The League: Art Imitating Fantasy Imitating Harsh Reality

By Stephen Douglas

The League finally returns to FX this week. It should be noted that The League is a very important show. I say that not because this is a sponsored post, but because it’s the first television show to delve into the sick and twisted world of fantasy football.

Most importantly – it is the first show to do it successfully and humorously.

When The League premiered in 2009, I was worried that a show about fantasy football wouldn’t work. With Jon Lajoie, Nick Kroll and Paul Scheer, it featured some familiar names, but who knew if it would work?

Personally, I started playing fantasy football 10 years ago as a freshman in college. Just saying that makes me feel old, but it also makes me fondly remember those first seasons of fantasy football.

Back then you had to pay for the up-to-the-minute scoring on some fantasy football services. One guy would always pony up the twenty bucks (or whatever it cost) which lead to people constantly saying,”Check my stats!” It was as annoying as you can imagine. I never said it was a beautiful memory.

The League has always done an excellent job of capturing all the different types of fantasy players. From the guys who take it too seriously to the guys who forget to fix their lineups at all.

Every league has a Taco. If it’s a serious league with serious entry fees and hardcore players, a Taco still manages to come forward during the season if for no other reason than bad luck. Once Jamaal Charles or Tom Brady goes down and the losses start piling up, no matter how much money you have sunk into a league, it just becomes easier to walk away. The Involuntary Taco is a sad state for any man to find himself in.

One way to tell if a show is working it to look at the different terms it adds to our lexicon. The League has accomplished this many times over with things like porn loophole, herdsman, vinegar strokes and Eskimo brothers. Taco and Rafi also became great points of reference for any fantasy league.

When he initially asked about me joining a league he was starting, I was kind of confused. My friend has never been consumed with sports like the rest of us and had never played fantasy with us at any point. When I got the first league e-mail, it became very clear what had made him interested.

The e-mail was peppered with references to The League. He wanted a Sacko trophy for last place. When he was looking for a 10th team to complete in the league, he was looking for a Rafi. It was truly inspiring that not only had he finally been drawn into the obsession we know as fantasy sports, but he had been enticed by another obsession, The League.

The League returns for an all new season, Thursday, October 6 at 10:30PM ET/PT only on FX.