Hi. Im in my second year as commissioner. Last year went pretty well. As expected we had about half of the group that was into it and the other half that was kind of wishy washy. Some arent coming back this year. This year. I have me and 4 others that are definitly going to be big into it. And 5 others that will play and stick with it, but are just not huge baseball fans.
Im looking for ideas as to how to make it fun. Anything you guys do? Issue like weekly updates and things of that nature.
Im going to buy a trophy for the winner.
I know what you ll say about maybe they shouldnt play. But these are my best friends. Id rather play with them then baseball fans that I dont know so well. Though Imight play in another league like that too.
Any Ideas???
Is it a money league? If not, try to make it a money league. You'd be supprised how even $10 a team will make people stay interested longer. If you have the means make it a $25+ league. Then in addition to having a season winner have a couple of smaller winners.
Pick a category and whomever is in the lead at the All-star break gets a small $ prize. Or whatever you decide, this is just an example.
A trophy is good but it takes a couple of years to get some meaning behind it.
If possible have a monthly "trade-party". Usually just a chance to go to a bar with everyone and BS, but some trades do get done.
A few things I recomend. Try to get 1 new owner a year in that you know will be active if you keep the other owners that are active in just a couple years you will have a very competative group. Also try to get everyone to throw in some money even if it is only $10 a team. Give all the money to the winner unless it is more money than that. That will make it a little more competative.
this was suggested by one of our cafe members. You don't have to play for money but having 6 monthly winners of one sort or another seems to be an excellent idea.
I think this is the most challenging aspect of fantasy anything - certainly harder that the game.
The absolute best thing you can do is anything that increases communication. If you guys are mostly friends, then schedule parties, like someone else suggested, where you guys can bs and talk trade.
Make sure email addresses, phone numbers, IM ID's, etc are posted where everyone can get to them easily.
Have unlimited free trades in the offseason.
Leagues can take a long time to build up a quality core and yours appears to still be in the growing stages. I highly suggest trying other leagues at the same time where you could eventually bring owners from your other league over or simply combine the two - which is how my league actually got it's start many years ago.
Your idea about a monthly newsletter is a great idea. We started doing that in 2002. I have a hard time gauging WHO is reading it, but I have a lot of fun doing it and for those that do read it it helps them keep acquainted with other guys' teams.
Another thing I did a couple years ago is I did a survey of my league and then sent everyone's answers out. It was just simple stuff like name, family, favorite baseball/fantasy memories, hobbies, and activities you would be interested in participing in.
Make draft day a huge event. Have tons of food and drink and get everyone together in person and just have fun with each other.
It gets even better when you make fun of other people's picks.
One of the best things we did was institute a live draft at someone's house. It was hard a few years back since two of us were at the Jersey Shore and the the rest on the NW side of Jersey near PA. Now we get all but one or two there, and we have a great time.
I am down with a trade party, that is a great idea.
To me, if you're not playing for $, you're wasting your time, and ppl will lose interest fast. Even my brother, who was in last most of the yr last yr, stayed in it cuz he had a shot at winning a few categories going into Sept (we give out $3 if you win a category). Our league has a $35 entry fee that pays for the website and prizes. You don't have to go that far, but $10 is worth it if you can do it.
Also, we instituted two awards that make things a bit more exciting: The Alan Zinter Award, for the person with the worst draft pick/trade/transaction of the year, and the Shua Cellar Award, in honor of my brother who has finished last the past 3 seasons. It keeps ppl interested, as we have a similar setup in football.
Baseball is a game where a curve is an optical illusion, a screwball can be a pitch or a person, stealing is legal and you can spit anywhere you like except in the umpire's eye or on the ball. ~Jim Murray
Sticky Spice wrote:The absolute best thing you can do is anything that increases communication. If you guys are mostly friends, then schedule parties, like someone else suggested, where you guys can bs and talk trade.
Make sure email addresses, phone numbers, IM ID's, etc are posted where everyone can get to them easily.
Your idea about a monthly newsletter is a great idea. We started doing that in 2002. I have a hard time gauging WHO is reading it, but I have a lot of fun doing it and for those that do read it it helps them keep acquainted with other guys' teams.
Another thing I did a couple years ago is I did a survey of my league and then sent everyone's answers out. It was just simple stuff like name, family, favorite baseball/fantasy memories, hobbies, and activities you would be interested in participing in.
A ton of great ideas on this thread. I highlighted Sticky Spice here because in my opinion, an active, communicating commish can make a great league. Monthly updates are a lot of fun. If its h2h, then do a weekly recap if you can. These things are time consuming, but the more effort you put in, the better response you will get. If you simpy cut and paste the results and email it out, its not gonna help you. If you add commentary about each matchup from the previous week, maybe next weeks matchups, hot - cold lists, and a little trash talk, you will generate interest in the league.
Cafe Home
Fantasy Football
Fantasy Basketball
Fantasy Hockey
by princethomas » Mon Feb 02, 2004 10:56 pm 
