Sounds Like A Cult — The Cult of Fantasy Football

Podcast: Sounds Like A Cult
Episode: The Cult of Fantasy Football
Host: Chelsea Charles (with Amanda Montell, cameo)
Guest: Kimmi Chex (NFL Network, Fantasy Football Analyst)
Date: November 18, 2025

Episode Overview

This episode dives into the fascinating—and sometimes absurd—world of fantasy football, interrogating whether its spreadsheet-heavy, group chat-dominating rituals truly tick the boxes of a modern cult. Host Chelsea Charles and NFL media personality Kimmi Chex break down the inner workings, traditions, and sometimes toxic behaviors that define fantasy football, while exploring its role as both community-builder and potential obsession.

“It’s like stock trading for guys who peaked in high school, but with way more group chats.” – Chelsea Charles (05:44)

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. What Makes Fantasy Football "Culty"?

• Hive Mind & Rituals: Listeners describe a “testosterone-fueled, beer-drinking, women-will-never-understand attitude” and “hive mind” mentality.
  • “Just when you think they’ve had enough, the cult dangles that carrot with a small Monday Night Football win and they’re back with just enough hope to keep them hooked.” – Listener Kimora (02:46)
• Fantasy as Lifestyle:
  • Communities form around group chats, punny team names, draft parties, and superstitious rituals (lucky jerseys, draft traditions).
  • Entry requirements, inside jokes, and jargon can be forms of gatekeeping.

2. Origins & Evolution of Fantasy Football

• Started as a niche hobby in 1962 in a Manhattan hotel room by football die-hards.
• Blossomed into a billion-dollar industry with 60+ million players, thanks to ESPN coverage and fantasy apps. Now linked to high-stakes gambling and even legal drama.

“It’s not just a game, it’s a way of life.” – Chelsea Charles (12:24)

3. The Pull of Community

• Kimmi explains the appeal:
  • Regular reunions (like her cousin’s 20-year league, with red “champion” jackets and championship rings).
  • Traditions and rituals “give you a sense of community in a positive way,” especially in a divisive cultural climate (14:01).
• Rituals (draft parties, lucky charms, trash talk) create “collective effervescence” (21:40), tightening bonds.
• “If it gives them some happiness or some sense of community, all the power to you.” – Kimmi Chex (15:21)

4. Gatekeeping & Gender Gaps

• Fantasy football can feel exclusionary—language/jargon serve as barriers, and “bro code” can persist.
  • “The reason why maybe I wasn’t engaging is because it was kind of this gate-keeping, old man…guys world.” – Kimmi Chex (22:35)
• Kimmi notes the shift:
  • Fantasy now serves as an “easy way for new football fans to engage”—kids, women, and even complete beginners.
  • Gender gap still exists; women must often “prove you deserve to be there.”

“When a group makes you feel like you have to earn your way to be seen, that’s hierarchy, my friends. That’s where the cultiest part of fantasy football lives.” – Chelsea Charles (30:29)

• Advice for women in sports:
  • “It’s not chasing the thing that seems glamorous…It’s chasing the why. The highlight reel on Instagram is not the grind.” – Kimmi Chex (36:54)
  • “We are inclusive, we are kind, and we know our shit. And that’s just bottom line.” – Kimmi Chex (34:17)

5. The Sunk Cost Fallacy & Emotional Toll

• People get “in too deep”—devoted after big buy-ins or long seasons, refusing to abandon failed picks.
  • “That, my friends, is the sunk cost fallacy.” – Chelsea Charles (43:34)
• Example: The chaos following Damar Hamlin’s on-field collapse (45:01).
  • Fantasy players obsessed over points for canceled games, overshadowing real-world health crisis.
  • “Y’all are lost in the sauce—we need to rewind.” – Kimmi Chex (46:00)
• Players themselves are sometimes unfairly targeted online for “bad” performances (“Don’t tag them—this is y’all’s fake game, their real job!” – Kimmi Chex, 46:30)

6. Financial Risks, Gambling, and Legal Scandals

• The 2015 DraftKings & FanDuel scandal: Data leaks, accusations of insider trading, FBI/DOJ investigations.
• Gambling can tip the scales from harmless hobby to destructive obsession.

“With anything, there’s a fine line between it becoming fun and becoming obsessive…and that’s where it can become an issue.” – Kimmi Chex (51:00)

• Personal stories:

  • A caller and a read-aloud story about gambling addiction and divorce highlight the real-world consequences (54:15).

• Public Service:

  • “If you need help with gambling, go get help, because it’s real. All of this was born out of entertainment and community.” – Kimmi Chex (53:30)

7. Culty or Committed? (Rapid Fire Game)

Segment (57:18):

• PowerPoint presentations for draft day — “Committed. That’s so sweet.”
• Wearing unwashed lucky jersey — “Committed but funky.”
• Flying to Vegas for the draft — “Love, committed. That’s fun.”
• Editing your draft strategy at work — “That’s committed. Work can be stressful, so more power to you.”
• Declining a wedding for playoffs — “That’s culty. Suspect. A little off.”

8. The Verdict: Is Fantasy Football a Cult?

• Kimmi Chex: "Live your life" — most participants keep it fun, social, and positive.
• Chelsea Charles: "Watch your back" — fun with a slippery slope; gambling and obsession can tip the scales.

“I think it’s 100% live your life. Do you. Celebrate it. Watch yourself if you are engaging in ways that seem a little cray cray…and have a trusted advisor or friend who is not scared to check you.” – Kimmi Chex (60:28)
“It can get a little dangerous when you start adding money…So just gonna say watch your back a little bit.” – Chelsea Charles (60:48)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “Once you get into fantasy football, you legitimately join a cult. Because I've never been able to, like, break free from the shackles of that fantasy experience.” – Kimmi Chex (07:40)

• “Draft day isn’t just a party, it’s a performance.” – Quoted by Chelsea Charles (20:44)

• “This is y’alls fake game. This is my real job. Like, leave me alone.” – Kimmi Chex on players being harassed by fantasy fans (46:30)

• “It begins with community, it begins with routine, and before you know it, you’re sacrificing your savings and your stability. And the most dangerous part is how normalized it can all seem in the beginning.” – Chelsea Charles (56:00)

Key Timestamps

• 01:40 – Listener testimonials about "hive mind," hyper-masculinity, and cult-like devotion.
• 06:32 – Introduction of guest Kimmi Chex and her fantasy football credentials.
• 12:24 – Brief history of fantasy football's origins and its modern industry.
• 13:45 – Kimmi on league rituals (lucky jerseys, strict draft weekends, and camaraderie).
• 20:34 – Segment on fantasy football rituals and the concept of "collective effervescence."
• 22:22 – Kimmi and Chelsea discuss gatekeeping, jargon, and gendered experiences in fantasy.
• 34:53 – Kimmi’s path as a woman in the NFL and advice for breaking into male-dominated spaces.
• 43:12 – Discussion of the sunk cost fallacy and obsession with fantasy football.
• 45:01 – Example of fantasy obsession during Damar Hamlin’s medical emergency.
• 48:35 – The dark side: legal/personal consequences of gambling and fantasy obsession.
• 57:18 – “Culty or Committed?” game segment.
• 60:25–61:13 – Final verdicts on fantasy football’s level of “cultiness.”

Final Takeaways

Fantasy football is a potent blend of camaraderie, healthy (and sometimes unhealthy) obsession, ritual, language, and risk that mimics many cult-like behaviors—complete with its own hierarchies, jargon, and rites of passage. For most, it’s a harmless source of connection and fun—but, as with all cults, a watchful eye is needed when stakes, money, and egos start to swallow common sense.

“Low stakes, fun, community, shit talking, and enjoying watching football, dawg!” – Kimmi Chex (62:20)

Follow Kimmi: @kimmichex on socials
Sounds Like A Cult: @soundslikeacultpod

“Stay culty, but not too cult.”