It’s that time of the year again.

I hear the whispers in the hallways…Gronkowski…Adrian Peterson…Matt Forte…

As the list of names enter one ear and exit the other, I realize what this means.

Fantasy Football Season is near.

You may be wondering, “What is Fantasy Football?”

Created by Bill Winkenbach, a former limited partner with the Raiders, Fantasy Football is an online game where the participants within a league serve as the general managers of their virtual team. The league is hosted by an appointed “league manager.” The participants then choose their team rosters by participating in a draft in which eligible NFL players are available. Every week, participants face off against each other in a “1 on 1” format, and the accumulated team points are based on the actual performances of the players.

To the average person, this may seem like a waste of time—a silly online game played by people with pipe dreams of playing in the NFL some day.

It’s so much more than that.

Fantasy football offers students something that PCS cannot: a football experience. Emotions run high and low every week as students trade players, organize rosters, and talk trash. Grade barriers are broken as seniors mingle with juniors—the “intergrade” leagues acting as bonding catalysts filled with quips about current matchups.

This school may have deprived the students of their football experiences, but the students of PCS have found a way to capture their “Friday Night Lights”.

So before you judge this seemingly silly game, take a walk around PCS and listen closely.

You just might be able to hear the buzz.