Post it!

gusbruggeman:

I never heard of Joga Bonito before your presentation.  Was there a certain event that triggered the making of Joga Bonito?  What social media sites is Joga Bonito involved with?

Fantasy Football has brought NFL fans to a new level of sports fanaticism.  In contrast to the past, fans watch the games for more reasons than to see their favorite team.  The more important reason to watch now is for Fantasy Football users to watch the players on their own roster.  If their players don’t perform well, the user will not get points, which ultimately may result in the loss of money and, sometimes more importantly, pride.   Choosing one’s players, along with which players to start, has become critically important for any given week.  Therefore, many Fantasy Football users turn to social media forums to discuss, gain insight, and confer for their own benefit and enjoyment about Fantasy Football.  Social media forums such as YouTube and blogs have been used to enrich the Fantasy Football community’s ability to communicate on various levels and for various purposes. However, the forum that exemplifies this sense of enrichment the most is Twitter.

            In order to succeed at Fantasy Football, users must know the up-to-date information such as health status on all of the players on one’s roster.  Twitter augments the ability of users to obtain this information.  Ever since Twitter became popular around 2009, more and more people have utilized Twitter as a gateway to send out information to a large number of people.  One man who exemplifies this very well is Adam Schefter.  Adam Schefter is a NFL analyst and also a avid Twitter user.  Schefter has over 14,000 tweets and over 1.1 million followers.  Schefter uses his connections throughout the league, such as his relationships with NFL general managers, and tweets information on NFL players and teams as soon as he obtains it.  For example, Schefter received information about cornerback Rashean Mathis of the Jacksonville Jaguars only hours after he left a game with an injury.  He immediately tweeted “And one more big injury: Jaguars CB Rashean Mathis to IR with torn ACL.  Mathis’ contract was up at end of this season.”  The majority of Schefter’s tweets contain information that is very valuable to Fantasy Football users.  By receiving up-to-date injury information from Schefter’s tweets, users are able to decide not only the likelihood of their players being active for the game, but also the potential quality of their performance within the respective week. By following people such as Schefter on Twitter, the Fantasy Football community easily benefits.

            Experts such as Schefter are not the only people that Fantasy Football users can gain valuable information from.  NFL players themselves can be an excellent source of information that can help improve the results of a user’s fantasy team as well.  Arain Foster, the running back for the Houston Texans, let his emotions get the best of him and tweeted a picture of a MRI of his leg along with a tweet that stated “This is an MRI of my hamstring, the white stuff surrounding the muscle is known in the medical world as anti-awesomeness.”  The goal of Foster’s tweet was to get Houstan Texan fans off his back after he was accused of skipping practice for no apparent reason.  However, the results of his emotionally driven tweet was not what he had initially intended.  The Houston Texan organization was furious with Foster because upcoming opponents could use the MRI picture as valuable information when strategizing.  NFL teams, however, were not the only ones who exploited this information; thousands of Fantasy Football users did as well.  As a result of Foster’s tweet, users were able to determine the likelihood of Foster playing in the upcoming season and his potential level of competitiveness.  Foster’s scenario exemplifies how disclosed information can became readily available because of Twitter.  Twitter has enriched the amount and quality of information available to the Fantasy Football community.

            Twitter can also be used as a bridge to other social media forums and/or websites that gives Fantasy Football users valuable information.  Many users publicize websites or blogs they have made or found useful via Twitter.  For example, Twitter and Fantasy Football participant Derek Lofland tweeted “bit.ly/sTlaD3 – Start / Sit Advice for Week 13. #NFL, #Fantasy, #Football.”  Tweets such as Loflands introduce users to a wide variety of opinions and view points that, without Twitter, users may not have found.  Because there are so many tweets similar to Loflands throughout Twitter, finding Fantasy Football information has become very simple.

            The increase in popularity of Fantasy Football has come with an increase level of competition among users.  Twitter is a method many users utilize to achieve success and offers a rare interaction between users, players, and experts alike.  As a result of this interaction, users are able to receive the most exclusive and useful information possible.  Without the interactions that Twitter offers, users would not possess the competitive intelligence needed in order to extract the full potential from their Fantasy Football team.  

dkirkhoff:

wick333:

The part of your presentation that I thought was the most interesting was the blog created by the physical therapist.  It’s amazing that a medical professional would dedicate time to satisfy the interest of Fantasy Football enthusiasts.  

At first glance it does seem like it is odd that a medical professional would spend so much time analyzing fantasy football injuries.  However, fantasy football has become so popular that more and more medical professionals are becoming involved in the trend.

dkirkhoff:

I found it interesting how you used certain guidelines to find social media forums relating to the office.  In what ways did this help you organize your thesis and your paper in general?

malloryfyw:

I found it interesting that people talked about the science jokes most frequently when discussing the show. I would not have thought as much attention would be directed towards the science jokes, because I believe the show is still funny even if the science jokes are not up to par.

molly111:

wick333:

Like some of the presentations we’ve had about TV shows, your presentation brought up some really interesting blurrings of fiction/fantasy and reality. How else do the cultures of ‘real’ and ‘fantasy’ football interact, and why or to what end?

Cultures of ‘real’ and ‘fantasy’ football interact greatly in society.  For example, I constantly check scores and statistics of ongoing games in order to calculate the progress of my team.  People have an appreciation for fantasy football because it gives them a sense that they are similar to a NFL general manager.

hallewri111:

Yes, I do have a fantasy football team and utilize many of the communities.  The community I participate in the most is the “Fantasy Football Geek Blog”.

(Source: wick333)

malloryfyw:

I honestly don’t believe that the videos affect the fans’ choices in their draft.  I guess if a person is a fantastic for a certain player the video would reinforce their obsession.

(Source: wick333)

fywcoyne:

No, players are not allowed to make their own teams because that is against the rules of the NFL.   

(Source: wick333)