The Biggest Fantasy Draft EVER!

by Jeremiah Tittle

The NFL celebrated its 75th anniversary this year by moving its draft to prime time on myriad television channels treating the NBA and NHL playoffs like a dog treats a fire hydrant. It was the typical hype machine in action except that fans, for better or worse, became over-saturated by its expansion over three days. The time off between the 1st and 2nd rounds almost proved to be too much for Mel Kiper and his Trump-style toupee.

What emerged from this ‘throw it all against the wall and see what sticks’ approach Roger Goodell employed was a better marketed, faster-paced, EVENT not unlike what sports fans experience when drafting their favorite players in the office fantasy league or fantasy leagues amongst old friends or college roommates who no longer live in the same area. With 5 channels covering all the machinations of rounds 1 through 6, the trades, the boom vs. bust analysis, and the obsession with the #1 position on the field of play – the quarterback – it was as close to the decision makers as fans get. That is, outside of fantasy leagues.

Sports fans have so little say about what their favorite NFL teams do in the draft, during the season. The only exception to the rule was Richard Nixon who called in Redskins plays from the White House (which makes you wonder what would happen if the all-important red phone rang at the same time he called in a left sweep).

The whole idea behind fantasy league play is that sports fans like to have the ability to create their own teams, make trades, sit injured or under-performing players, and make the all important decisions required on draft day. Who’s going to be that under the radar fantasy running back? What QB will launch bombs into the end zone every single game? (Don’t forget to take off ‘autopick’).

Sports fans are passionate about their fantasy sports. It’s fun. It makes a lot of typically boring games interesting. It puts the sports fan in the driver’s seat.

And it’s free-

-wait a second. It’s free, right?

Well, the answer to that question is not so easy to provide. Today, it is free for you and your office-mates to sign up for a fantasy league. Select a username and password, and you’re off and running.

The problem here is that the leagues are not happy about it. Furthermore, this isn’t about an emotion of happy or sad. It’s strictly about money. None of the big four considered the fantasy sports industry would sprout. Like so many bullies, the leagues would rather send a bill in the mail or a letter from a lawyer than admit they didn’t think of fantasy as a vehicle to improve fan interest in their sports.

Now that fantasy services have developed considerable business, the leagues want their cut. Leagues and players associations have brought legal action against fantasy providers claiming that using statistics comes with a price tag. So they sought to charge for the use of public information. It’s a shakedown that even Paulie Walnuts would be impressed with. The next phase would be to charge for online conversation using stats.

So far, it hasn’t worked, but they’ll keep trying. Anything to make a buck. They’ll even spread a perfectly good draft across three days to stuff more money in their coffers. Why wouldn’t they ask you to pay 2 bucks to enter next year’s draft? Why wouldn’t they ask for 5 bucks in 2012? 10 bucks in 2015?

So the future is uncertain. But we at the Sports Fans Coalition are certain that we won’t stand for this type of behavior. We won’t be caught sleeping.

Sign the Petition to the U.S. Congress telling them to SAVE FANTASY SPORTS.

Jeremiah Tittle is the Managing Editor of SportsFansCoalition.org.