by Maynard Black

Created on: August 24, 2009   Last Updated: December 09, 2009

The smell of blood and sweat fills your nostrils as you pick yourself up off the rocky ground. Rising to your feet, you have only enough time to raise your shield before another destructive blow crumbles your will and you fall once more. The roar of the crowd is deafening . . . You knew what you were getting into, yet it's still shocking that they cheer for your demise . . . It might seem that a

Roman gladiator and an American football player have little in common, but they both go into the contest knowing that their life could very well be on the line.

What about the owners of these men? Are they really all that different from one another? With the advent of fantasy football, as owners, we all get to take part in that gladiator glory.

Gladiators battle for personal, team, and community recognition and adoration. Is a pro-football gladiator any different?

Owners of these combatants aim to put their best men into competition to prove that they are the best. Fantasy football owners prove to have the same agenda.

What's really on the line here? The gladiators, owners, and fantasy owners all fight for respect, pride, and recognition that they are the best.

The arena is the great equalizer. Gladiators and nobles all compete on the same level. In fantasy football, a CEO is the same as a bus boy. It doesn't matter if you write the checks or if you mop the floor, you have the chance to compete . . . and win.

The Romans loved it then, and we love it still today because competition breaks down social barriers and allows all of us to stand in the middle of the coliseum with the crowd's roar cheering us on to victory.

Learn more about this author, Maynard Black.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.