As I flipped through the TV channels while sitting on my couch eating lunch, I came across a show on CNBC that was recapping the performance of the various markets for the day. However, before they went to commercial, the lead-in to the next segment involved fantasy football. Somewhat surprised, I hung around through the commercial break to see why a financial news network would be talking about fantasy football.

When the show returned, I was shocked to see that the report on fantasy football wasn’t about the loss of productivity it causes businesses when their employees devote company hours to the game. It was a report on fantasy football strategy with a fantasy sports “expert.” The hosts on the show spent almost 10 minutes interviewing this guy, who advised the audience on which players to play on Sunday and which ones to bench. This led me to wonder: How big has fantasy football become when it has taken precedent over news of rising crude-oil prices? This in turn led me to wonder some more: Why did I care about crude-oil prices so much, and why in the world was I watching CNBC in the first place?

Fantasy football has grown enormously because Internet sites like Yahoo! and ESPN allow anybody to join a public league or start their own private league. According to the executive-search firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas, around 14 million people play fantasy football every year and fantasy sports cost the nation’s businesses about $36.7 million in lost productivity every day. Some companies don’t mind the loss because they believe fantasy football leagues in the workplace can boost employee morale. However, it’s probably difficult for companies to find that perfect balance of increasing morale enough to outweigh the subsequent lost productivity. It’s hard to find exactly where the marginal benefits must equal the marginal costs. Thank you, economics classes.

The fantasy football craze is not limited to the corporate world, either. It’s impossible to walk through one of the many computer labs on campus without seeing somebody on a fantasy football Web site looking for ways to upgrade their team by pulling off a blockbuster trade – or hitting up the waiver wire for a second-string running back who’s playing this week because the starter is out with turf toe. Hey buddy, there aren’t any computers open, and I have a project to work on, but I can see that you need a new tight end because your guy is on a bye week, so have it at, hoss.

When I visited Borders recently, I saw a book titled Committed: Confessions of a Fantasy Football Junkie. It’s the story of how the author quit his job at an advertising firm to pursue his dream of winning a fantasy football league championship. Quitting your job to become a full-time fantasy sports owner seems a bit outlandish to me, but if you know what you’re doing, more power to you. I suppose that’s why there are professional poker players, professional blackjack players and homeless guys who succeed in bumming change and cigarettes off college kids.

Personally, I’m certainly not immune to this fantasy football craze. I’m both proud and ashamed to own teams in two separate leagues, and I have friends who own teams in as many as five. Right now, I have my Yahoo! Sports Fantasy Football Web page open in an attempt to determine why my team sucked this week. Thanks for nothing, Corey Dillon.

As more people play fantasy sports each year, the craze will continue to grow. Fantasy leagues for basketball, baseball, and hockey exist too – which is interesting, because I didn’t know real hockey still existed. While fantasy sports are fun, entertaining and provide a good excuse to talk trash and make fun of your friends’ mothers, everybody needs to remember that there is actual work that needs to get done too – like finding a replacement for Brett Favre this Sunday.

Chris Kozak is a senior in LAS. His column runs Wednesdays. He can be reached at [email protected].