1 Year Anniversary of NFBC With STATS
Posted: Fri Feb 17, 2012 9:11 am
I know a lot of people don't realize this, but I sure do. I have a pretty good memory for dates, even though I keep forgetting my wedding anniversary each year. I better not forget about it this year because I think it's our 20th. No, I know it's our 20th wedding anniversary in April!! 
Okay, exactly a year ago today was my last day at Fanball. The Asset Acquisition between myself and Liberty Sports Interactive was finalized on Friday, Feb. 16th and on the 18th we were able to start taking signups again for 2011. It was a very rough, six-week period of silence in which I didn't even know if our live events would go forward for sure last year and our players didn't know what was going on at all. It was a very, very tough and emotional time for all of us, especially Tom and myself, whose careers were on the line. But all's well that ends well.
A year later, we are sitting here in a great position, working for a great company that has really put the resources behind us to take the NFBC, the NFFC, the NFBBC and any other sport we decide to do to greater heights. My deal with STATS was finalized on Feb. 23rd and Tom officially joined the STATS team two days later. The move to STATS has made all the difference in the world. By owning our own software, we are able to run our own online drafts and improve that software as we go, create new software where needed, add new features and have it stick for the rest of our contests' lives, carry those software enhancements to our other sports, etc. By owning our own back-end software, we've not only eliminated a major expense to our events, but again we now can improve it each year, have those improvements stored for future years/other spots and never have to worry about it again. And by partnering with a huge company that is owned by News Corp, we have the corporate might and backing to continue to be the most reliable high-stakes game around.
Anyway, the moves we made last year after Fanball was dissolved by Liberty Sports Interactive have set us up for a very bright future. Tom and I couldn't be happier or more proud of the NFBC and NFFC right now. We know what the industry has gone through this last year and there was a black eye delivered by the WCOFF/WCOFB that may not go away for a long time, but I'm telling you that the future has never been brighter for this high-stakes space. Consumers can now feel secure that there will always be at least one game you can trust for great competition and fast payments when you win. We're here to stay.
Thanks for making this past year so great everyone and thanks for everything you're doing with us in 2012. It sure is a much better feeling this Feb. 17th than it was last Feb. 17th and I'm convinced Draft Day 2012 will be even better than Draft Day 2011. What an amazing year. Oh, and even my wife says I'm a much more enjoyable person to be around than I was in 2010-11!!! Figure that.
Now let's get back to baseball. But again, THANKS EVERYONE.
Okay, exactly a year ago today was my last day at Fanball. The Asset Acquisition between myself and Liberty Sports Interactive was finalized on Friday, Feb. 16th and on the 18th we were able to start taking signups again for 2011. It was a very rough, six-week period of silence in which I didn't even know if our live events would go forward for sure last year and our players didn't know what was going on at all. It was a very, very tough and emotional time for all of us, especially Tom and myself, whose careers were on the line. But all's well that ends well.
A year later, we are sitting here in a great position, working for a great company that has really put the resources behind us to take the NFBC, the NFFC, the NFBBC and any other sport we decide to do to greater heights. My deal with STATS was finalized on Feb. 23rd and Tom officially joined the STATS team two days later. The move to STATS has made all the difference in the world. By owning our own software, we are able to run our own online drafts and improve that software as we go, create new software where needed, add new features and have it stick for the rest of our contests' lives, carry those software enhancements to our other sports, etc. By owning our own back-end software, we've not only eliminated a major expense to our events, but again we now can improve it each year, have those improvements stored for future years/other spots and never have to worry about it again. And by partnering with a huge company that is owned by News Corp, we have the corporate might and backing to continue to be the most reliable high-stakes game around.
Anyway, the moves we made last year after Fanball was dissolved by Liberty Sports Interactive have set us up for a very bright future. Tom and I couldn't be happier or more proud of the NFBC and NFFC right now. We know what the industry has gone through this last year and there was a black eye delivered by the WCOFF/WCOFB that may not go away for a long time, but I'm telling you that the future has never been brighter for this high-stakes space. Consumers can now feel secure that there will always be at least one game you can trust for great competition and fast payments when you win. We're here to stay.
Thanks for making this past year so great everyone and thanks for everything you're doing with us in 2012. It sure is a much better feeling this Feb. 17th than it was last Feb. 17th and I'm convinced Draft Day 2012 will be even better than Draft Day 2011. What an amazing year. Oh, and even my wife says I'm a much more enjoyable person to be around than I was in 2010-11!!! Figure that.
Now let's get back to baseball. But again, THANKS EVERYONE.
