How did this juggernaut happen, so that even a sports league as serious as the NFL is dedicating network time to an entity called fantasy? Emerging first about a quarter-century ago was fantasy baseball, then known as Rotisserie League Baseball. Both fantasy baseball and fantasy football boasted hard-core participants into the 1990s, but the emergence of the Internet — which led to ease in keeping statistics and a better way to communicate via e-mail and message boards, along with an exponential growth in leagues — fueled the boom.

The name of the game reveals its appeal. Americans love watching football, and by adding fantasy to the mix, they can act as if they’re the general manger or coach of a team. They draft NFL players, make trades, and try to win the championship.

Yet fantasy football can twist a fan’s loyalty. Say a man named Fred Gridiron has been following the Chicago Bears since George Halas served as coach. When they play Dallas, he truly wants the Bears to win the game — but he has also picked Cowboys’ quarterback Tony Romo for his fantasy team. If Romo completes a slew of fourth-quarter passes to beat the Bears, Gridiron will be upset his lifelong team may have squandered a shot at the playoffs — but proud that his fantasy squad was a winner.

Aside from confusing loyalties, if there’s one factor working against the growth of fantasy football, it’s time. Jobs and families eat into hours that could otherwise be allotted to fantasy football, which is why its main demographic is males who are 18-34 years old, some with little better to do. But those with full-time jobs still find a way to compete: A report released in 2006 by outplacement consultants Challenger, Gray and Christmas in Chicago estimated that fantasy football players in the workplace cost the U.S. economy about $500 million a week in lost productivity.

The chance of players, though, cutting back their fantasy play at work or at home is minimal. Fantasy football has become an obsession — and there’s no doubt lawnmowers will stay in the garage this fall as players watch endless hours of NFL games in hopes of becoming a champion.

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