Question from potential newbie

devilznj · Post by **devilznj** » Mon Jan 10, 2005 5:55 pm

Considering making the leap - have played ESPN leagues and Yahoo leagues but couldn't stand the goofballs that quit anywhere from mid-May on. Have run a fantasy football league for 6 years but none of these guys want to play baseball, so the internet is my only option.

My question - and don't kill me, I just found the site - I've always played in Head to Head leagues figuring plain old rotisserie scoring would be...well, boring. This looks like no head to head here. Who can change my mind - and therefore - open my wallet? Thanks in advance.

Leaderboard Sports · Post by **Leaderboard Sports** » Mon Jan 10, 2005 7:11 pm

Well Devilz, I'm an ESPN H2H junkie and love the daily roster moves, streaming pitchers, and managing my roster to maximise my points and I still do that kind of thing, but some of the things that this contest offers that you won't find at ESPN or Yahoo are, an exciting live draft (especially in Vegas) with many of the experts whose magazines or websites you read drafting right next to you, a $100,000 carrot on the end of a stick to keep you focused, and the thrill of competing in the premier live high stakes fantasy baseball contest in the world.

With no trading, weekly roster moves, blind bidding on free agents, and no league strength points it really doesn't matter if the other owners in your league are active. The NFBC setup is probably the fairest way you could set up one of these high stakes events so that everyone has an equal chance to win. Paying 3 places in each 15 man league keeps most players active till at least September.

It is a lot of money, but when you see the giant draft room and all the big draft boards and Greg Ambrosius walks up to the podium to kick things off, you know you're in for something special and that you've definitely stepped into the big time.

Nevadaman · Post by **Nevadaman** » Mon Jan 10, 2005 9:36 pm

devilz, You answered your own question. Why play with a bunch of "goofballs" who don't take the game seriously? Also, why waste your precious time on free leagues in general? It's no thrill beating up on a bunch of nitwits - especially when there's absolutely nothing at stake. It's time for you to sack up and sign up. This is the major leagues. The best players, the best prizes, the best run contest. Players are paid immediately after the season and there is ZERO risk that the money won't be there. Why would you go anywhere else? I've stopped playing all other fantasy games, because this is the only one that matters as far as I'm concerned.

Plymouth · Post by **Plymouth** » Tue Jan 11, 2005 1:56 am

You should also note Devilznj what you see in these message boards. Customer service is key here, you have a question or need help with something and these guys are on it now. The players in this set-up are serious players and play the game tough so if you are looking for competition you can't beat NFBC. It is a honest, fun, and challenging contest, you can't ask for more then that. Jump in and join the fun.

Tom Kessenich · Post by **Tom Kessenich** » Tue Jan 11, 2005 2:18 am

There isn't much I can add beyond what has been said already. I think the competition we have in our field is tough and the event itself is a great deal of fun. I think there's something to be said for being at an onsite draft and being able to look your fellow owners in the eye as the draft unfolds as opposed to the anonymity of an online draft. Not to say the latter isn't fun, but I do think that actually being there with the folks you're drafting is an essential part of our NFBC experience.

Plus, we offer a number of additional incentives to sign up from our extensive goodie bag to our weekly in-season prizes. So we have a lot to offer that we believe makes the NFBC more than just another league.

So we hope you decide to jump in and join us in 2005. And if you have any questions at all, feel free to get in touch with myself or Greg at any time. You can post questions here or you can call or e-mail us and we'll be happy to talk to you about the event and -- hopefully -- sign you up.

In case you don't have it, our contact info is:

Greg: phone (715 445-4612 ext. 284) e-mail ([email protected])

Me: phone (715 445-4612 ext. 653) e-mail ([email protected])

Greg Ambrosius · Post by **Greg Ambrosius** » Tue Jan 11, 2005 3:13 am

Devilznj, let me count the ways:

1) These are the most serious fantasy baseball players in the country and if you win your 15-team league, you've REALLY accomplished something.

2) The comraderie at the draft tables, on the Message Boards and within your league makes this contest special. I got tired of seeing guys playing online leagues where they only knew their competitors by their made-up Message Board names. Here, you see every league mate on Draft Day, just like the old days when you first started playing in your local leagues.

3) Honestly, the game is well run by Krause Publications and STATS, Inc. That's not boasting, but you wouldn't see so many guys returning in Year Two if we stumbled out of the gate last year.

4) You can trust you'll get paid if you win. We are not two guys who just stumbled upon a new idea to run a high-stakes fantasy league. We are a $250 million a year company with sister companies in Denver, Cincinnati, London, New York, Boston and Dubuque. We have been publishing a fantasy baseball magazine for 16 years and Tom and I have a pretty strong standing in the industry. We paid off the winning checks the day after the MLB season ended in 2004 and we'll do that again in 2005.

5) We buy the first round of beers in each city!!! We're from Wisconsin, so what else would you expect!

6) There are no hidden costs. We don't build in hotel fees, events fees or transactions fees. It's $1,250 to play for 26 weeks with a chance at a $5,000 league prize and a $100,000 grand prize.

7) We guaranteed the money last year when we were expecting 300 teams for the main event and finished with 195. We obviously lost money last year, but we proved to everyone that we were in this for the long haul and not just for a quick profit. It's obvious from the early signups that we'll top last year's numbers, so there shouldn't be any concern about this event folding or not delivering what it's advertising.

I could go on and on, but these guys who played last year are a better testamonial than the guy running the event. Tom and I are always available to answer questions, so contact us individually if you need us. We also did a multi-city, high-stakes event in football this year and just paid off over $250,000 in prizes, so the future looks bright for our concept. We expect to expand to more cities in future years and continue to build on this multi-city, high-stakes concept. You can still get in on the ground floor (well, okay, the second floor) of something that will continue to grow in size and stature (TV someday?). We'd love to have ya, so come aboard!!!

devilznj · Post by **devilznj** » Tue Jan 11, 2005 12:00 pm

Thanks for all the responses!

After sleeping on it and then reading all the above, joining is easy - the challenge became walking away from this - and I have failed that challenge. Would love to go to Vegas (it's been 5 years since I've been) but family situation will keep me in New Yawk, New Yawk. Thanks again!

Dyv · Post by **Dyv** » Tue Jan 11, 2005 12:46 pm

Originally posted by devilznj:

Thanks for all the responses!

After sleeping on it and then reading all the above, joining is easy - the challenge became walking away from this - and I have failed that challenge. Would love to go to Vegas (it's been 5 years since I've been) but family situation will keep me in New Yawk, New Yawk. Thanks again! Devil - if you're an ESPN gamer, shoot me an email and I'll be happy to share any further thoughts or answer any questions you might have. I've been playing ESPN games for 8 years now and I think you'll find the level of competition better and yet different... which requires more of a challenge on your part to be competitive. Let me know if you want more:

[email protected]

Good luck!

Dave

Greg Ambrosius · Post by **Greg Ambrosius** » Tue Jan 11, 2005 3:16 pm

Let's welcome Larry Lensak of Wayne, New Jersey to the growing NFBC family! Glad you slept on it and found some responses from some NFBC die-hards. One day we'll get you to Las Vegas for drinks with me, but I promise that Rocky Landsverk will buy you a couple on our behalf in New York this year. Thanks for joining the NFBC and we won't let you down.