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Last week when the FSWA honored six of my good friends for the Hall of Fame, it really gave me time to reflect on how far this industry has come and how much bigger I know we can become. Over the last three decades, we have grown from a niche hobby to a mainstream phenomenon. But the good news is that the best is yet to come.

Just think about the last couple of years and how mainstream we've become. ESPN has regular fantasy pieces now led by Matthew Berry and a Sunday morning Fantasy Football Live show that was the highest rated show of the year on ESPN2. NFL Network and MLB Network each had daily fantasy shows this past year and I'm sure more fantasy coverage is planned for this year on both networks. There is now a satellite radio network -- SiriuxXM Fantasy Channel -- dedicated 24/7/365 to fantasy sports. All of the TV networks carry more statistics during their games because they know fantasy players are looking for those key stats. Live Scoring is better than ever and Live Standings provide instantaneous rankings. And yet, the best is yet to come. I know it and I've seen some of the things coming.

But really what we've seen recently is a transformation from seasonal hobbies to almost full-time hobbies. The majority of fantasy players dabble in multiple sports, playing fantasy football during the fall and fantasy baseball during the spring and summer. There is a bit of a crossover, but most players can handle it. I think next year you'll even see greater participation in fantasy basketball.

Still, there are many owners who stick to one sport, whether that be baseball or football. And that group continues to grow and their passion for year-round content and even games is growing each year. Heck, I remember a few years ago when Dan Kenyon said he wanted to run an email draft right after the MLB season ended and asked if I would run it once it was done in 3-4 weeks. I said sure, and then chuckled at the crazies who wanted to draft that early in the off-season. In the NFFC, we have a Trendsetters League that starts the day after the Super Bowl and is comprised of 14 like-minded die-hards.

But those owners may not be the exception going forward. As you can see with the demand in our Slow Draft Leagues, it's possible that fantasy baseball soon could be year-round. The content generated by these pay leagues may be the best in the industry. Forget about what the touts say, let's see what the die-hard drafters are saying!!

Back in the old days, the Forecaster was among the first periodicals out there with dollar values. Fantasy Baseball Magazine was definitely the first magazine on newsstands with rankings as our first issue actually hit newsstands Jan. 15th from 1990-2000 before we finally killed that very first issue. We still were among the first magazines out each year from 2001-2010, but that first issue was pushed back to early February. I would work long and hard on those rankings, dollar values and Top 100's (later Top 250s and then Top 300s), with very little data to go on other than some mock drafts and my analysis and projections of each player/position. People really did rely on the touts and the early season magazines back then before getting ready for their drafts.

But today the touts may look to the drafters for advice. Early season drafts are setting the early rounds and identifying the sleepers. Draft Day started earlier than ever before in the NFBC and we have hundreds of owners competing in pay leagues right now. In January. Two months before Opening Day. We've never had that before. And look for the same type of trend in football when we unveil Slow Draft Leagues hopefully in May. Football needs the NFL Draft to be complete before really offering pay drafts, but trust me the drafts will pick up right after that and be just as year-round as fantasy baseball is now.

I'm sure many of you feel that fantasy baseball is becoming a year-round hobby and you like it that way. I'm glad the NFBC could help with your obsession/addiction!! Good luck with all of your drafts and let me know if we're missing any other ways to give you fun during your year-round battles. Enjoy and good luck.

Perfect, Greg!
I was thinking of a post along these same lines.
Remembering how hard it was to get anything with a fantasy slant at all. Before the fantasy magazines hit, we were reduced to newspapers or 'Sporting News' or 'Street and Smiths'. A few of us knew of Bill James, but not many. It was a time when 'sleepers' were really sleepers. Some folks had never heard of a kid coming from the minors.
Now, fantasy has boomed. We have minor league reporters. We have injury reporters. We have new statistics every year. We have groups of fellas analyzing those new statistics and more. Whereas before, the word 'fantasy' seemed to be a little taboo, now, it has become mainstream and a part of every major sport.

For us older guys, we are fortunate to see how this seed has flourished. From nothing to a mention on just about any sports show. To me, we have grown from an interest, to a hobby, to what is now, an industry.
Head shaking in so many ways.
For the player, it'll stay a hobby.
And they have the choice to make it a six month hobby to a 12 month a year hobby.
We can invest as little or as much time as we like and be satisfied.
It is just another facet of the beauty of our hobby.

For some of us, OK, maybe one of us, August and September are the slow months. After the July 31 trade deadline through when regular season stats are available is the only real "off time" for me, and even then I am still hard at work managing my teams.

On a totally non-related note-
Todd, you're up in the PBY...

DOUGHBOYS wrote:On a totally non-related note-
Todd, you're up in the PBY...

Not totally unrelated Dan as the JBL and then PBY have been drafting in December and January for many years.....long before "slow drafts" and if I do say so myself a better form and more likely not to get stalled for eight hours at a time...............aside from the fact that the Commissioner would have kicked said offender out weeks ago

I know when the MLB season ends I need a little time to CATCH my breath but I am ready to go by the time Dan Kenyon says "E-mail League". We finished that 50 round league the day before Thanksgiving this year. I believe it only took 3 weeks or less.
These SLOW Drafts are the greatest prep I know. I enjoy fantasy baseball much more than football and most my energy leans that way.
This has become a full year hobby. The crazies that play LIVE events in NFBC are all on the top of their game and if you are not prepared you most likely will be sad in August/September. That said, there are many GREAT players who are sad in August/September but that is the nature of the beast. What I love about fantasy baseball over football; you can overcome some injuries in baseball, in football, not as much.
March will be here before you know it, if one waits until pitchers and catchers report, the could be behind the eight-ball. I said could not will.

Interesting thread. I start up a lot earlier than I used to as NFBC is so competitive, but I do shut down the fantasy baseball almost 100% from October to December. Usually start to think about it in January and really start to prep in February.

Fantasy baseball has ramped up to a 9-month hobby for me. It ends with the regular season and begins at the conclusion of 16 in the NFL. Just enough time off to be fired up for a new season.

In the early NFBC days, sometime in February seemed the norm to get started. Back then, no MLB channel, no twitter, no slow drafts and no daily Dough.

Fantasy Baseball is a year round hobby for me! As soon as the season ends, I am going over the stats from the last year and starting to plan for the Slow Draft Season! Plus its a lot of fun to see Doughs Off Season Posts, talk about the Hot Stove, and plan on my keepers for one of my leagues.
Being a Cubs fan, the off season is usually our best season.... We can always dream about next year being the year!

[quote]I love the email league shortly after the season ends but December is all about football, Christmas, and family (maybe not quite in that order ). One the attention shifts away from the Packers, then I slowly start focusing toward fantasy baseball. And now that I've been a part of the NBFC for 6 years, I find it interesting how my preparation has completely changed. I do a lot more of the analyzing for myself and rely a lot less on magazines and web sites. So far, so good.