Committed: Confessions of a Fantasy Football Junkie [Paperback]

Mark St. Amant (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 26, 2005

For one man, football is more than just a fantasy...

As seen on ESPN's Cold Pizza

Fantasy football -- one of America's most popular, and profitable, virtual pastimes -- became a way of life for sports humorist and author Mark St. Amant. Utterly fed up with never having won his league championship, St. Amant abandoned a successful advertising career to make fantasy football his full-time job, embarking on a sprawling reconnaissance mission to discover what really makes this game, and its 20 million players, tick. Committed is the result of St. Amant's ranting, relentless, and strategic pursuit of his own obsession.

In this wickedly funny and deeply informative work, St. Amant offers readers an all-access sideline pass to his wild, unprecedented fantasy football season, and to the hobby itself. From its humble beginnings in a New York hotel in 1962 to a multibillion-dollar business today, from local and online leagues to high-stakes, cutthroat Las Vegas competitions, St. Amant lays bare the facts, figures, and fanaticism of fantasy football in all its multidimensional glory.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Little boys fantasize about being NFL players, but grown men fantasize about owning them—drafting them, trading them and arranging them in starting lineups that compete against other "teams" based on the players' performances in real games. St. Amant quit his advertising job to pursue a fantasy football league championship and pen this boisterous celebration of the burgeoning pastime. He mixes hyperbolic commentary on his own travails with a recap of the hobby's origins, conversations with aficionados and pointers for neophytes. He depicts fantasy football as fandom on steroids; by placing the traditions of sifting stats, critiquing players and kibitzing strategies in a formal competitive setting, the essentially passive experience of watching football gains an imaginary dimension of control and mastery. In fact, watching becomes as grueling as playing ("My stomach feels as if it's been stopping cannonballs," St. Amant groans after one Sunday in front of the tube). The author writes like the life of the locker-room party, dishing out sarcastic trash talk and assaultive anal sex banter, but undercutting his macho bluster with self-deprecation. It's a fitting, if sometimes overbearing, tone. St. Amant's obsessiveness lacks critical perspective, but those who share his addiction will find his voice authentic.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

Fantasy football is a game in which the actual statistics (touchdowns, yard passing, etc.) of real NFL players, who have been selected by fantasy team "owners," are used to create a score. The score is then matched up against another fantasy team's accumulation of points to determine a winner. It can become a consuming passion, as it has for the author, a former advertising copywriter who gave up his job to pursue his hobby and the writing of this book. Readers get three narrative threads for the price of one. There is St. Amant's personal story, in which he convinces his wife that quitting his job to play fantasy football and write a book would be a good thing. There's a history of fantasy football, which began in the early 1960s as a sideline among a few pro-football beat writers and gradually developed into today's Internet phenomenon. Lastly, there is advice on league formats, drafting strategies, and trade etiquette. An informative, engagingly written, and very funny guide to an often-misunderstood area of sports fanaticism. Wes Lukowsky
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 296 pages
• Publisher: Scribner (July 26, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0743267575
• ISBN-13: 978-0743267571
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.5 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (60 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #879,513 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Born outside of Chicago. Grew up outside of Boston. Went to college in AMish country Pennsylvania (Franklin & Marshall). Moved back to Boston. Have lived here ever since (minus a 6-month stint in Italy, 2001).

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Football Book for Everyone!, August 30, 2004

By 

M. Shearer - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Committed: Confessions of a Fantasy Football Junkie (Hardcover)

Information for the 'newbie', 'vet', and the 'FF Widow(er)'. Mr. St. Amant is witty, informative, inciteful, and sacrilegious throughout. An excellent read. If you are looking for a page turner, this is the one!

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Absolutely hysterical., August 29, 2004

By 

Clint (Albany, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Committed: Confessions of a Fantasy Football Junkie (Hardcover)

Absolutely hysterical. I caught myself missing my subway stops because I was so involved in the book. I've never joined a fantasy football league before but have tons of buddies who play...and after reading this I can't wait to join my first league this year. The book offered some helpful pointers & strategies for rookies like me, but overall was a comical, informative look at the roller coaster ride people go through in a typical fantasy football season.

6 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Friends with Joe Horn, September 3, 2004

By 

Batistuta (Lexington) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Committed: Confessions of a Fantasy Football Junkie (Hardcover)

"Committed" excels at portraying the minds of FFL addicts. The book medium allows St.Amant to express himself in 100% honest ways (swearing, metaphors, etc.) that newspapers and Disney-endorsed websites (ESPN) cannot print. That being said, if I'm an editor at ESPN.com's Page 2 and I DON'T at least interview this guy, then I'm doing a disservice to my readers! If ESPN knows it's salt, then Bill Simmons may FINALLY have another worthy column next to his own masterpiece.

For readers, I can say that this book is a page turner if you are into sports, the NFL, any other fantasy leagues, or just enjoy satire/humor writing. The book's honesty is what makes it successful - there are no embellishments necessary because us FFLers are truly that crazy.

I'll be in Vegas for the WCOFF...soon maybe they'll rename the trophy the St.Amant trophy after all the publicity he gives them. Buy it and read it now! Now, back to ranking my depth charts...do I take Chris Brown over Brian Westbrook?