Study shows Beach is into fantasy side of football
Sure, we don’t have an NFL franchise in Hampton Roads. We’re one of the nation’s biggest areas that doesn’t — some say THE largest.
But folks in our area are plenty interested in football, especially the fantasy variety. A recent survey of Virginia Beach and other cities, conducted in August, provides evidence.
According to the study released on pickswise.com, fantasy football players in Virginia Beach rank fifth nationally in weekly earnings ($643). That’s according to a survey of 3,200 fantasy football players from the 50 biggest cities in the U.S.
Any sports fan knows at least one person like this, to quote pickswise: “Fantasy football is more than just a game for so many people. The countless hours spent researching rosters, analyzing statistics, and scouring the waiver wire becomes like a fulltime job rather than a hobby.”
Virginia Beach tied Las Vegas for being No. 1 in the percentage of hosting a draft party (55.6%). Pickswise says hosts spend an average of $112 on their draft party.
Virginia Beach players are in an average of 2.9 leagues, ranking second only to Orlando, Florida (4.0). The national average is 1.7.
One of the great questions of the survey: How many times have you come in last place for your fantasy league? We applaud our fellow Virginians for their honesty and/or humility.
The national average is 1.3. Virginia Beach folks are at 2.7, the fourth-most. But take solace on the Oceanfront: Richmond players were even worse (3.8), with only Phoenix folks (4.6) at the bottom more often. And given how triple-digit temperatures permeate Arizona, there’s not much to do but sit in air conditioning and analyze your lineup.
Advantage, Virginia.
VSGA military scholarship:
Given the number of military connections in the 757, here’s some great news.
The Virginia State Golf Association has announced the creation of a Military Scholarship, which will debut in spring 2024 in conjunction with VSGA-VIP Scholarship Foundation awards for the 2024 academic year.
Initial funding for the scholarship will come from the VSGA, but the Scholarship Foundation is seeking individual and corporate donors for future years.
To be eligible for the scholarship, students must be dependents of active-duty or retired military. In addition, as for all Foundation scholarships, Military Scholarship applicants must be high school seniors who live in Virginia, have an interest in or connection to golf and plan to enroll in an undergraduate program.
Billy Hubbard of Mathews County narrowly missed taking Virginia Motor Speedway’s Pro Late Model season championship last weekend, finishing three points behind Jeremy Pilkerton of Loveville, Maryland.
In the season finale on the dirt track in Middlesex County, Cobbs Creek’s Hubbard placed fifth and Pilkerton sixth in the field of 19 as first-time winner Trevor Collins took the checkered flag.
Also at VMS, Johnny Brooks of Aylett won the Limited Stock title with a flourish, gaining his seventh victory of the year. Chase Butler of Mechanicsville won his third Modified title of the year despite finishing 29-thousandths of a second behind Bret Hamilton of Powhatan in the finale.
VMS wrap: What’s coming up
Wednesday:
Virginia Wesleyan’s men’s soccer team, looking like an Old Dominion Athletic Conference contender, entertains Hampden-Sydney at 7 p.m.
Old Dominion’s volleyball team starts a two-match home series against Georgia Southern at 6:30 p.m.
Both ODU soccer teams are at home against Sun Belt opposition, with the women facing Southern Miss at 2 p.m. and the men dueling Coastal Carolina at 7. … In men’s soccer, William & Mary plays host to Drexel at 3.