10 Yards: Fantasy Football—What Fantasy Football Is All About

There’s a lot more to fantasy football than glitz and glamour, the ladies hanging off every open arm, and all that time spent in well-lit rooms. But in all seriousness, there’s a side to it that rarely gets talked about in blogs, expert sites, and mainstream media coverage.

It’s the fraternity of fantasy football—the camaraderie of being with your buddies, competing against them and, of course, shaming them in open forums.

You play to win your league, to trash-talk endlessly, and to add an element of excitement to your football watching. But along with that, you grow closer to your leaguemates—brothers and sisters in the fantasy football experience that can last for as many years as the fantasy football league exists.

One of the best parts of trying to put together a trade, which I’m doing a lot of this week, is getting back in touch with your friends who you may not have spoken to in a few weeks, months, or years. Especially if their trade prospects in fantasy football haven’t been very good for several seasons.

In documentary style, “10 Yards: Fantasy Football” follows one entire NFL season in a special fantasy football league—a league which has stayed together over several post-college years and through marriage and babymaking.

The league battles for Twinkies, not cash.

The film tracks the records of three teams in the league, but more importantly, it focuses on the relationships—the good times and bad—had by all the fantasy footballers of the Intergalactic Championship League.

The director and editor of the film also got a chance to interview several of the men behind the creation of fantasy football, fantasy football experts around the country, and current NFL players who comment on the increased popularity fantasy football has brought to kickers. You know the kickers love it.

Sure, I could make a joke about playing for Twinkies, the odd team names, or commissioner j.fred’s costumes and mustache, but this movie was a really good watch. I highly recommend it, and I didn’t get a chance to give it justice by reviewing it last season when it was released.

Now, it’s available to watch on YouTube, but I suggest you also buy the DVD for the commentary and special features. It’s worth it for a few more scenes with j.fred in action.

If you have a spouse or significant other who calls fantasy football nerdy, silly, or otherwise harasses you about your addiction, before divorcing them, you should make them watch “10 Yards.” It’s possible that it could save your relationship.

Of course, it could just reinforce what s/he already thinks of your growing neglect of everything outside of fantasy football. Your call, buddy, but you should watch it and buy it if you feel the same way I do.

[Full disclosure: Fantasy Football Fools received a review copy of "10 Yards: Fantasy Football" on DVD.]

In photo above: 10 Yards' Hunter Weeks, Josh Caldwell, and j.fred watch a game during playoffs for their league.