearts that he
raped that girl in Colorado. If you enjoy the dream of owning a team, then owning a team of players you dislike spoils it somewhat.
It’s certainly possible (and probably advisable) to take personal preferences into account when deciding between players for your
team. It is just a game after all, and that’s part of the fun. If you dislike certain players, or like others, for reasons entirely
aside from their actual performance then there is nothing wrong in taking that into account when choosing between two otherwise
equivalent players for your team. At a certain point however, you have to decide how important it is to you to try to win the game.
The standpoint of this guide is that – as a game – fantasy sports has a defined objective that everyone is trying to achieve, and
that achievement of this objective defines success in the game. You should try to get players you like, and avoid ones you don’t,
but if your team is consistently unsuccessful you aren’t going to be the biggest fan of your players anyway.
Next Section - Setting Up or Joining a League: League Varieties
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