Tips To Make the Fantasy Season More Entertaining
Posted 8/11 by Tom Michel, Exclusive to Footballguys.com
Just because D-Day (draft day) is over, it should not be the only exciting thing about your league. It does not matter if it is a league you have been in for five years or two days or an online league with people you have never met. There are things to do to have fun throughout the year. There are even things to do near the end of the season to keep things fun for those teams finding themselves on the outside of the playoffs.
Just like the earlier article Special Rules by Jeff Pasquino that makes the game more enjoyable, these are ideas for the league in general.
Here are a list of things I have done/experienced that could help your league find even more fun and entertainment in fantasy football this year.
- Have someone write a weekly matchup column for your league
I like writing this because it helps me keep track of players doing well that are under the radar. If the Sharks vs. the Hot Wings is the matchup of the week (best records, trying to win their first game, take first in their division, traditional rivalry etc.) you can expand on it. Who are the RBs and WRs on the two teams, is one team hot etc. You can write about the team's decision to draft a kicker in round 4, or a player that is doing well. My leagues love it when you acknowledge a great pick, start decision, etc. People like to be recognized and I believe in giving credit when it is due.
I will write the column the first three weeks and then ask for people to do it. I usually get 3-4 people willing to do it once or twice and it really does get people excited/talking about the year. - Talk that trash
See #1 first. There is trash talking, quiet satisfaction, and just plain being mean! If you know people personally this is a lot easier to have a good time with. We have one owner that LOVES to talk trash even if he is out of contention. He is an equal opportunity trash talker that is fun, but not mean. If you have some mean trash talking try to stop it, it is no fun being in a league that is well . . . no fun. I like talking trash during the draft and about teams in general (mine included). Be nice, be fun, and laugh at yourself too. We have all drafted someone we should not have! - Get together and watch some of the games together
One of my leagues goes to the same bar and we watch some of the games together. The owners are different every week but it makes it personal when a team defense you have grabs a fumble and goes 80 yards the other way to secure your win against the guy you are sitting next too.
If you play online, use a chat room on the site you use to talk back and forth about what is going on. - Post polls about things to get an idea of what people are thinking
It could be about a player, a team, maybe a game that week in your league, a rule change (if your league allows this). Last year with five weeks left I posted a poll about the Patriots and if they would go undefeated and win the SB, lose a game but win the SB, go undefeated and lose the SB, etc. It was interesting to see that most people thought they would lose a game but win the SB. It generated some fun discussions in our league. - Side bets with other team owners
This does not have to be for money as it could be for a beer, food, bragging rights or anything else. This could be a bench player bet, a single player, a defensive stat bet, or a straight up fun $5 single game winner bet. Sometimes you attach this to trash talking and getting together but we definitely have a good time watching a game and cheering/jinxing a kicker that may make the difference in our wager! - Have an end of year party / award trophies
At one of my leagues where the payout is substantial, the winner buys the first two rounds. It means even if you lost or missed the playoffs, you still get some free drinks and can talk about what you will do different next year, how the winner got lucky etc.!
In addition, I never thought it would matter but holding onto the championship trophy for a year does something for you. I was never a fan of having a league trophy but I loved having it for the year as a reminder of the fun that was had that season. My favorite is the dinky $12 trophy from my oldest league. Some leagues send a T-shirt to the winner if they prefer that to a trophy. Find something to award or do at the end of the year! - Trades
I used to think that trades were for suckers. I drafted the best team so why should I trade? Now I know different as I love making trades. Even if you don't make them, to propose them is great. Now offering Tarvaris Jackson for Tom Brady is not a trade offer, its just stupid. I am talking about fair and even trades that help your team win! Who do you think is going to get hot and cold? Do you have a hot player that is going to face a brutal playoff schedule? Throw out those trade offers and see what happens! At least the offers are fun! - Predraft meeting
Get most of the owners to show up at a local bar, home, and draw numbers for draft position, and bring up possible rule changes that should be brought to everyone so it can be voted on at the draft. You can also discuss, conference names, determine draft order etc. and (if you are crafty) figure out who some of the people like. This year I asked what everyone thought of Tom Brady! - Midseason/end of season showdown
At the midway point of your season, the teams could play each other based on ranking. This takes some work making the schedule, but if you have a 12 team head-to-head league, and a 13 week season, make the teams play each other at the midpoint and/or end based on rankings. Make those wildcard teams fight for their spot, the top teams fight for that bye week and ranking, etc. This can make some games irrelevant the last week and some people like playing the role of spoiler, but in some leagues where all teams make the playoffs, it helps determine the final rankings. I really like the midseason idea since it pits the first two teams against each other, 3rd and 4th etc. and creates a bit more importance to our week 7 matchups, and one of my leagues plans ahead and brings a mini-potluck to a local bar for the day. - End of year "Rumble"
One league wanted to keep all the teams involved for the playoffs and came up with this idea. In the league that does this, it is a "battle royal" among the 6 teams that did not make the playoffs. If they want to participate, owners play during week 16 and high points win against all the other teams that have joined in. We have a $25 buy in, winner take all for the Rumble. If 4 owners want in, and 2 don't, it is fine. Winner takes the $100. This is even better as it is championship weekend and we all get together to cheer on the 6 teams play for their final spot as well as the Rumble teams. It gets better every year. Maybe we should add a "Rumble" trophy! - Consolation Bracket
Those teams that missed the playoff in a league play for the "bad beat" spot (7th) in a round robin matchup. Week 1(14 during the year) is a total points winner, the top 4 teams advance. Then the matchup is a random drawing to determine seeding for the last 2 weeks. Winners from Week 2 of course move on to play for the bad beat. The league has a small cash prize associated with it so that it is a bit of incentive. You could play for a T-shirt, gift certificate, mini-trophy etc. You could also make it total points for each week rather than head to head. - Loser "End-of-Year Run" Draft
This is where you get the teams that did not make the playoffs and they do a "redraft" for the fantasy playoffs. The one time I did this we drafted 1 QB, 2 RB, 2 WR only. Since there were only 6 teams and 5 roster spots (no backups or add drops) this draft goes pretty quick (total of 30 picks or 2.5 rounds of a real draft) and is great since by that time you know who is doing great, avoided injuries, etc. The last place team gets to draft first. We add the total points each week for the three weeks to get our winner. We are contemplating do this as a side bet in one league this year. - Playoff Drafts for each week.
Same thing as above but anyone can participate. Draft each week the 5 positions you need. If you have a large league you can split the teams participating into divisions so that 2 people have Peyton Manning. Points-or-head to head.
These are just more ways to add fun to the league that some of us wait all year for and keep things interesting for those that are out of the running. Also, for some of us with way too much time on our hands it can help with that too!