When the coronavirus hit in late March of 2020, all sports were put on halt with no certainty of when they would begin again. However, there is one safe way for students stuck at home to have fun with each other: playing fantasy sports.

Fantasy sports are  online games where participants manage imaginary or virtual teams made up of real players from a professional sport. A “league” of players can have as few as four people to as many as 12. Once getting a group of friends together, you are able to draft your own team. You can choose players you like or the players you think will be best for your team and also trade players with your friends, as well as signing and dropping “free agent” players who aren’t on any teams.

Many students who play fantasy sports think it is a very nice distraction from everything going on in the world.

“I think that it is a mental break. It’s an outlet for me to play a game with my friends and have a fun competition in something that I am interested in,” said sophomore Morgan Miller, who manages a fantasy basketball team.

This has been the case for other students as well.

“It takes my mind off of [COVID-19] and helps me focus on something that I love,” sophomore Jimmy McCartan said.

Creating a fantasy team not only allows students to take a mental break from COVID-19 and school— it serves as a way to communicate and enjoy time with  friends safely.

It gives students an opportunity to reach out to each other while giving them something to discuss that isn’t discouraging news surrounding COVID-19.

“It keeps me and my friends in touch and gives us something to talk about without having to get together,” said McCartan.

Miller feels the same.

“It is a great way to socialize during quarantine,” said Miller. “It’s a competition and we pretty much play for bragging rights, so it is always fun to smack talk with [my friends].”