Chapter TWO

Sports fans stand at a crossroads. For decades, we have really only been offered two ways to play without stepping on the field. You bet. Or you draft.

Betting gives you odds and lines. Fantasy gives you rosters and spreadsheets. Both have their place and both can be fun. Yet both still follow someone else’s rules. The house’s rules. The algorithm’s rules. The broadcaster’s script.

Fans are more than that. They are competitors. Rivals. Storytellers.

With years of rec hockey behind me, I have seen the same thing play out again and again. When the final buzzer sounds, some players lace it up for the night out exercise, the laughs, the sweat, and the joy of being on the ice. For them, the scoreboard fades as soon as the game ends.

For others, it is something more. They skate straight to the ref to make sure their goal or assist gets written down. They want their streaks counted. They want the record to show. And the rest of us cannot help but laugh, especially when the phantom goals appear on the scoresheet the next day. That is when the group chat lights up. That is when the chirps fly. That is when rivalries flare. Everyone weighs in on who really deserved the credit.

That is the beauty of it. Same game. Same ice. Everyone finds their own way to make it matter. Nobody in those locker rooms is managing fantasy rosters. Nobody is betting the over and under on a Wednesday night beer league game. Yet everybody cares, in their own way, about streaks and rivalries and legacy. That shared energy, that mix of fun and fire, is what keeps us coming back. That is the camaraderie.

The broadcast has its role and it always will. It brings the highlights and the angles and the big calls. But it does not reach the places where fans actually live the game. It does not capture the laughter of a locker room debate over who really had the assist. It does not carry the sting of a rival team chirping after a loss or the buzz of a group chat erupting over phantom goals. Those are the moments that fuel fandom. Those are the moments fans create for themselves.

That is why we do not see ourselves as broadcasters.

We are not the broadcast. We are the fan engine.

We fuel the energy fans already bring. We turn rivalries and streaks and legacies into something that counts. For years, sports engagement has rested on two pillars. Betting, where you play against the house. Fantasy, where you manage a roster. Both are powerful, yet neither gives fans ownership. Neither builds legacy. It is time for a third pillar.

You bet. You draft. Now you streak.

This is not about taking away from betting or fantasy. It is about adding something new. Something built for fans. Something built on gameplay and rivalries and legacy. The third pillar transforms fandom into action. Safe. Social. Rewarding.

You can feel this everywhere if you look closely. In the way rivalries stretch long after the game ends. In the way bragging rights outlast the final score. In the way post game radio shows and podcasts and group chats carry more heat than the highlight reel. That is where fandom lives. In the continuation. In the aftershocks. In the stories that keep getting told.

Executives are noticing. Leagues and teams and brands know that fans want to play, not just watch. They see the cultural shift with Gen Z and Alpha, the generations growing up in group chats, creating content, expecting to be part of the action. The old pillars are not enough to hold their attention. Engagement must feel like ownership.

The economics back this up. Passive viewing creates impressions. Active participation creates loyalty. When fans compete and track streaks and build their own legacies, they stay longer and return more often and bring their communities with them. A third pillar does not just give fans more power. It gives leagues and brands more durable engagement. Time spent goes up. Churn goes down. Communities become stronger.

That is why the third pillar matters. It gives fans more than a transaction or a spreadsheet. It gives them a scoreboard that belongs to them. A scoreboard that fuels rivalries and carries through communities and builds legacy over time.

Sports will always have betting. Sports will always have fantasy. The broadcast will always have a stage. But fans deserve a pillar of their own. A way to play their way. A way to turn streaks into stories and rivalries into content and moments into legacy.

We are not the broadcast. We are the fan engine.

You bet. You draft. Now you streak.

If you are ready to be part of it, join us at MyStreakers.