Keuka football has been undefeated since 1890.

At least that is what's printed on t-shirts sported by members of the College community. Actually, KeukaCollege does not have a football team. So how do Keuka students and others get their football fix?

Many play fantasy football. And they're not alone. According to ESPN, 47 percent of the people who watch professional football every Sunday play fantasy football. ESPN even has a segment during "Sports Center" devoted solely to fantasy football.

In fantasy football, fans get to live a dream and play general manager (GM) of their own football team. The team consists of real-life NFL players from all different teams and, depending on how they perform from week to week, points are awarded to the "owner" of each player. Fantasy football participants participate in live, online drafts, make trades; and even pick up free agents who are not assigned to a team.Many leagues use the Internet, while others have a "commissioner" who keeps stats.

Junior Justin Roe is one of many students who are involved in fantasy football. Roe relishes the excitement of draft day.

“I play because it helps maintain my competitive edge,” said Roe.  “I feel like I can take a team from any draft position and with my knowledge, create a first place team."

Hunter Morgan, a sophomore, is also a "huge" fantasy football fan and is involved in two leagues this season.

“I like playing against friends, the competitive nature and it inspires me to watch football even more,” he said.

Morgan, an avid Green Bay Packers fan, says it also makes him root harder for his team, and he tries to obtain players from the Packers, such as Brett Favre and Donald Driver.

But fantasy football leagues are not only popular among male students.

Cassandra Harrington says she joined a Yahoo! fantasy league because her boyfriend, commissioner of the league, needed more teams to join.  

“I never went to a school (high school or college) that had a football team, so I thought this would be a good way to learn more about the game,” she said.

Twelve weeks into the season, she said she will most likely continue to play fantasy football.

“I love the heated competition while I watch a football game and having players from my fantasy team in the real game makes it even more exciting,” she said.  

She added that it makes for a "very interesting night" whenever she and her boyfriend watch games together, particularly when they have players on rival teams.  

“It has brought us closer, and now I am proud to say I am a Cowboys fan,” she said.

Even Keuka College faculty and staff members take part in fantasy football.

“Every sports fan dreams of being a GM, and think they could run a team,” said Doug Lippincott, executive director of communications.  "That's why fantasy football is so popular."

Obviously, fantasy football players are not real GMs, not even close. They don’t have to deal with player attitudes, contracts, or press conferences. But they do have to manage a team that is ever changing week by week and have to make certain tough decisions, such as who to start and sit, who to drop or pick up on the free agent list, and who to trade.

“Real GMs have real jobs. When we play fantasy football, we might make a trade that would get a real GM fired.  We don’t have to worry about that,” said Lippincott.

Lippincott is a member of three leagues, and competes against his sons in one of them. He says it helps him to keep in touch with them.

"It's not that we don't stay in touch, but now we have other things to talk about," he said.  "Sometimes my son will call me and ask me what I thought about a certain trade he made, or he'll offer me a trade and I will tell him he's crazy.”

Assistant Professor of Applied and Comparative Sociology Tim Bower has played fantasy football for about seven years.

“It gives my friends and I another avenue to connect. A lot of my long time friends now live all around the U.S. and fantasy football helps bring us together,” he said. “There is very little in this world worth more than connecting or reconnecting with friends."

He added that the number of phone conversations always increases during the fantasy football season and said there is a “certain amount of satisfaction that comes with beating a friend at a game, even fantasy football.”

Connecting with friends, following the NFL more closely and having the satisfaction of knowing you are more knowledgeable than the next “GM” is all part of the fantasy football experience. But will fantasy football continue to grow?

Fantasy advocates believe so.

“Fantasy football is marketed aggressively, and marketing will help it to keep growing,” Bower said.

“All the advertising in the NFL will help fantasy football stay popular, and in turn fantasy football will help the NFL with popularity and ratings,” said Lippincott.

The sport has become so popular that ESPN, TheSportingNews and Sports Illustrated, among others, devote entire sections of their magazine to fantasy football. Fantasy experts are hired to give their feedback on the upcoming games, and careers could be made just by knowing the fantasy football ins and outs.  

That's fine with Roe.  

“First Keuka fantasy champion,” he said, “and next is Patriots general manager.”

-- Anthony Affissio