As sports fans, we all know the joy of competition. We spend hours upon hours every week watching games, listening to coverage, going over the stats and engaging in heated debate with our friends and fellow fans. It feels like we have seen just how important sports are to so many of us during the pandemic as we watched from home as teams played in empty stadiums. Now, after what seemed like an endless stretch of time, we can head back out and cheer on our teams from the home stands (with some restrictions in some locations). Whether you’re a fan of football, baseball, basketball, hockey, or combat sports (or a combination or indeed all the above), it has been so great to be able to get back to something resembling normal.
But sometimes it feels like you want to keep the game going after the whistle is blown and the teams head back down the tunnel, doesn’t it? One of the few bonuses of the compressed season schedules around the world last year was that it felt like there was a big game every night. Now that we are back to something resembling normal, there are those long stretches between matches or fights, and we still want to feel that spirit of competition with our buddies. With that in mind, here are a few suggestions to help you keep that going until the next game.
Join Or Make A Fantasy League
There are plenty of fans out there for whom fantasy sports are very much a part-time hobby. They’ll make their roster at the start of the season, and they’ll basically see what happens. However, if you are a true fan of the sport and you live and breathe advanced statistics, then you know that fantasy leagues are so much more than that.
This is as close as you’ll come to being a general manager and your instincts and knowledge can be matched against those of your friends. Is this going to be the year that your picks have a break-out season? Or are those seemingly safe bet star players going to fall apart through injury or regression? You can make your fantasy league as detailed as you like (for example, if you’re an NHL fan, you can include the salary cap and trade draft picks).
Take Your Betting Online
A lot of sports fans are more than familiar with placing a bet on the outcome of a game. But, as with fantasy leagues, you can make things a lot more complex and a lot more advanced if you want to truly pit your knowledge of the game against the odds-makers. Online sports betting can be about so much more than simply being confident enough that your team is going to win it all that you put a wager down at the start of the season. You can bet on the number of points scored, which players will win specific trophies, and much more.
However, if you want to pit yourself against your friends or others, why stop at sports betting? Online casinos offer plenty of tournaments that pit you against a pool of competitors. They also offer live games such as online poker if you want to go up against a real dealer and other players. If you want to learn more about online casino live games and you think you’re ready to take your gift for knowing the odds outside of sports betting, visit Play Live. They have reviews of the games on offer to help you find the right fit and they guarantee a fair, responsible, and secure online casino environment.
Gaming Is Better Than Ever
Every sports fan has their favourite sports video game. We all grew up on these games, hunched over a controller sitting on the floor of the sitting room as close to the TV as possible. Those of us who are old enough to remember those chunky controllers and those clunky graphics are still kind of amazed by just how far these next generation console games have come. Whether you want to take your team to the championship or create your own pro player, each successive year brings more and more immersive and engaging playing options, but we all know that there is only so much fun that you can have by playing these games solo.
It was hardly a surprise that online gaming saw a massive boom in the pandemic, and it was a great way to keep in touch with friends and family during lockdown. But you don’t need a virus as an excuse to game online with your friends, so think about setting up your own competitive league with your buddies and taking your team to the very top. As sports fans, we are all used to living with disappointment at least some of the time. With online gaming, you’re not relying on highly paid athletes to deliver glory to your home team.