By Brian Whitehead

For the Daily Titan

I was introduced to fantasy sports in 2005. A fantasy rookie at the time, I had the second overall pick in a 10-team fantasy football league.

San Diego Chargers running back LaDainian Tomlinson, the consensus as the no. 1 pick, was taken first.

With running backs Shaun Alexander, Larry Johnson, Tiki Barber and Edgerrin James still on the board, I shunned conventional wisdom and drafted second-year Bills running back, Willis McGahee.

Faster than you can say “fantasy bust,” everyone erupted in laughter like I had just drafted Rumer Willis or Willis Jackson.

To make a long story short, three things happened that year:

1. My top pick finished with only five touchdowns. 2. I predictably finished in last (as you should whenever you take Willis McGahee second in any draft not called “Most Nauseating Slow Motion Replay of an ACL Tear”). 3. I learned to hate fantasy sports.

Truth is, I haven’t been able to enjoy a sporting event since ’05.

Every game, for as long as I can remember, has been a conundrum of mixed loyalties, highs and lows, and unnecessary stress.

In essence, every at-bat, every shot, and every play has been an emotional roller coaster ride that seems to end with the same unsettling feeling you get after disgorging a funnel cake.

See, the fact of the matter is, once you put money down on something you have no control over – a ballgame, a fantasy team – any inkling of fun vanishes, almost instantly, like the publication of O.J. Simpson’s ridiculously-titled book “If I Did It,” only faster.

For example, if I had $20 riding on a game of shuffleboard played between two decaying 89-year-olds wearing loincloths and penny loafers, I wouldn’t be able to enjoy it. (Come on, old man! What are you doing? You’re killing me!)

I guess it just comes with the territory.

For two years now, I’ve traded in my ability to freely watch a baseball/basketball/football game for a shot at prosperity.

It’s a love/hate relationship, really, one that has betrayed and bitch-slapped gamblers everywhere.

Playing fantasy sports has made enemies of players I admire and heroes of players I despise. I don’t like it. Sadly, every season I find myself cheering for at least one player who’s been arrested for domestic abuse or some sort of drug possession.

Fantasy sports: Where forgiveness happens.

Well, unless your name is Willis McGahee.

By Nick Fortes

Daily Titan Staff Writer

It’s fourth down, just two seconds left on the clock and Brett Favre scrambles out and throws the ball deep toward the end zone.

The ball is caught by Greg Lewis for the touchdown and with time expiring for a Hail Mary, Minnesota Vikings victory.

But you’re not a Vikings or a San Francisco 49ers fan, you’re a Dallas Cowboys fan, and you may have missed it if Favre or Adrian Peterson wasn’t on your fantasy team.

You may have missed that game if you hadn’t had anyone to root for on either team, but you did.

You saw the best end to a game this season thus far and all because you wanted to see your quarterback score to boost the stats of your team in a fantasy league that most likely you won’t win.

Either way, playing fantasy sports allows the average fan to become even more involved in the sport.

It not only keeps fans interested in teams that they normally wouldn’t pay any attention to, but it brings in viewers to the games, which brings more money to TV networks and the NFL.

The friendly competition between people who have no control over how the player will play or even see the field, and the constant updating of teams and rosters to keep their team at the top brings continual excitement to those involved.

Fantasy sports is an avenue for those who can’t actually play the sport to show their mediocre knowledge of the game.

But nonetheless, it’s irrelevant because the rudimentary means to play fantasy sports is solely the casual fan becoming a more in-depth fan, and maybe a richer fan as well.

Once betting became a part of fantasy sports the game became even better.

Now with not only pride on the line with every snap, the chance of winning the league championship and the prize money makes it even more exciting than before.

With leagues having buy-ins from $5 to $500 or more, there can be a lot more on the line than just a win for the week.

Fantasy sports save the fans who unfortunately root for sub-par teams and allows the fan another outlet of excitement when he sees Peterson run for a 75-yard touchdown for six fantasy points and a Minnesota win, even if they hate the Vikings.

Bottom line, playing fantasy sports enhances the viewing experience and brings fans closer to the games and the players they watch by being more encapsulated in the sports and competing with friends.