Dynasty...is it really a good idea? (1 Viewer)

[Ministry of Pain]

Here's the thing...as I contemplated starting up another Dynasty Best Ball league last night...I started thinking about all the different dynasty leagues over the past several years...and a few of them no longer exist, some of them we have had to replace a lot of owners...got me thinking why am I doing this? Of course I feel like my ideas for a dynasty league are better and especially since I like to tie in a redraft league into the dynasty leagues...a 2-4-1 if you will.

And so I thought I would take it the boards and find out what has been the success rate in your dynasty leagues...spare us any of your championships, but seriously what is the longest you have been in a dyansty league, how often do you replace owners, and if you have been able to keep it together what's the secret?

And for the record, most of the owners in my dyansty leagues come from these boards. It's one thing to put together a redraft league locally, but it is pretty hard to find 11 other owners or even 9 other owners and form a local dynasty league IMO. And because I have been in leagues with owners from these boards, one would think they would stay together.

Some of you will have the atitude that people don't have a strong enough will to gut it out...I understand that POV, however I also understand that this is Fantasy...and people don't want to be the Detroit Lions of their FF league...some owners don't mind and keep building for the future...and that's another thing. All the youth you can cram on a FF team is great but if you have a 5 year plan, I would say there is a 50/50 chance you never see it happen based on a variety of reasons.

Am I way off? Has anyone else had problems in their dyansty leagues?

 

[switz]

Am I way off? Has anyone else had problems in their dyansty leagues?

first few years we were replacing 1-2 owners a year... the last 3, all the owners have stuck to it... i think the longer a person has a team, the more they stick to it...

 

[Warhogs]

While some people are in dynasty leagues because they want to see if they can really build a dynasty, I think there is a huge population of dynasty owners today who get into dynasty to fill the void when the NFL season has completed. Dynasty leagues allow for plenty of off season activity with trades, roster cut downs, rookie drafts etc. So it gives fantasy football fans something to do in those spring/summer months. I believe the biggest issue is two fold. One, once the season gets going and they have their committed redraft leagues owners find they just have too many teams. Two, many love to draft and build teams. Once the draft has completed, they lose a bit of interest and then it ties into point 1 of having too many leagues when the NFL season gets rolling.

I think the real key is to try to gather a group of owners who are really committed to wanting to build that dynasty for the long term and it is tough to determine that. Outside of that, I feel because of the points above most dynasty leagues will continue to have a high turnover rate.

 

[Iwannabeacowboybaby!]

I don't like dynasty leagues and am currently in zero of them with no intentions of getting in any. I've been in a few different leagues over the years and the problem I see the most are teams that owners fall way behind in talent or trade away the future for now players and then quit the team.

Then you're stuck trying to find owners for a poor team who's traded away their draft picks. Then you ask an owner to come in and pay money for that team? When I was asked I just said, "I bet you would like that."

I like the excitement of going to a draft, not having anyone on your team and you leave with your full squad. I personally like when it's over, it's over during the offseason. I put more time than I should during each and every week during the season and even the months leading up to the drafts, I don't want to feel like I need to be wheeling and dealing behind the scenes in the offseason.

If you have a great dynasty league with solid owners and good rules in place, it's cool. But it's more rare to start up a dynasty league and then have it go under for various reasons than it is to find 12 or so solid owners that are going to stick it out year after year.

There are just so many other formats that I enjoy to have to worry about building a team for the future to find out in April or May that you need 3 or 4 owners to keep the league going.

 

[offdee]

In 2 solid Dynasty leagues (jaWs and Phenomz). jaWs going on it's 7th year and Phenomz going on its 3rd year. Seems as though the first couple of years are the hardest in that you have 2-3 guys quit which is basically weeding out the fat, but once you're able to get past that stage I find it tapers off and much more stable from year to year.

I preach the one year advanced payment entry fee as often as I can as feel it is a necessity for the life of a Dynasty League built upon owners who are strangers or from the Net.

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G. Entry Fees/Deposits/Disbandment

Entry Fees are paid one full season in advance. The initial fee will be both 2006 and 2007 fees combined ($125 total). After that one initial double payment, all further years will be just the following year’s fees only. (For example, in 2007 you will be paying the 2008 fees, etc..) After week 16 of each season a deposit of $50 towards the following season’s entry fee must be received by the Treasurer before any trades (players and/or picks) can be made. Remaining balance of following season’s entry fee is due one month before our Draft is scheduled.

F. Retirement/Quitting/New Owners

An owner can retire in good standing, but they will not receive a refund. Retirement must be announced one year in advance (before our Draft) to play out final season and not lose any money already paid in advance. If payment for following year’s entry fee is not received by due date, that is informally announcing a Retirement. Once a Retirement is announced, that owner is not allowed to make any trades (players and/or picks) at any time during their final season. Retirement announcement gives the league one full year to find a replacement owner.

Owners who quit on the league unexpectedly will not receive a refund. The moneys paid in advance for that team will be used towards a new incoming owner’s fees to help in finding a replacement owner on short notice.

New Owners taking over a vacated team must, upon induction, pay balance due of present/upcoming season’s entry fee (dependent on if previous owner retired or quit), and also pay following season’s entry fee in full (entry fees are paid one full season in advance).

 

[massraider]

It all comes down to owners, can you find 12 or so that will remain involved. If so, I love the format.

I am just bored silly by the redraft format.

 

[ceo3west]

I don't like dynasty leagues and am currently in zero of them with no intentions of getting in any. I've been in a few different leagues over the years and the problem I see the most are teams that owners fall way behind in talent or trade away the future for now players and then quit the team.Then you're stuck trying to find owners for a poor team who's traded away their draft picks. Then you ask an owner to come in and pay money for that team? When I was asked I just said, "I bet you would like that."I like the excitement of going to a draft, not having anyone on your team and you leave with your full squad. I personally like when it's over, it's over during the offseason. I put more time than I should during each and every week during the season and even the months leading up to the drafts, I don't want to feel like I need to be wheeling and dealing behind the scenes in the offseason.If you have a great dynasty league with solid owners and good rules in place, it's cool. But it's more rare to start up a dynasty league and then have it go under for various reasons than it is to find 12 or so solid owners that are going to stick it out year after year.There are just so many other formats that I enjoy to have to worry about building a team for the future to find out in April or May that you need 3 or 4 owners to keep the league going.

Very . IMO redraft is king for many reasons, not least of which is the fact that it is difficult to keep guys in for the long haul. Also, my favorite part of the year is the draft, and it's not much fun when you're starting the draft in what is really the fifth, sixth or seventh round. I personally will never be in another keeper league.

 

[Fear & Loathing]

My favorite dynasty league has been around since '99. We've had quite a bit of owner turnover (which I think is normal), but the big key is having a nucleus of 4-6 guys who are gung-ho about fantasy football and the league itself. Oh, and it's more of a local operation. I didn't know anyone in the league when I got into it, and by now a lot of guys don't know each other, but it's working well. Every time an owner bows out of the league, one of the nucleus guys gets a friend who comes in and replaces them. By now, our reliable, gung-ho nucleus is probably up to about 8 instead of 4-6. I think we all kind of enjoy each other's unique personalities and strategies even though we don't really communicate on a regular basis.

No FBGs in the league either.

 

[mightyeskimo]

I've been in the same dynasty league going into our 9th year. We started with 8 teams then went to 10 teams. We run a 10 year dynasty period and then start another 10 years with a total redraft. We've lost 3 owners in 8 years so I'd say that's a very good retention rate. We're all friends from the same area and I think that's been the key to our success. We've been lucky to have the same core group of guys stay actively involved.

 

[santo71]

In 2 solid Dynasty leagues (jaWs and Phenomz). jaWs going on it's 7th year and Phenomz going on its 3rd year. Seems as though the first couple of years are the hardest in that you have 2-3 guys quit which is basically weeding out the fat, but once you're able to get past that stage I find it tapers off and much more stable from year to year.

I preach the one year advanced payment entry fee as often as I can as feel it is a necessity for the life of a Dynasty League built upon owners who are strangers or from the Net.

------------------

G. Entry Fees/Deposits/Disbandment

Entry Fees are paid one full season in advance. The initial fee will be both 2006 and 2007 fees combined ($125 total). After that one initial double payment, all further years will be just the following year’s fees only. (For example, in 2007 you will be paying the 2008 fees, etc..) After week 16 of each season a deposit of $50 towards the following season’s entry fee must be received by the Treasurer before any trades (players and/or picks) can be made. Remaining balance of following season’s entry fee is due one month before our Draft is scheduled.

F. Retirement/Quitting/New Owners

An owner can retire in good standing, but they will not receive a refund. Retirement must be announced one year in advance (before our Draft) to play out final season and not lose any money already paid in advance. If payment for following year’s entry fee is not received by due date, that is informally announcing a Retirement. Once a Retirement is announced, that owner is not allowed to make any trades (players and/or picks) at any time during their final season. Retirement announcement gives the league one full year to find a replacement owner.

Owners who quit on the league unexpectedly will not receive a refund. The moneys paid in advance for that team will be used towards a new incoming owner’s fees to help in finding a replacement owner on short notice.

New Owners taking over a vacated team must, upon induction, pay balance due of present/upcoming season’s entry fee (dependent on if previous owner retired or quit), and also pay following season’s entry fee in full (entry fees are paid one full season in advance).

I am fortunate enough to play with offdee in jaWs, and completely agree with him here. Having the advance pay system in place makes it a much easier transition when an owner decides to call it quits for whatever reason. This season, we had a great/very active owner leave the league. Even though he was paid through next season, he stepped down this season and allowed us to easily find a new owner to take on the team. The new owner is only on the hook for the 2009 season financially, meaning he plays 2008 for free and if he wants out after 2009, he is only risking one season of payment.

It works.

Add to the fact that jaWs has a GREAT group of guys, and this is a good recipe for a longterm successful dynasty league.

 

[anakin]

I am in three dynasty leagues and to be honest sometimes it is hard to keep them together. But what I've found thru trial and error like most is finding hardcore fantasy freaks and getting them to recruit an owner or two that they know. The rivalries are built with brothers or best friends playing each other. I try to keep track of the guys I enjoyed playing in other leagues with and approach them when forming a new dynasty or replacing owners when they drop out. Random strangers do not cut it these days, I recruited here on footballguys and the guy dropped out after the season for personal reasons, but I was fortunate to find a replacement owner that is also in 2 other dynasties with myself and my core of guys. Another owner that dropped out was a guy's dad, but we replaced him with one of our core's local league mates that always wanted to do dynasty.

 

[King of the Jungle]

I am in a dynasty league that is going into it's 8th season. We have only lost one owner during that time period and actually expanded from 10 to 12 teams. Most of the guys knew each other when it started, which I think was a huge factor in the success.

 

[Colts Win]

I play Dynasty Redraft and Keeper.

Keeper seems to give you the best of both worlds. Keep some good players drafted early or scouted out and owners of bad teams still have somewhat of a chance or rebounding. And you dont miss out on the fun of drafting.

 

[comfortably numb]

Started a 16team league last year.

We lost 3 owners coming into 08.

I expected this as I figure most people:

1. over commit

2. don't like the flow/personnel of the league

3. realized they were over their heads

4. life responsibilities come up

etc...

If you count on this happening for the 1st couple of years you can still build a very good core of owners to build a lasting league with

 

[Riffraff]

Has anyone else had problems in their dyansty leagues?

Same sort of topic here:http://forums.footballguys.com/forum/index...howtopic=405259

My response for trying to keep a dynasty league going:

Here's a quick top 10 list:

1. Fairly low buy in. Dynasty leagues don't have to be big money. Respectable amount, but never free.

2. Spread out the winnings. If only a few take all the coin, you'll lose owners easier. Fun prizes help.

3. Don't open membership to the general public. Have leaguemates suggest potential owners. Vote before invite.

4. Bring in someone that only has a few leagues. League needs meaning. Avoid the 5+ league future dropout.

5. Discourage tanking in the rulebook. Use a lottery, potential points, or all-play record to determine draft order.

6. Flex line-ups instead of rigid position requirements. No cookie-cutter rosters. Don't force someone to trade.

7. Roster size. Too small and people have to give up their gold nuggets. Too large and it's not worth digging.

8. Leadership in the commissioners. Make decisions for the whole league interest, not for individuals. Write articles.

9. Respect the owners. Every owner has their own lives and their own style of play and personality. Let them be.

10. Have fun. Don't take everything too serious. It's a hobby. Owners come back for the friendship, not the paycheck.

14 team internet league, 10 years in existence. Only 2 owners have chosen to leave, 2 more in sadder circumstances.

Commissioner committee of 3 bodies. One person does not run the league (owner's league, not a commissioner's league).

Most owners have never met, but we have had a few travel across country to meet others. Good peeps, each and all.

 

[GroveDiesel]

I play Dynasty Redraft and Keeper. Keeper seems to give you the best of both worlds. Keep some good players drafted early or scouted out and owners of bad teams still have somewhat of a chance or rebounding. And you dont miss out on the fun of drafting.

Keeper blends the best of both worlds. You get to do a fairly long draft each year, reward teams that find those sleepers, but still allow teams to turn things around fairly quickly. I've been in one keeper league for 12 years now. We have 10 owners in that league and have had 13 total over those 12 years. We've had the same 10 guys for the last 8 years.

 

[pinequick]

Am I way off? Has anyone else had problems in their dyansty leagues?

first few years we were replacing 1-2 owners a year... the last 3, all the owners have stuck to it... i think the longer a person has a team, the more they stick to it...

I agree with this. I've had some owners that I've needed to nurse along a little bit at first, keep them invested. But now, they are pretty committed. Helps that almost everybody in our league knows each other in some capacity...

 

[Angry Beavers]

Two keys to me that frankly are carry overs from Rotobaseball...

1) Keepers - have a few, but not too many; Rewards someone for scouting or drafting well, but does not make it impossible for a team on bottom to get back in the running the next year;

2) Keep the rules simple;

I have never done a dynasty for football, and probably would not. A keeper league however, is the best of both world - both the redraft every year, and getting to plan for the future.

 

[Mordraken]

First, you might be getting biased answers here, since probably most of the people responding are IN dynasty leagues and like them (i.e. not as many "don't do it" as there might be).

That said, I'm in 1 dynasty/keeper league in easy sport (Football, Baseball, Hockey, Basketball). The football pool is the oldest, and has been in this format for about 7 years. We have probably replaced about 10 owners since the start, only 1 forced out. Generally this hasn't been a problem because we have a line up of people waiting to get in (12 team league).

One big reason for this (I think) is that there is a salary cap of $100 in the league for 15 players, and players signed during the annual auction are signed to 3 year deals (while players picked up during the year are Restricted Free Agents at the next auction). That means new owners taking over a bad team will have an opportunity to sign elite players eventually, and will often be able to blow up their roster to make cap-space to sign the best available free agents.

The second thing we do is re-seed the teams into 3 divisions based on prior year's performance, so the top 4 teams end up in 1 division and the bottom 4 in the worst division. Since each division winner goes onto the playoffs (and is in the money), that means EVERY team has a good shot to at least make their money back.

IMHO, re-draft is a snack, while Dynasty is a meal.

 

[fantasyplayer]

Here's the thing...as I contemplated starting up another Dynasty Best Ball league last night...I started thinking about all the different dynasty leagues over the past several years...and a few of them no longer exist, some of them we have had to replace a lot of owners...got me thinking why am I doing this? Of course I feel like my ideas for a dynasty league are better and especially since I like to tie in a redraft league into the dynasty leagues...a 2-4-1 if you will.

And so I thought I would take it the boards and find out what has been the success rate in your dynasty leagues...spare us any of your championships, but seriously what is the longest you have been in a dyansty league, how often do you replace owners, and if you have been able to keep it together what's the secret?

And for the record, most of the owners in my dyansty leagues come from these boards. It's one thing to put together a redraft league locally, but it is pretty hard to find 11 other owners or even 9 other owners and form a local dynasty league IMO. And because I have been in leagues with owners from these boards, one would think they would stay together.

Some of you will have the atitude that people don't have a strong enough will to gut it out...I understand that POV, however I also understand that this is Fantasy...and people don't want to be the Detroit Lions of their FF league...some owners don't mind and keep building for the future...and that's another thing. All the youth you can cram on a FF team is great but if you have a 5 year plan, I would say there is a 50/50 chance you never see it happen based on a variety of reasons.

Am I way off? Has anyone else had problems in their dyansty leagues?

How do you combine redraft and dynasty? That sounds interesting.

 

[Kleck]

The kind or style of league doesn't interest me as much as the people who are in it. Unless it's a big contest or high dollar league.

I get more enjoyment from local leagues, and probably always will since all the owners are close. My local dynasty league of 10 years has never had to find a new owner. Before the dynasty league it was a redraft, and that went back another 5+ years, and still never had to replace an owner.

My answer would be that it all comes down to the owners. With online dynasty leagues, you never know what kind of owners you have unless you're close ifriends with them.

 

[Flea Flicker]

I tried keeper leagues a couple times, had all the owners return, and couldn't get into them. Dynasties are where it is at.

Dynasty > Redraft > Keeper

I think dynasties need to find a way to survive that first couple years with a solid hard core group, then if they do that, they seem to have legs for the long-term. Just have a plan and a mindset that there will be 25% turnover or more in the first year or two, ride it out, and then enjoy the rest.

 

[Rockchild]

I am really enjoying the dynasty leagues that I am in. An important aspect is the Commissioner running things and of course, other owners. Sometimes there are stronger and, at times, negative personalities that clash but for the most part people have been very good. I've been fortunate that the Commissioner of the leagues I am in is very good-fair,up to date and above board(Patoons on here). If you get a chance to get into a league run by him don't hesitate.

 

[FUBAR]

I've been in 10 different dynasty leagues IIRC, still in 5. 3 folded, I quit two over a dispute with the commish (same guy).

One of these has been around for 9 years, 8 of the 12 owners are from the start, none others come close to that.

 

[Ministry of Pain]

Here's the thing...as I contemplated starting up another Dynasty Best Ball league last night...I started thinking about all the different dynasty leagues over the past several years...and a few of them no longer exist, some of them we have had to replace a lot of owners...got me thinking why am I doing this? Of course I feel like my ideas for a dynasty league are better and especially since I like to tie in a redraft league into the dynasty leagues...a 2-4-1 if you will.

And so I thought I would take it the boards and find out what has been the success rate in your dynasty leagues...spare us any of your championships, but seriously what is the longest you have been in a dyansty league, how often do you replace owners, and if you have been able to keep it together what's the secret?

And for the record, most of the owners in my dyansty leagues come from these boards. It's one thing to put together a redraft league locally, but it is pretty hard to find 11 other owners or even 9 other owners and form a local dynasty league IMO. And because I have been in leagues with owners from these boards, one would think they would stay together.

Some of you will have the atitude that people don't have a strong enough will to gut it out...I understand that POV, however I also understand that this is Fantasy...and people don't want to be the Detroit Lions of their FF league...some owners don't mind and keep building for the future...and that's another thing. All the youth you can cram on a FF team is great but if you have a 5 year plan, I would say there is a 50/50 chance you never see it happen based on a variety of reasons.

Am I way off? Has anyone else had problems in their dyansty leagues?

How do you combine redraft and dynasty? That sounds interesting.

Same 12 owners that compete in Dynasty every year also do a redraft league every August...that way the owners can get some revenge even if their dynasty team doesn't exactly rock. 2 leagues, same 12 onwers.

 

[Lott's Fingertip]

10 team dynasty going into its 7th season - we have 6 original owners in it. Of the replacements, 1 is a sure long-termer, two are likely long-termers, and 1 I would categorize as a 50/50 guy. He lives out of town, but knew a couple of guys in the league before he moved, but isn't a close friend or anything. He's a capable owner, but doesn't seem hardcore like most of the league.

IMO, online leagues with strangers are going to face the most owner turnover.... there is little incentive to keep trudging along with a bad team in a league of strangers.

But I love the strategy involved in a dynasty league.

 

[moderated]

16 team dynasty league going into 19th year. Been together since college and have only had 1 turnover through all those years, and it was due to one of the owners dying in a car accident.

 

[THE UNDERCOVER BROTHA]

I play in 7 dynasty leagues.

I love that format.

I also COMMISH 2 of them and have had a turnover rate like 1 1/2 owner per season to refill. Thing is i have a waiting like for my OSWS league and i also let our owners vote the new owner in by there resume. I also noticed by switching my waivers to BLIND BIDDING BUCKS that has helped alot. It gives us alot of xtra stragedy seeing as the money managing aspect of it as well as being able to trade for the BB bucks as well. All in all i try and keep the league/home looks NEW and fresh every year. Looking at the same old thing can get boring at times.

But i can say the best thing about my league is that is built around a 3 team setup sorta. I commish OSWS and XXII a friend of mines started DFFL, we all run on pretty much the same template. We have alot and now a nice bit of owners in each of the leagues. We have alot of talk and subjectivity in each of the leagues. Only bad thing is that when you play in several leagues with the same owners, there reputations follow them and kinda stales the league. I know of many of my owners have complained about other owners in the league about how the whine and what not. But I feel, we have a competitive league and if the right deal is to be made it will be.

I really like a few of my leagues more cause of how long we been together and how muc we all talk on our boards. Some of my other leagues we just in there. Hell i be EXCITED to even get an trade offer....even a bad one.

 

[Crippler]

Okay. I love dynasty but I agree that it can be an issue.

1st league is local 16 teamer. We lost 3 in our first season and since have lost 4 more in 12 years. But friendships and getting together once a year lead to it being more personal. Even though it is not as active as it once was.

2nd league is 24 teamer in 8th year. I think we have 13 originals and the other 11 have been rotating. Lost 3 just last year. The league overall has been dead for years with low activity(29 trades done last year period and 5 done during the season). Compare this to 80 for the 16 team league and about even between off and regular season.

I have quit many leagues also. Never because of a bad team either. Always left the teams in great shape but leave because the league becomes stale or there is such turmoil in the league and the owners mean nothing to me. Life changes and mine has changed alot with it and this impacts owners. Personality conflicts always happens. Poor trades or dare I say setup trades happen in each and everyone between pals. Poor ownership destroys leagues and causes owners to leave. I like paying 2 years in advance but neither of my leagues do this. And in my local league, we have one terrible team with an inept owner that could bite us down the line. It is a delicate line and finding the right owners is always tough. Of course maybe it was just me that has been the issue

I am not sure what leads to success but the 10 rule earlier is a help. Finding good fantasy minds is another,. Takes just one bad owner to upset a league. I still prefer them alot to keeper or redraft but you will always go through tough times and getting through these is always tough. Right amount of cash for league, 2 years in advance. good rules and great owners is the big need.

 

[Todem]

I am currently five (12 team) dynasty leagues 3 going into their 4th year and 2 going into their 5th year. We have had to replace 8 owners between the five. It is getting tougher to be honest. I love the format as to me it is a true challenge year in year out...but to find 12 guy's that are commited is very tough. As long as we seem to be able to replace a stragler each year among the leagues it has been great. I am also in 4 others which are going into the 2nd and 3rd years and so far no problems.

Yeah I am in too many leagues.

 

[Anthony Borbely]

Most of the points have already been mentioned. I think paying a year in advance lowers the turnover and also makes it much easier to find a replacement. Most of the dynasty leagues I have played in lasted with little turnover. I used to play in a bunch of dynasty leagues before starting college, but had to drop some. Currently in 3 dynasties and 7-8 redrafts.

The main reason I like them is the mostly year-round activity and also the variety. I will always play in at least a couple of dynasty leagues.

 

[obxlegends]

I know you asked about Dynasty, but I wanted to hit all basis.

I'm in a full contract league and we're in our 4th year. 1 to 2 owners replaced a year from 16 teams.

I just joined a dynasty league last season that's currently in it's 5th season.

I'm also in a contract/keeper league that's in our 20th season. A lot of changeover (core 6 was solid, 4 other owners changed) in the first couple of years as we dealt with expansion and growth of our rules. The last 6-7 years have been very steady as we have not had to replace an owner.

 

[fsufan]

run 2 dynasty leagues, trying to start a 3rd.

dynasty #1

going into its 11th year, start off as a local league of friends and family. now it is an Internet league. had a lot of turn over the past 2 years, 7 owners dropped out. they are dropping out for different reason- $, time, life change, bad team. no secrets on keeping the league going. just post open teams here and other FF message boards.

dynasty #2

going into its 5th year, local league of friends and family. still have 6 of the original owners.

 

[habsfan]

IMHO, re-draft is a snack, while Dynasty is a meal.

My challenge as commish is how to find the fine line between "enjoying the meal" and "choking on the headaches" that it generates. I am probably doing things backwards to everyone here with my league. Rather than "starting the league and finding the guys", I started with the guys (a group who were all connected somehow as friends/family) and then started the league. Most were new to FF so I have been gradually adding complexity to the league year over year based on gauging the appetite/interest/tolerance of the group. The goal is "100% local, live draft/party redraft with 3 keepers" and while that's hardly a "meal" around here, I think it will be "enough" fun/complexity/maintenance for me.Given the group, I think it's the "break even" point where the hassle of running the league will start to eat into the fun of playing in the league. Even as a "vanilla redraft" I'm replacing 2 of 10 owners yearly and while that hasn't been too terrible to manage, it has influenced my decision to delay adding further enhancements at times.

 

[Mike]

1st league is local 16 teamer. We lost 3 in our first season and since have lost 4 more in 12 years. But friendships and getting together once a year lead to it being more personal. Even though it is not as active as it once was.

Its natural, since it was much easier to be active in our 20s than 30s.

Of course maybe it was just me that has been the issue

No comment

 

[JPeso]

I love the dynasty format, as I am active year-round, enjoy the long-term discussions with my leaguemates, and love to trade based on my evaluations. I have only joined a couple of dynasties with owners I am not familiar with, and owners that had not been vouched for previously, and these are the leagues I worry most about carrying on. Also, these are the leagues that are less active than others.

As mentioned earlier, if you find 12 solid owners that are active, not in it for the money, and really enjoy the hobby, the dynasty format is great. This is one of the reason I am not quick to adopt teams with unknown leaguemates, stacked or not. I will just end up spending my time formulating trades for nothing in the long run.

 

[Team Legacy]

Dynasty leagues require ONE thing. A CONSISTENT FAIR comissioner, that won't take advantage of the rules.

You find that, you have yourself a good dynasty league period.

I find that the explosion of Dynasty leagues is making it easier to win the re-drafts due to their influence on re-draft winning strategy.

 

[UnknownCoach]

QUOTE (Fear & Loathing @ Jul 14 2008, 02:29 PM)

My favorite dynasty league has been around since '99. We've had quite a bit of owner turnover (which I think is normal), but the big key is having a nucleus of 4-6 guys who are gung-ho about fantasy football and the league itself. Oh, and it's more of a local operation. I didn't know anyone in the league when I got into it, and by now a lot of guys don't know each other, but it's working well. Every time an owner bows out of the league, one of the nucleus guys gets a friend who comes in and replaces them. By now, our reliable, gung-ho nucleus is probably up to about 8 instead of 4-6. I think we all kind of enjoy each other's unique personalities and strategies even though we don't really communicate on a regular basis.

No FBGs in the league either.

Its usually that nucleus that makes a great league wether dynasty or redraft. Haveing a turnover on the other half of the league doesnt hurt the league much. In fact it usually helps get rid of some of the weaker managers which can lead to addition by subtraction and improve the league as a whole. Without a good nucleus though, a league will never be good.

 

[fsufan]

Its usually that nucleus that makes a great league wether dynasty or redraft. Haveing a turnover on the other half of the league doesnt hurt the league much. In fact it usually helps get rid of some of the weaker managers which can lead to addition by subtraction and improve the league as a whole. Without a good nucleus though, a league will never be good.

replacement owners, new blood, can be great for a dynasty league.

 

[Kleck]

Here's the thing...as I contemplated starting up another Dynasty Best Ball league last night...I started thinking about all the different dynasty leagues over the past several years...and a few of them no longer exist, some of them we have had to replace a lot of owners...got me thinking why am I doing this? Of course I feel like my ideas for a dynasty league are better and especially since I like to tie in a redraft league into the dynasty leagues...a 2-4-1 if you will.

And so I thought I would take it the boards and find out what has been the success rate in your dynasty leagues...spare us any of your championships, but seriously what is the longest you have been in a dyansty league, how often do you replace owners, and if you have been able to keep it together what's the secret?

And for the record, most of the owners in my dyansty leagues come from these boards. It's one thing to put together a redraft league locally, but it is pretty hard to find 11 other owners or even 9 other owners and form a local dynasty league IMO. And because I have been in leagues with owners from these boards, one would think they would stay together.

Some of you will have the atitude that people don't have a strong enough will to gut it out...I understand that POV, however I also understand that this is Fantasy...and people don't want to be the Detroit Lions of their FF league...some owners don't mind and keep building for the future...and that's another thing. All the youth you can cram on a FF team is great but if you have a 5 year plan, I would say there is a 50/50 chance you never see it happen based on a variety of reasons.

Am I way off? Has anyone else had problems in their dyansty leagues?

How do you combine redraft and dynasty? That sounds interesting.

Same 12 owners that compete in Dynasty every year also do a redraft league every August...that way the owners can get some revenge even if their dynasty team doesn't exactly rock. 2 leagues, same 12 onwers.

We do the same. The dynasty still takes center stage, but it makes draft day more more fun since we do the redraft right after the rookie draft.

 

[Great White Hope]

Many great comments here.

My league started about 13 years ago with 10 teams. 7 are still in the league today. We added two teams through expansion in year two and 1 of those owners is still in the league today. So 8 out of 12 is very good, and one of the original 10 dropped after the Superbowl this year. 3 divisions all with some great rivalries. There was talk last year of switching to 4 divisions and realigning them according to historical finish, but it was decided to keep the divisions as they are to avoid breaking up the rivalries that have been established.

Several important points which may have already been mentioned, but I'll go ahead and list:

1. Good Commissioner that you can trust is crucial to maintaining the league.

2. You need to have guys that love to participate and know each other pretty well. About half of us went to school together and have been in the league since a couple of years after graduation.

3. Need to be flexible with the tinkering of the rules. If something that was instituted that can be improved upon, then improve it. We have a salary cap league with Franchise and Transition players. These instruments were instituted in either year 3 or 4 and help guys keep players without losing them in Restricited Free Agency. Everything gets voted on by the owners, but we have a healthy discussion about the issues before even presenting ideas to the league.

 

[jeter23]

There have been a lot of very good comments here so far.

I run the three Hyper/Active leagues, co-commish another dynasty and run a local redraft. I feel like all of these leagues are successful, in different ways. As a commissioner, I recognize that my owners want different things out of the varying leagues. I could not try to institute the same rules in my redraft that I do with the H/A leagues. Most of the people in the league would run and hide. They are looking for something that encourages them to keep up with the games on Sunday and they check in about once or twice a week.

I do not have any real secrets for putting together quality leagues, but there have been some things that help, in my opinion.

First, in H/A, we recruit our owners, and then the league votes them in. There are never any sure things, but most of our owners come from here at FBG and they are invited to join when we have an opening. This is not to say that those who post there league openings are doing something wrong, this just increases our odds of finding a quality owner who will stick with the league. We have had a pretty high amount of turnover in all 3 leagues thus far, but I think as we add replacement owners, we are improving our league as a whole.

As mentioned earlier, I think a fair commissioner is vital to the survival of a quality league. I am always thinking of ways to improve my leagues and try to stay on top of all league issues.

 

[zed2283]

I'm in one dynasty league that's going into it's 10th year. When we put the league together we basically combined three leagues, with each league bringing in the guys who we felt would stick with it. Most of us knew each other, and I think that's helped as well. We've only lost one owner so far, and that was after year #2.

 

[Tanner9919]

scratch drafts are cool and all, but I like the idea of drafting guys and waiting for them to develop into stars..

finding those overlooked gems si what its all about. Terrell Davis went extremely late in one draft I was a part of,

Priest Holmes ( once he was traded to KC) went late as well, because everyone had given up on him after the trade to KC...

its fun to run thru a scratch draft, but dynasty is better, IMO..especially when it comes to pickign rookie WR's and holding onto them for 3 years waiting to see that 3rd-yr explosion..

the only problem with a dynasty league is that the lesser teams need top make wholesale changes to become competitive...

we tap every team $20/loss just to keep them active and involved. no one has dropped out of the league since its inception in 1989!