For millions of armchair quarterbacks, fantasy is about to become reality again.

The NFL season kicks off tomorrow night at 9 p.m. when the Oakland Raiders play the defending champion New England Patriots.

And with it comes another season of fantasy football, where fans draft teams of real NFL players and then compete against other teams based on how their players perform on the field.

What began decades ago as a hobby for a small niche has, with the help of the Internet, exploded into a multibillion dollar industry that draws in more than 12 million Americans a year.

Ryan Wall, a hospitality business freshman, said he's been playing fantasy football online for six or seven years.

"It adds a different element to the game," Wall said. "Even if it's not your team playing, it still makes every game interesting."

Wall said he plays in a free league through www.yahoo.com and tracks his players by flipping TV channels and surfing other free sports Web sites like www.espn.com on Sundays.

But others get more serious - the Fantasy Sports Trade Association estimates that the average fantasy football participant spends more than $150 a year on league fees and stat-tracking services.

What's more, the same research finds that the average team owner spends 37 minutes a day "just thinking about" his or her teams.

For some students, like civil engineering freshman Steve Remias, that's just too big a commitment.

"A couple of my buddies get into it, but it never really rubbed off on me," Remias said. "I've helped my dad draft his team, but that's it."

But for many students, fantasy sports are just another way to have fun.

Civil engineering freshman Mark Winters said the league he's in is a way for him to stay in touch with his friends back home in Indianapolis.

He said his favorite part of the league is the draft, where all the league members get together, select their rosters and often dish out some good-natured insults about each other's teams.

Winters said he caught some flak for selecting a few of his favorite players in his draft, including San Diego Chargers quarterback Drew Brees and former Spartans wide receiver Muhsin Muhammad, who now plays for the Chicago Bears.

But Winters said that's all just part of the game.

"It's fun to trash talk," he said. "And to screw over your friends on trades."