The Learning Behind Sports

A fantasy sport is any game in which participants build teams composed of real life
players and compete against one another using a scoring system based on the real life
statistical performance of players. (Fantasy, Waelchli) This effectively describes a basis of
what fantasy sports are, to give a general understanding to the people that havent
participated in such programs. While there are still hundreds of millions of people who have
not associated with fantasy sports specifically the most popular sport of football, yet there are
about forty million people who are starting to be active in such communities, or leagues and
these communities have shown to have literacy skills and the ability for others to learn
through an interest in sports. If people participate in fantasy sports, then it can be easier for
these people to develop literacy skills.
Paul Waelchli is a professor at the University of Dubuque who teaches literacy
courses at the university. He wrote an article on his classes and how his methods have
reached the students. The article informed readers about the potential for fantasy sports to be
a wealth of information and learning for students. The persona that the writers gives off
during the article is one of education and quite informational. They want to keep students
interested in the subject through using the fantasy sports, specifically football, and give them
literacy skills at the same time. The text argues that teaching these students through a game
that they already understand makes it easier for the students to learn new subjects and
techniques.
To make a connection through literacy and fantasy football, the writers give an
example of literacy skills and engaging in the fantasy football: Therefore the goal of fantasy

football is to create a roster each week in pursuit of the greatest statistical production so that
when you compete head-tohead against another participant, your team will produce a win.
All of this requires players to practice strong research, critical thinking and communication
skills in order to succeed. (Waelchli) Furthermore, they show another literacy method used
in researching that is similar to fantasy football researching as said here The weekly process
of researching and setting lineups mirrors the library research process as described by
Kuhlthau. Researching is a major skill in literacy, and is used and developed through
fantasy football all the time.
This articles main demographic is for college age students who are into fantasy
sports. As shown through studies, most fantasy sports users have been playing for five to
seven years and it indicates many of these participates are of college age. Many of the
fantasy football leagues are online, and the research methods used for determining which
player you would pick are online as well. College age students are the some of the best
versed with computer literacy, and have to skills to search and research online.
The small section of the article that I understood about the emotion that appeals to the
audience, is the same emotion many people feel when they have to conduct research.
Frustration is a word that can describe this emotion, which is worded by the students using
headaches or work I didnt want to do. Many students, including myself, still feel that
way about research. As it can be a hassle to do, especially when having to be extremely
detailed and refined. The students after characterize research using phrases such as fun
work and actually using definitions like making sure one is getting accurate information.

Through this article there are uses and limits that the authors themselves list out for
the reader to see and comprehend. One such example is the author even giving a title to a
small section RoadBlocks to Building Success which gives off limits of the experiment
that was conducted. This experiment consists of determining whether or not fantasy sports
was an effective learning device for his classes. Almost eighty percent of the students
recorded positive feedback to show the class was effective. One of the limits was It is
important to note that while the NCAA does not prohibit fantasy sports as a whole, they do
state in section 10.02.1 Sports Wagering (2007) that collegiate athletes are not allowed to
participate in fantasy sports where an entry fee is required or prizes are distributed. This
basically states that while many fantasy leagues are based off of entry fees which relate to a
prize at the end, there are others that many students can use that will not be considered
gambling. As gambling on sports for NCAA student-athletes is against the NCAAs rules.
Many students that are involved in fantasy sports, are NCAA athletes and therefore they
participation is limited partially although they can get around it.
The other limit that skews the experiment is that a good number of the students
havent participated directly with fantasy football. As the authors say only a small
percentage had previously played fantasy football. As a result of this limited experience, the
students were initially skeptical. Discussing a well-known video game, such as Madden 08,
(which was used in the article) intrigued many of the students and pulled them into the
fantasy football world.
Through fantasy football, students gain valuable knowledge and understanding on a
topic that was previously unappealing and difficult to comprehend through straight-forward

teaching. Researching and analyzing are important aspects of literacy and the students are
able to develop these skills much easier with fantasy football than without it. It proves to be a
helpful tool in learning, and leads to the importance of literacy.

Works Cited
Waelchli, Paul, and Sara Holladay. Fantasy Sports: The Road To Information Literacy
Championships (2008): 4. LOEX. Web. 25 Mar. 2015.
<http://commons.emich.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?
article=1012&context=loexconf2008>.

Kuhlthau, Carol Collier. Seeking Meaning: A Process Approach to Library and

Information Services. 2nd ed. Westport, Conn.: Libraries Unlimited, 2004. Print.

"ACRL Information Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education." Web. 25

Mar. 2015

Waelchli, Paul. "Librarians' Sport of Choice: Teaching Information Literacy through

Fantasy Football." Crln.acrl.org. C&RL News, 1 Jan. 2008. Web. 24 Mar. 2015.
<http://crln.acrl.org/content/69/1/10.full.pdf>.