Amanda
As Walker mentioned in the first part of our reading, for the most part fantasy baseball participants seem to know more about baseball players than the players themselves know. How is this any different from tabloids and reporters following each and every move of movie stars? What makes fantasy baseball different, if anything?

Jason
In most of the case studies we’ve read about (SecondLife, Wrestling, Pornography), the researchers have either pitied or found their subjects subservient. What makes fantasy baseball different where Walker would long for their “emotional investment in the outcome of every pitch?”

Will
Are baseball and fantasy baseball the real and fantasy versions of each other, or are they two completely different games?

Casey
While watching a sport, fans have no influence over who plays for their favorite team, what trades are made, or who starts in a position. Are fantasy leagues a way to give some sort of empowerment to what was originally the passive role of spectating?

Daneille
Is money what makes fantasies real?

Alex
Does the extent to which fantasy baseball relies on real money, real games, and real rules make it real?


Candace
If baseball becomes all about statistics and less about observed skill, will that make the game less real?

Emily
Is it possible to get so engulfed in the fantasy that we forget how to be a part of, or discuss real life? After all, many members of the fantasy world  have nothing to discuss if the topic of baseball is not on the table.

Margaret
The quote "'I guess it was just an unusual year,' Sig says. (Maybe this had something to do with steroids)" made me think about how prominent steroids are in sports and how they not only affect the players, but just as much the fans (as seen in this book).  What do we make of players in the fantasy of sports using drugs to enhance their performance while ultimately dictating fans in fantasy leagues?

Chelsea
Is luck real?

Melissa
What else is life can you compare to the Tour Wars? Do you think that this is a major/elite part of/about fantasy baseball?

Yen Joe
Is the use of statistics and numbers in evaluating everything from predicting fantasy baseball results to measuring happiness in surveys a fantasy? After all, we created numbers, and their values are arbitrary. Besides that, are we just looking for patterns when there are none?

Briana
If actual professional athletes participated in fantasy baseball (or any other fantasy league), would it be the same fantastical experience as a non-professional athlete? How would it be different?

Samantha
If fantasy baseball is in fact a "fantasy," then why do participants invest time in determining the mathematics of success for a fantasy team?  If the players of fantasy baseball really cannot control the players in the actual world, why put forth so much mental energy to create algorithms to create the best team possible?  
Tom
How is fantasy baseball less productive than Major League Baseball? Are any fantasies more productive than reality or are fantasies unproductive by nature.

Tom
In fantasy baseball, people can do good jobs and bad jobs. In what other fantasies can people do a good or bad job?

Kelly
Is the rise in popularity of fantasy baseball and the increased emphasis on statistics a threat to major league baseball? In what ways does fantasy baseball destroy the fantasy of traditional baseball?

Dixon
How are fantasy baseball leagues and professional wrestling different? What are some similarities between the two?
Amanda
According to Walker there are two types of baseball games, “one that’s played on dirt in those ballparks…[and the other is] the shadow game you can play from the silence of your own basement.” If we are to see baseball and fantasy baseball as two very different games where you root for different things, then it is truly possible to be a fan of both?

Drew
When Lawr Michaels freaks out about his team not warming up any relief pitchers, his wife says he needs an outlet he responds, "This is my fucking outlet!"  This situation reminds me of when I would be playing a video game and couldn't beat a level and I'd be cursing my ass off.  What happens that sometimes makes our recreational activities become so stressful?

Tom
What other fantasies are as analytical as Fantasy Baseball? Could there be an algorithm for most fantasies?

Lauren
Many participants in Tout Wars have jobs working with statistics, and yet their idea of an outlet is their participation in a fantasy league, in which they further employ statistics. How might this compare to soldiers who operate unmanned systems and then turn to video games as an outlet?

Casey
Owners of Rotisserie leagues often claim that the players are "working for them." Is this an accurate statement?

Danielle
Can fantasy be a burden? If it is a burden does that mean that it's reality?

Ryan
Why watch the games if they are so "excruciating"? What has brought him to the point of canceling dinner plans when he can just read it in the newspaper tomorrow? Why is he sacrificing real life things just to watch a game for his fantasy life?

Candace
How does the ability to "interact" with the real thing (watching the game, reading the newspaper stats from the game etc.) affect the fantasy of fantasy baseball for the participants?

Luke
Control is a central element of how we look at fantasy, does the lack of control in fantasy baseball make it more real?  Can that lack of control be called luck?

Connor
At what point does fantasy become a reality?

Margaret
People involved in fantasy baseball view players as on their team and playing for them.  At the same time, they are in awe of their talent and elevate them as stars worthy of getting their autograph (p 186-7).  How can two such views of someone exist at the same time?  There is a huge difference between the way a coach views his players and fans view players.  Does the fact that fantasy baseball allows for both idealization and ownership/responsibility of the chosen players make it so attractive to play?

Hilary
"Nevertheless, I've canceled my dinner plans, turned off the cell phone, shut down the computer and taken a seat on my wicker stool" (p.183)
Why do fantasy realms influence people to become disassociated from their actual worlds? often change in personality?

Jason
Does having analysts on Walker’s team detract from the genuineness of his team? Should a fantasy baseball remain the fantasy of one individual or does adding teammates make it more realistic?

Will
Is there a difference between a person like train_man who has no friends he physically hangs out with and spends a lot of time with anime and Sam ignoring everything and everyone around him to watch a baseball game? Does the fact that it is something that it is something actually happening make him any different? Do his connections with players, like actually meeting them, make his experience of Rotisserie baseball any more real?

Dixon
Walker's final consensus is that fantasy baseball is very far removed from the actual sport itself. Does this concept apply to all forms of fantasy?