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.
