almost all of my male readers participate in this...

Twenty-five years have passed, and memories have blurred.

But we do know this: When the 11 Rotisserie League founders held their inaugural player auction in the dining room of Cork Smith's Manhattan apartment April 13, 1980, they left decorum at the door.

The birth of fantasy sports wasn't pretty, just loads of fun.

Glen Waggoner recalls feeling "totally intimidated" by the brainpower in the room. At the same time, though, he already was hooked by the game's general premise. He could assemble his own team and match wits and gamble against other owners by comparing their players' real-life statistics.

"You either drink the Kool-Aid and start really obsessing over it, or it's just another game," Waggoner says.

To scores of like-minded people across the country, it's definitely not just another game.

And while some scoff at fantasy sports and accuse those who play of being stats-obsessed geeks, more than 15 million Americans play fantasy sports, according to the Fantasy Sports Trade Association. Recent surveys commissioned by the organization show that the industry is booming: Estimates peg the total amount spent on fantasy sports each year at more than $1 billion.

Yes, billion with a "b." Hey, who knew geeks had so much money?

A recent survey of fantasy sports players commissioned by the FSTA shows that, in 2004, fantasy baseball players spent 4 hours and 28 minutes per week managing their teams; fantasy football owners spent 2 hours and 58 minutes each week on their teams.

Though surveys show that football is now by far the most popular fantasy sport, any sport can provide the basis for a fantasy league, including golf and auto racing.

Still, the craze traces back to baseball and to Daniel Okrent, the creator of the Rotisserie League.