THE INTERNATIONAL FANTASY LEAGUE
WEEK 5: MEET TEAM CHILE

Courtesy Jonathon Aledda

Aledda wearing his favorite shirt on game day.

There's an actual football player in the ESPN International League! Jonathon Aledda, the captain of Team Chile, played linebacker for the state champion Staples High Wreckers in Westport, Conn. After high school, football took him south to the University of Miami, in Fla. He didn't play football for "The U", but went there, he says, "because of my man-crush on Warren Sapp."

Fair enough.

Born in Santiago, Chile, where he lived until he was four, Aledda and his family bounced between Central America and the U.S. until he arrived in Westport in eighth grade. He recently graduated from Miami with a health sciences degree, and spends his days as a personal trainer and a student of the NFL. He shamelessly confesses that the job of his dreams is to work in ESPN's fantasy department.

Aledda's father is from Boston, which, turned his son into a lifelong Patriots fan, though he also loves the Bucs as a result of Warren Sapp's pro tenure there. His mother is from Colombia, and her family, when they visit, prefer fútbol to football. But he says that, even though they "don't understand why the guys are running into each other, they recognize/respect the passion shown on the field by the fans and players."

Aledda has been playing fantasy since he was in middle school. He still participates in the "League of Legends" with his high school friends—"Not only football players!" he points out—but maxes out his total number fantasy leagues at three to avoid rooting against himself. During the week he's keeping current via news and podcasts, and spends the weekend watching Hurricanes football on Saturday and NFL games on Sunday.

Which brings us to this question: Are bars suffering because of fantasy football? Every person in this league has said they prefer to watch games at home, switching among games and their computer to track scores. Granted, this league might be somewhat extreme in its level of fandom, and some far-flung participants HAVE to follow the games on their computers because TV isn't an option (and sometimes bars aren't). But it's something worth exploring.

Week 5 Report:

Team Canada is on the board! Rachel Maruno's squad is 1-4 after besting Jonathon's Team Chile this week, 77-75. In related news, LT is crippling Team Chile. You can't bench the #1 pick.

Team Japan's on a two-game losing streak, thanks to Andre Johnson's breakout 32-point week on the Japan bench and Santana Moss' nada performance. This puts Team Mexico in league-leading position at 4-1 after defeating team Poland, 95-83.

Prince Abdullah update: He defeated my team, Team USA, this week, 103-96. It was close coming into Monday night, but he had Drew Brees, whose total outpaced Team USA's Visanthe Shiancoe's, Shiancoe's TD notwithstanding.

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