Megan Cassidy knows she’s an anomaly in the world of fantasy sports.

In the male-dominated fantasy football universe, Cassidy concedes she’s usually facing football-obsessed guys who love to flaunt their football knowledge. But it’s that reason – the fact that Cassidy is the rare female fantasy football player – that made winning a Syracuse University Residence Hall Association league last year so much sweeter.

And during the start of this year’s NFL season, the junior history and television, radio and film major, was sure to remind her SU peers who was the best.

‘I talked a little bit of smack,’ Cassidy said.

Cassidy is one of more than 10 million Americans who participate in fantasy football each year, according to the Fantasy Trade Sports Association.

The popular pastime allows fantasy players to select NFL stars for a ‘fantasy’ team. League members go head-to-head, receiving points based on how well their players perform each week. The team with the most points after the end of the week wins the matchup.

Students throughout SU are eager to get into the game and prove they have the knowledge to win a fantasy football league. There’s no Super Bowl ring for winners, but the right to rub a championship in the face of your friends until next football season is reward enough.

When Eric Forman, an undecided freshman in The College of Arts and Sciences, found out he’d be living in Lawrinson Hall, he decided to put together a league for freshman in his dorm to gauge if anyone else new to Syracuse shared his enjoyment of fantasy football.

He advertised the group on Facebook, and the league filled up faster than a Devin Hester kickoff return. After twelve hours, all the spots in the league were taken.

Forman then hosted an offline draft with the other nine league members in a lounge in Lawrinson Hall. He found that an attraction to football can make a room full of newly acquainted students look like a room of old friends who have just been reunited.

‘I figured it’s a good way to get to know people,’ Forman said. ‘It’s a common interest.’

It was a lively atmosphere, he said. Throughout the night, everybody nagged the manager, who always took too long to make his pick. The guy who selected Buffalo quarterback J.P. Losman ended up the butt of every joke. And every once in a while, somebody was even complimented for a smart pick.

Brian Sloan, a freshman accounting major who took part in an offline draft between SU students in DellPlain Hall, enjoys how fantasy football turns into a way to make connections with others on campus who share the hobby.

The freshman has already met some fellow Chicago Bears fans in his league. He plans to get together with them to root for Chicago, but Sloan won’t be too shy to rub it in if one of his fantasy football players finds the endzone while watching the Sunday matchups.

And yes, fantasy football is a good way to procrastinate from schoolwork. Students like Cassidy noted they only spend, on average, about a half-hour a week adjusting their roster and proposing trades to opponents. Since the majority of football games take place on Sunday, less time needs to be spent altering a team each week compared with other fantasy sports like baseball or basketball that occur throughout the week.

Of course, the way football is scheduled does lead to one obvious rule: ‘No homework on Sundays.’ That way they can focus on the important things, like bragging rights.

‘It’s a good time,’ Forman said. ‘Unless your team finishes in last.’