As we pass the midway point of the 2020 NFL Season, this is about the time where the true character of Fantasy Football Leagues is showcased. Let’s be honest, not all leagues are created equal; yes they have the same players and for the most part the same rules, but there are boring leagues and there are fun leagues. Here is a step by step guide to making sure your fantasy football league is worthy of your time.
1. Have A Passionate Commissioner: The success of every league starts with the commissioner. Not only are they responsible for setting everything up, but at the end of the day, they are responsible for making sure the league is fun. From how the draft is order is set, to live vs online draft, to dishing out punishments; the commissioner is king. If you have a commissioner that doesn’t care, why would anyone else.
2. Have An Engaged League: There’s nothing worse than a league where players just don’t care. When players don’t set their rosters or start players who are clearly destined to fail that week, it ruins the competitive nature of the league. When the league season is only 12 weeks before the start of the playoffs, it’s a brutal feeling to watch another team get an easy victory because one of the managers was lazy. Now, part of this does fall on the commissioner to keep everyone in check…..but you also need players who care.
2A. Encourage Shit Talk: This goes along with the “engaged league” but is your league really competitive if managers aren’t making fun of one another. If a team sucks one week, they deserve to hear about it. If a teams bench dominates it’s starter, they deserve to hear about it. Watching football on Sunday while on the league group chat is one of my favorite activities…when I’m winning.
3. Penalties: Coming in last place should not only bring shame upon the team manager, but it should bring suffering. Nothing brings a league together at the end of a season more than watching one of their friends have to embarrass themselves in a public setting.
At the end of the day, the show The League was pretty spot on when it comes to how a Fantasy Football League should operate. Ok, maybe your league shouldn’t consume your every waking moment in the fall, but the passion they showed for their league is what they all enjoyed. If you are going to spend your time in a league, you may as well make the most of it.
*Writers Note* It was brought to my attention that this post may come across as arrogant which is not my intent. I participate in two leagues and am commission of one. By no means does either of the leagues check all these boxes….though we are working towards it. Honestly, if I could combine both leagues, it would be the perfect league, but since that’s not an option, I’ll have to just continue to work on improving both.
