My name is Matt Watson, and I've been writing about fantasy sports for over six years. You may have seen me on Roto Times, or chatted with me at USA Today, or perhaps even bought a draft guide that I've written for.
More likely than not, though, this is probably the first you've ever heard of me.
Why am I so confident that's the case? Because these days every newspaper, every talk radio station, every sports cable station devotes more time and space than ever before to fantasy sports. In the time that I've been writing about fantasy sports, it's gone from being just a tiny little niche hobby among the most hard-core sports fans to literally exploding into mainstream pop culture.
Think about it: a few years back, you could only talk fantasy shop with the guys in your league -- mention the words "flex player" in a sports bar and people would look at you funny. These days, you can't make it from your cubicle to the water cooler on a Monday morning during football season without at least three co-workers asking, "You got anyone going tonight?"
I started working for the Roto Times just before it officially launched in 2000. Back then, there were only a handful of sites devoted to fantasy sports. Now, there are dozens -- nay, hundreds.
Why create another one?
Because Fake Teams is going to be more than about just the latest player news, injuries or transactions. Fake Teams won't be just a blog about sports, it'll be a blog about fantasy sports. Sure, we'll spend a lot of time talking about players and games, but we'll also spend time talking about what stat services we use and what we like and dislike about them, which sites we like to go to for news, and what articles are worth checking out.
What's with the name, you ask? Well, if you haven't figured it out already, it's what fantasy sports is all about: real players, fake teams. But while they may be fake, we take them seriously, even if we give them silly names that would make your grandmother blush.
And mind you, when I say "we," I mean it -- this is going to be an actual conversation. Whether it's commenting on my posts or creating your own user diaries, Fake Teams is going to be a reader-driven experience.
So go ahead and bookmark the site -- if you like fantasy sports, you'll want to come back.