It’s that time of year again: football season. For some students, that means Sunday afternoons have become a combination of procrastinating homework and watching NFL Redzone to see how your fantasy football team is performing‒and if all that draft research proved worth it.

Fantasy football is a popular craze that has swept the nation each year since its founding in 1962, according to insider site Fantasy Index.

Many students partake in various fantasy football leagues formed within sports teams or among friends.

Some students even started their leagues in middle school. Carderock Football, a group of juniors, began in 2011 and is entering its seventh season. The league adds new members every other year and plays through Yahoo Sports.

Like some other leagues, the stakes for Carderock Football are high: the winner receives $400, and the team with the highest point totals for the season receives additional monetary prizes.

Carderock Football members Matthew Lindstrom and Ethan Gilman have won four of the past six championships combined, so their rivalry is intense and competitive, Lindstrom said.

“Ethan is definitely the most fun to play against,” Lindstrom said. “We’re very competitive because we’ve had a ton of huge matchups in the past.”

Some leagues even play with students from other schools, adding a new dynamic to these rivalries. One new league, Motty Mole, matches up freshmen from Whitman and Walter Johnson.

Although this is the league’s first season, a majority of the players have already participated in fantasy football prior to this, league member Bryan Solomon said.

The competition mainly depends on the players, as opposed to developed rivalries.

“It really depends on the team and who has picked who,” Solomon said. “But everyone is always fun to play against.”

Over two years ago, the Whitman wrestling team created their own fantasy football league as a team bonding activity, using ESPN Fantasy. The league consists of 10 members, including assistant coach Will Sharbaugh.

For the students, the most competitive game of their season is when they get to play Sharbaugh.

“Coach Sharbaugh is definitely the most fun to play,” member Clark Boinis said. “It’s always great to trash talk him during practice.”

The joy of continuing an annual tradition, starting something brand new or even trash talking one’s coach all contribute to the excitement surrounding the fall football season and fantasy football.

“The satisfaction of watching my players gain points is so exciting,” Lindstrom said. “It makes watching football exhilarating.”