Enough already with the never-ending Draft Kings and Fan Duel commercials. While we’re at it, when did the fantasy sports apocalypse jump to the front of the line ahead of the robot and zombie apocalypses?
PROMO CODE: Overload
If you’re not being shouted at to play for free through your TV or radio, then you have not paid attention to any sports event for months. On the “cringe-o-meter,” these constant reminders for the chance to win big have gone from annoying, to barely tolerable to, “Hey, what’s on the Food Network instead?” There’s no way they’d come up with fantasy chef betting, right?
It’s one thing to change the channel or radio station when another promo code-offering ad begins blaring through your speakers. But when you really want to focus on the game you’ve been waiting for, the constant Draft Kings – Fan Duel ad war can easily inflict a dull headache before the first yellow penalty flag hits a patch of green field turf.
PROMO CODE: Aspirin
Watching the Northwestern-Duke football game meant enduring at least one of those ads during every commercial break. It was getting to the point that if the ultra-annoying cars for kids spot suddenly popped on the screen, it wouldn’t have been so bad. Sorry, I know many of you are now hearing that mind-altering jingle in your heads.
After swearing that I saw at least 100 fantasy sports betting commercials before Northwestern earned their 3rd win in a row (Go Cats!), I wanted to know how many spots actually run during a football game. So, for the first time ever, I was scoring a football game at home the next day, charting commercials during the Bears – Cardinals hot mess of a game. The results were very surprising.
By my count, only 4 of those ran during the game. Huh? I expected way more than that, but the thinking must be that if NFL games are already underway, it’s too late to sign-up and set your lineup for the week.
So, the surprise here is that the way to avoid fantasy sports betting commercials is to watch the actual game they’d like you to follow for player results.
PROMO CODE: Irony
I’m really glad fantasy soccer hasn’t “become a thing” yet, but I’m sure that’s next.
Eric Scott is a freelance columnist for Pioneer Press.
