My FF League Died Because... (1 Viewer)

[Reality Football]

Some of us have been in leagues for a decade or more.

Other leagues fall apart quickly, or suffer a slow death.

What are your experiences with league deaths? Why did said league die? What in your estimation guarantees a long, long life for a fantasy football league?

 

[Armando]

Some of us have been in leagues for a decade or more.

Other leagues fall apart quickly, or suffer a slow death.

What are your experiences with league deaths? Why did said league die? What in your estimation guarantees a long, long life for a fantasy football league?

I'll assume none of the owners are close acquaintances to begin the league. Some sort of entry fee & finding owners with some personality. Had my first keeper league (note: free) I participated in die because of a large # of owner turnover/inacitivity. Thereafter, I had no desire to be in a free league again.

 

[Sweet Love]

I have not been in a league that has died, but I am in one that I predict will have a slow death. I think two things that contribute to this are (1) children/marriage and (2) more impotantly, the core members unwilling to change with the times. The longest running league I am in is almost a TD only league. They are just unwilling to change it due to "tradition" and slowly members are starting to pull away.

 

[cracKer]

(2) more impotantly, the core members unwilling to change with the times. The longest running league I am in is almost a TD only league. They are just unwilling to change it due to "tradition" and slowly members are starting to pull away.

This is what happened with my original league that died a few years back. We had been running for over ten years but the other owners were unwilling to adapt to the internet age of fantasy football. There is no need to lick stamps anymore.

 

[wannabee]

(2) more impotantly, the core members unwilling to change with the times.  The longest running league I am in is almost a TD only league.  They are just unwilling to change it due to "tradition" and slowly members are starting to pull away.

This is what happened with my original league that died a few years back. We had been running for over ten years but the other owners were unwilling to adapt to the internet age of fantasy football. There is no need to lick stamps anymore.

agreed, especially after watching Seinfeld .........

 

[BigRed]

What are your experiences with league deaths? Why did said league die?

First league I was in for 7 yrs. After 4 or 5 yrs, commish got married - but it wasn't his wife's fauilt. He got "weird" - got bent out of shape about the stupidest things, and go on and on about it, etc (eg someone's team name/logo was "R rated" and he insisted be changed because his wife's kid might see it - finally the owner did it just to shut him up). This caused more than 1 owner to bail. We still continued on, but it got lamer and less fun every year...ie people wouldn't talk smack, no one made even half-hearted attempts at trades....even the draft started getting lame. The commish hosted and actually did a good job of that, but the owners just got boring, ie would just sit around and make the picks, no smack talking, hardly anyone even drank (and this was not exactly an alcohol-free kind of crowd). Finally, every year 1 or 2 would get into this "let's hurry up and get it over with" BS. We ran for 7 yrs and I finally gave up. Hated leaving because of the history we'd built up, but to hell with a lame/boring league like that.

PS - IMO marriage/kids are a very logical reason not to spend a ton of time on this, but it's usually a very weak one not to be able to dedicate one afternoon out of the year for a single draft and spend at least a little time to be ready for it and make logical lineup decisions.

 

[Spike]

What are your experiences with league deaths? Why did said league die? 

First league I was in for 7 yrs. After 4 or 5 yrs, commish got married - but it wasn't his wife's fauilt. He got "weird" - got bent out of shape about the stupidest things, and go on and on about it, etc (eg someone's team name/logo was "R rated" and he insisted be changed because his wife's kid might see it - finally the owner did it just to shut him up). This caused more than 1 owner to bail. We still continued on, but it got lamer and less fun every year...ie people wouldn't talk smack, no one made even half-hearted attempts at trades....even the draft started getting lame. The commish hosted and actually did a good job of that, but the owners just got boring, ie would just sit around and make the picks, no smack talking, hardly anyone even drank (and this was not exactly an alcohol-free kind of crowd). Finally, every year 1 or 2 would get into this "let's hurry up and get it over with" BS. We ran for 7 yrs and I finally gave up. Hated leaving because of the history we'd built up, but to hell with a lame/boring league like that.

PS - IMO marriage/kids are a very logical reason not to spend a ton of time on this, but it's usually a very weak one not to be able to dedicate one afternoon out of the year for a single draft and spend at least a little time to be ready for it and make logical lineup decisions.

 

[Warhogs]

I have played a long time so have had a few leagues die. I think in all cases the commish got tired of running it and either he did not want to allow someone to take over the league or nobody wanted to. I have experienced both of these reasons.

 

[offdee]

I believe the biggest thing to keep a Dynasty League alive is advanced entry fee payments.

Pay entry fee one year in advance and if someone quits unexpectedly they lose the money paid in advance and the new owner plays the first season free to help find a replacement owner on short notice.

Or someone can give a retirement notice one year in advance and play out their final season without losing the money already paid in advance...than that gives the league one full year to find a replacement owner.

 

[nightshift]

Other than personal issues, leagues die becuase:

Losing team owners lose interest and quit.

Can't blame them. Losing year after year in a dynasty that you've made some bad moves and can't seem to recover, sucks. (especially if you are paying to lose) Might as well learn from your mistakes and move on.

It's hard to find a quality owner that will take on a losing team. Let's be real. Most guys/gals would be better off spending their time on a start-up dynasty then take over someone's mess.

On redraft, changing leagues is normal since you only play each year.

League chemistry doesn't work.

Some like to trash talk, trade alot, draft & hope for the best, etc. etc. etc. If the group doesn't work, IT DOESN'T WORK! Time to move on.

Boring play.

Redraft is exciting, fresh, starts new every season with a draft. Dynasty can get old if the league doesn't make it worth playing in. Dynasty requires trading, etc. to keep it alive. Otherwise, it gets boring and coaches lose interest.

It's a game, folks. If it isn't fun, people will move on to a different league, different format, or lose interest and quit altogether.

 

[thayman]

Other than personal issues, leagues die becuase:

Losing team owners lose interest and quit.

Can't blame them. Losing year after year in a dynasty that you've made some bad moves and can't seem to recover, sucks. (especially if you are paying to lose) Might as well learn from your mistakes and move on.

It's hard to find a quality owner that will take on a losing team. Let's be real. Most guys/gals would be better off spending their time on a start-up dynasty then take over someone's mess.

On redraft, changing leagues is normal since you only play each year.

League chemistry doesn't work.

Some like to trash talk, trade alot, draft & hope for the best, etc. etc. etc. If the group doesn't work, IT DOESN'T WORK! Time to move on.

Boring play.

Redraft is exciting, fresh, starts new every season with a draft. Dynasty can get old if the league doesn't make it worth playing in. Dynasty requires trading, etc. to keep it alive. Otherwise, it gets boring and coaches lose interest.

It's a game, folks. If it isn't fun, people will move on to a different league, different format, or lose interest and quit altogether.

That's the worst, I was in a Dynasty league for two years where hardly any trades were made....very frustrating.

 

[Wheezer34]

I firmly believe that any Fantasy Football League is only as good as its Commissioner!

 

[Shooter McGavin]

The longest-running league I was in is now dead because of one ##### who complained about everything. The commish didn't have the balls to give him the boot, so other owners just quit, until there was no league left.

 

[TommyGilmore]

A few of us finally got tired of the power-hungry commissioner and we started our own league. The 5 people who remained decided to call it quits. Now the old commish wants to join our new league.

 

[BigRed]

I firmly believe that any Fantasy Football League is only as good as its Commissioner!

Sorry but that's just not true. Any FFL is only as good as its owners (commish included). One, maybe two half-###/"PITA" owners you can get away with, but more than that and it's not worth it IMO.

The longest-running league I was in is now dead because of one ##### who complained about everything.  The commish didn't have the balls to give him the boot, so other owners just quit, until there was no league left.

Funny that's kind of what happened to us (at least in part), except it was the commish griping about stuff and no one else (but me) standing up to it. That's another kind of owner that can ruin a league, ie one who isn't a problem, but refuses to say anything about a situation or cast a vote or provide any input at all about things. Worse still are the ones who do that then gripe about something they refused to give input on

 

[THE UNDERCOVER BROTHA]

Well my 1st dynasty i just looked up and saw "year round football" i am a junkie with FF so i got me and my buddy to join in, we didnt pay attention to the payouts, they sucked (only 60% payout) and i came in talking more $*!t than alittle bit....LOL, it was fun for me to get a few owners riled up and have those rivaly games with them...we had side bets going on too. But when only 3 teams was trading, mainly me and another team swapping back and forth, it somewhat soured me on the league but hey it was year round so i was still cool. I started to really lose interest IN THE LEAGUE when i notice most owners didnt check there teams daily....they were on sunday morning guys....they left your trade offers sitting there for weeks......

But then i tried another one with me my Buddy and another owner from that league....He and his father and a few other new comers made up another interesting league with full payouts and we had some real talkers in this league and some very very active owners in here.....and boatloads of trades too. This league has dedicated owner only which about 8 of the 12 are real message boards talkers and only 2 of them rarely check there teams and you could guess, there the 2 teams on the short side of talent in the league.

I then made a league to commish taking me and my buddy, the new guy from my 1st league that made the 2nd league i was in and his father, and then i got my rest of owners from FBG!!! Peens, Queens Cracked, WahooFreak to name a new and 1 newbie from the espn message board...(lol) hey i had to have some fresh meat in there (LOL) i traded more with him than anybody. Anyways that league is super super active even in the offseason and i try to run it so it will be fun for everyone. I allow trading of future picks with delayed payments (before the trading deadline) I also will have us playing the NFL Pool Picks and Survivor for 10.00 a game and winner takes 120.00 a game....nice fun for during the season to win more money. Hey we got some real fueds in that league but its really fun to read what those guys be getting into about.

I got into another league (my 1st PPR) by myself that i saw on here (FBG) pretty cool guys and now i see most of those guys are in multiple dynasty like me and way more for the fact of the matter.

So this made me wanna do a super dynasty league consisting of all the top owners from my 2nd and 3rd dynasty league as well as owners from this last league i was in. I took Me, my buddy and the bigtime champ from my 2nd league as well and the guy from my 1st league and his father, then I took the runner up (wahoos) from my 3rd league as well as the Captian, (guys that communicate as well as know there stuff) and i took 4 guys from my last league...Now this league is great!!!

My point is that you have to find dedicated owners, as well as being in a league with a good commish.

Me i have went and joined another dynasty league just for the h#ll of it, (the downtime) plus i wanna try a new stragedy. Hey if you guys want an active owner, that me.....this is what i do for my fun now...i was into spending thousands of dollars on cars but now i do this cause i been playing for 15 yrs and now wanna see if i can have the ultimate dynasty team....plus i like playing with witty owners, it makes it so much challenging, thats why no more Yahoo leagues for me.

 

[Mr. Pink]

I firmly believe that any Fantasy Football League is only as good as its Commissioner!

I've played in 3 FF leagues in ten years, one being a local league, the other two being private internet leagues. The one that died (internet - auction/dynasty) was the result of an overbearing, obtuse commissioner who was hell bent on sabotaging any owner that called his moves or decisions into question. That attitude caused a handful of owners to walk right after the 2nd season ended. The remaining owners left after the comissioner witheld over $1,000 in prize money.

The other internet league has had the same commish for five years and during that time, we've only had to replace one (starting a new family) of the twelve owners. This commish is fair, even-tempered and thorough, but most importantly, he's consistent and he includes all owners in each and every decision. All attributes of a quality commish.

Our local redraft league has rotated commisioners over the course of ten years, giving everyone the opportunity at the helm. The turnover has been greater, but it's usually not a reflection of the leadership.

 

[oukurt]

I primarily play dynasty so I have either set up future season deposits for my leagues (at least 25-50% of entry fee) or will only join a league that has future season deposits in place. THIS IS A MUST.

It also never hurts to feel out the commish before joining a league. Does he have a firm set of league rules in place? You would be surprised by how many don't. How long has he been a commissioner? How long have his leagues stayed together?

With redraft leagues I think you need to get lucky. I started an online 10 owner redraft league 11 years ago. We all just clicked and got along great from the beginning. 8 of the original 10 are still with the league. Hell, a couple of the guys from California flew in for a weekend a couple of years ago. We took in an OU football game and spent the weekend frequenting a few clubs and luckily didn't spend a Saturday night behind bars. We are arranging for a Las Vegas weekend draft in August of this year.

Good luck in your search.

 

[Reality Football]

Interesting responses.

I have not yet experienced the league death march, and am commissioner for a league entering its 15th year.

On the plus side, we are a close-knit group. But, yeah, league members are starting to get married and/or hitting major career jumps, so it will be interesting to see whether or not we hit some lean years.

 

[roadkill1292]

My league is entering its 15th season this fall. We lost an owner this past offseason and made a half-hearted attempt to contract back to 14 teams but nobody else wanted out. I think it helps that we are (1) an auction league, (2) a minimal keeper league and (3) a very democratic league. Giving all the owners an ownership interest in the league helps keep them all very involved and feeling like they have as much say in the way we play the game as anyone else.

I've also gotten to know who the other Baltimore guys are on this board and will give some of them first shot at our next opening. I'm pretty sure they'll be a nice add.

 

[valhallan]

I firmly believe that any Fantasy Football League is only as good as its Commissioner!

 

[valhallan]

I firmly believe that any Fantasy Football League is only as good as its Commissioner!

Sorry but that's just not true. Any FFL is only as good as its owners (commish included). One, maybe two half-###/"PITA" owners you can get away with, but more than that and it's not worth it IMO.

A good commish can weed those guys out, and should.

 

[oukurt]

I firmly believe that any Fantasy Football League is only as good as its Commissioner!

Sorry but that's just not true. Any FFL is only as good as its owners (commish included). One, maybe two half-###/"PITA" owners you can get away with, but more than that and it's not worth it IMO.

A good commish can weed those guys out, and should.

Exactly right. It is well worth taking the extra time to find out a little about an owner you are consiering for your league.

 

[BigRed]

A good commish can weed those guys out, and should.

Then you have a league that is lacking owners and/or can easily end up with owners as bad or worse. Or you get a split with some people siding w/the owner, others w/the commish....etc etc etc. Or you have the casual owners who aren't so extremely "bad" but are kinda lame, ie don't talk it up, only do the minimum required to keep the team chugging along, etc.Of course a good commish matters, but it's no guarantee. All owners in the league make it good, or bad.

 

[valhallan]

A good commish can weed those guys out, and should.

Then you have a league that is lacking owners and/or can easily end up with owners as bad or worse. Or you get a split with some people siding w/the owner, others w/the commish....etc etc etc. Or you have the casual owners who aren't so extremely "bad" but are kinda lame, ie don't talk it up, only do the minimum required to keep the team chugging along, etc.Of course a good commish matters, but it's no guarantee. All owners in the league make it good, or bad.

Sure good owners can make one league "better" than another, but I believe the commish is far more responsible for creating a fair, competitive, and fun league.Detailed planning is everything. You can avoid arguments over ambiguous rules, you can make sure everyone is clear on the rules and have valid recourse when they violate what's been clearly stated over and over, you can define a process by which changes can by made (usually by voting), you can tailor the scoring system and line-up/roster requirements to allow for diverse strategy (and in turn, keep it interesting year-to-year), you can maintain a top-notch league page packed full of information and opportunities for league interaction, etc. The owners can't do any of this.

I do all of those things and more for the league I run and this year we eliminated two bad apple owners. One guy hardly kept up last year and is very vacant. We just decided not to invite him back. The other didn't pay his full buy-in, but managed to cover it with his winnings. We weren't interested in inviting him back either.

 

[Kit Fisto]

Interesting responses.

I have not yet experienced the league death march, and am commissioner for a league entering its 15th year.

On the plus side, we are a close-knit group. But, yeah, league members are starting to get married and/or hitting major career jumps, so it will be interesting to see whether or not we hit some lean years.

Similar story: I commish a 13-year old dynasty league and belong to 2 others. We are extremely close-knit, and some owners overlap into the other leagues.Yeah, times change with kids and jobs but we've made it through with very little turnover.

The only league I've ever seen fold was due to the commissioner losing interest and failing to "pass the torch".

 

[Kit Fisto]

A good commish can weed those guys out, and should.

Then you have a league that is lacking owners and/or can easily end up with owners as bad or worse. Or you get a split with some people siding w/the owner, others w/the commish....etc etc etc. Or you have the casual owners who aren't so extremely "bad" but are kinda lame, ie don't talk it up, only do the minimum required to keep the team chugging along, etc.Of course a good commish matters, but it's no guarantee. All owners in the league make it good, or bad.

Sure good owners can make one league "better" than another, but I believe the commish is far more responsible for creating a fair, competitive, and fun league.Detailed planning is everything. You can avoid arguments over ambiguous rules, you can make sure everyone is clear on the rules and have valid recourse when they violate what's been clearly stated over and over, you can define a process by which changes can by made (usually by voting), you can tailor the scoring system and line-up/roster requirements to allow for diverse strategy (and in turn, keep it interesting year-to-year), you can maintain a top-notch league page packed full of information and opportunities for league interaction, etc. The owners can't do any of this.

I do all of those things and more for the league I run and this year we eliminated two bad apple owners. One guy hardly kept up last year and is very vacant. We just decided not to invite him back. The other didn't pay his full buy-in, but managed to cover it with his winnings. We weren't interested in inviting him back either.

 

[Reality Football]

Like many have stated here, it really does seem like you do need a strong commissioner presence to keep afloat a lot of these leagues for the long term. Has anyone been in a league where that "passing of the torch" from one commissioner to another has worked? I've never seen it done without a league taking a dip.

Anyone ever try a rotating commissioner system in their league?

One thing I can say about my keeper league is that league votes always split along party lines. Before most votes are brought to the table, you often already note who will vote "conservatively" and who will vote "progressively." As a result, many proposed changes seem to die in committee.

I'm not sure if this is a sign of a good cautious approach to change, or like someone said earlier, a tendency for our owners to cling to tradition and resist innovation.

 

[bbuster]

I firmly believe that any Fantasy Football League is only as good as its Commissioner!

A bad commissioner meant the loss of a league for me...the league is still standing, but just barely from what I've heard.The league was 14 teams of guys who I worked with. When I became disabled, the commish decided that I shouldn't be in the league because I no longer worked there. The other guys rallied around and got me a spot in the league. On draft day one team didn't show up. My roommate was there with me and offered to take a team.(she worked there also) The year went well and I won it. The next year when draft day approached the commish came to my roommate and asked if she would be willing to give up her team for another guy who wanted to join. She reluctantly agreed. She came to the draft anyway...the guy didn't show up and the commish was begging her to take the team back...she did. She won it. The next year we moved out of state, but told them that we still wanted to play. We were only a couple hours away so making the draft was no problem. When draft time was approaching, I called the commish to see when the big day was. I was informed that since we had moved we were no longer welcome in the league.

(the other guys thought that was BS) He also said that part of the reason he didn't want us in the league was because apparently my roommate had been in the casino where we had worked and didn't say hello to him.

My take...he didn't like having women in the league(especially ones who were winning) He took all the trash talk from the guys, but couldn't take it from us.

The funny thing is that even though we were the only women in the league...he was the only "girl"!

I forgot to add that there was actually another guy who moved to the same city as us, but was still invited back. He declined after the commish screwed us over.

Do any of you guys have issues with women playing in your leagues? I'm talking about ones who know what the hell they are doing so the league remains competitive.

I was pretty bummed about losing my place. I hated the commish, but had fun with all the other guys. We helped him out twice by taking a team and he repaid us with not letting us know until the last minute that we had no place in the league.

 

[Buckna]

That sucks BB. I've always found most people like having women in the league, ESPECIALLY if they know what they are doing. I play in two work leagues and the commish is my boss' wife. She's a great commish and a competitive owner, makes the playoffs every year in both leagues. For some reason, she has a real talent for picking out sleeper WR's.

The only time I don't like having her in the league is on draft day. She takes all the players I am targeting!

 

[bbuster]

I'm really hoping it doesn't happen to me again. The guy from my old league who moved over here was able to get me a spot last year in a new league that he had joined. It was both our first years in it, and I won it. The commish seems like a nice guy. He told me on draft day that he was told that I was a good "player" and he took me because he liked strong competition.

I was actually pretty nervous going in because it was my first auction league and didn't have as much time to prepare as I would have liked. The league actually almost folded because the owner felt like people were starting to lose interest. Fortunately, that was not the case, and this year we are actually doing a double draft...one auction and one snake. I also started playing internet leagues and don't have any problems because people just assume that I'm a guy. There's just nothing like a "live" draft with people that you know though...so hopefully these guys feel like you.

 

[trader jake]

I believe the biggest thing to keep a Dynasty League alive is advanced entry fee payments.

Pay entry fee one year in advance and if someone quits unexpectedly they lose the money paid in advance and the new owner plays the first season free to help find a replacement owner on short notice.

Or someone can give a retirement notice one year in advance and play out their final season without losing the money already paid in advance...than that gives the league one full year to find a replacement owner.

has anybody else tried this? any resistance to paying in advance?

 

[coolnerd]

I believe the biggest thing to keep a Dynasty League alive is advanced entry fee payments.

Pay entry fee one year in advance and if someone quits unexpectedly they lose the money paid in advance and the new owner plays the first season free to help find a replacement owner on short notice.

Or someone can give a retirement notice one year in advance and play out their final season without losing the money already paid in advance...than that gives the league one full year to find a replacement owner.

has anybody else tried this? any resistance to paying in advance?

I am in three money leagues. One required you to pay 2 years in advance (current & next), the other two requires half payment for any trades completed in the future years. Like most things, there is not a problem as long as it is explicitedly stated in the rules and discussed openly by the commish when you are being recruited.

 

[Armando]

I believe the biggest thing to keep a Dynasty League alive is advanced entry fee payments.

Pay entry fee one year in advance and if someone quits unexpectedly they lose the money paid in advance and the new owner plays the first season free to help find a replacement owner on short notice.

Or someone can give a retirement notice one year in advance and play out their final season without losing the money already paid in advance...than that gives the league one full year to find a replacement owner.

has anybody else tried this? any resistance to paying in advance?

I will only run leagues with a years payment in advance. No resistance because I clearly stated them at the beginning. I also note it is at my discretion whether to pay the departing owner back. Just based on 1) if the new owner will pay in advance and 2) what the team the new owner is taking over looks like

 

[JohnnyU]

I firmly believe that any Fantasy Football League is only as good as its Commissioner!

A bad commissioner meant the loss of a league for me...the league is still standing, but just barely from what I've heard.The league was 14 teams of guys who I worked with. When I became disabled, the commish decided that I shouldn't be in the league because I no longer worked there. The other guys rallied around and got me a spot in the league. On draft day one team didn't show up. My roommate was there with me and offered to take a team.(she worked there also) The year went well and I won it. The next year when draft day approached the commish came to my roommate and asked if she would be willing to give up her team for another guy who wanted to join. She reluctantly agreed. She came to the draft anyway...the guy didn't show up and the commish was begging her to take the team back...she did. She won it. The next year we moved out of state, but told them that we still wanted to play. We were only a couple hours away so making the draft was no problem. When draft time was approaching, I called the commish to see when the big day was. I was informed that since we had moved we were no longer welcome in the league.

(the other guys thought that was BS) He also said that part of the reason he didn't want us in the league was because apparently my roommate had been in the casino where we had worked and didn't say hello to him.

My take...he didn't like having women in the league(especially ones who were winning) He took all the trash talk from the guys, but couldn't take it from us.

The funny thing is that even though we were the only women in the league...he was the only "girl"!

I forgot to add that there was actually another guy who moved to the same city as us, but was still invited back. He declined after the commish screwed us over.

Do any of you guys have issues with women playing in your leagues? I'm talking about ones who know what the hell they are doing so the league remains competitive.

I was pretty bummed about losing my place. I hated the commish, but had fun with all the other guys. We helped him out twice by taking a team and he repaid us with not letting us know until the last minute that we had no place in the league.

I would bet that both of you could have gotten most of the other owners in the league minus the commish, and started another league. I commish two football leagues and one baseball league, and I would love it if we had some knowledgable female owners. It's great for the hobby.

 

[BigRed]

Do any of you guys have issues with women playing in your leagues?

Frankly, yes, but I wouldn't have been the #-hole that guy was. In fact if he has such an issue w/women in your league, how did you get in in the first place?

I'm talking about ones who know what the hell they are doing so the league remains competitive.

Doesn't matter. Having women in a league would IMO be like a bunch of guys having a tupperware party. It just aint right. Sorry. But agree that if I were you/your co-owners, you guys should have just booted that POS commish.

 

[Reagan]

What are your experiences with league deaths? Why did said league die? 

First league I was in for 7 yrs. After 4 or 5 yrs, commish got married - but it wasn't his wife's fauilt. He got "weird" - got bent out of shape about the stupidest things, and go on and on about it, etc (eg someone's team name/logo was "R rated" and he insisted be changed because his wife's kid might see it - finally the owner did it just to shut him up). This caused more than 1 owner to bail. We still continued on, but it got lamer and less fun every year...ie people wouldn't talk smack, no one made even half-hearted attempts at trades....even the draft started getting lame. The commish hosted and actually did a good job of that, but the owners just got boring, ie would just sit around and make the picks, no smack talking, hardly anyone even drank (and this was not exactly an alcohol-free kind of crowd). Finally, every year 1 or 2 would get into this "let's hurry up and get it over with" BS. We ran for 7 yrs and I finally gave up. Hated leaving because of the history we'd built up, but to hell with a lame/boring league like that.

PS - IMO marriage/kids are a very logical reason not to spend a ton of time on this, but it's usually a very weak one not to be able to dedicate one afternoon out of the year for a single draft and spend at least a little time to be ready for it and make logical lineup decisions.

Our league's becoming sort of that way for some different reasons. I'm the commish. THe problem is that almost no one in our league makes efforts to trade, there is little to no smack talk going on. Drafts are fine, I guess, but again, little smack talk. THey are getting better as we're about to have our 3rd draft. Just wish it had a bit more juice. WIthout exception all are busy wether it's kids, work, other FF leagues, or other reasons.

 

[bbuster]

I firmly believe that any Fantasy Football League is only as good as its Commissioner!

A bad commissioner meant the loss of a league for me...the league is still standing, but just barely from what I've heard.The league was 14 teams of guys who I worked with. When I became disabled, the commish decided that I shouldn't be in the league because I no longer worked there. The other guys rallied around and got me a spot in the league. On draft day one team didn't show up. My roommate was there with me and offered to take a team.(she worked there also) The year went well and I won it. The next year when draft day approached the commish came to my roommate and asked if she would be willing to give up her team for another guy who wanted to join. She reluctantly agreed. She came to the draft anyway...the guy didn't show up and the commish was begging her to take the team back...she did. She won it. The next year we moved out of state, but told them that we still wanted to play. We were only a couple hours away so making the draft was no problem. When draft time was approaching, I called the commish to see when the big day was. I was informed that since we had moved we were no longer welcome in the league.

(the other guys thought that was BS) He also said that part of the reason he didn't want us in the league was because apparently my roommate had been in the casino where we had worked and didn't say hello to him.

My take...he didn't like having women in the league(especially ones who were winning) He took all the trash talk from the guys, but couldn't take it from us.

The funny thing is that even though we were the only women in the league...he was the only "girl"!

I forgot to add that there was actually another guy who moved to the same city as us, but was still invited back. He declined after the commish screwed us over.

Do any of you guys have issues with women playing in your leagues? I'm talking about ones who know what the hell they are doing so the league remains competitive.

I was pretty bummed about losing my place. I hated the commish, but had fun with all the other guys. We helped him out twice by taking a team and he repaid us with not letting us know until the last minute that we had no place in the league.

I would bet that both of you could have gotten most of the other owners in the league minus the commish, and started another league. I commish two football leagues and one baseball league, and I would love it if we had some knowledgable female owners. It's great for the hobby.

Probably could have. Maybe he knew that also and that's why he didn't say anything until it was basically too late to do anything.It's good to know that there are guys out there who aren't threatened by knowledgable women. I mean, I do know that there are because none of the other guys had any issues, and there don't seem to be any in my new league.

Hopefully that won't change when I crush them again this year!

In response to the guy who posted after you that compared women in FF to guys at tupperware parties... I was born a Packers fan and have been watching football religiously since I was a little kid. I had brothers who I also played football with when we weren't watching it. I've never had issues with being treated like one of the guys. I never expected them to take it easy on me when I was playing with them...and they never did.

There are quite a few of us out there that find the "typical womens stuff"

boring. I understand that there are guys out there that want to get away from their women for awhile. The only advice I have for you is that if you let your woman share some of your interests,(and you share some of her non-tupperware type of interests) she may be more enthusiastic about some of your other interests...I'm sure you understand what I mean.

Edited to add: Big Red, the reason I got into the league was the other guys gave him lots of $#@! until he finally caved and let me in. It didn't happen last year because he didn't let me or anyone know until the last minute. He didn't tell any of the other guys and I only found out because I kept calling to find out about the draft.

 

[jcuadrado]

I have a league that has been playing for 8 years...it was an awesome league full of a bunch of friends. But for the last 2 years it has pretty much sucked. It's getting boring....most of the guys are still there..but the message board is dead..no one gets together to watch the games anymore. It's not because the guys aren't close anymore. I think it's because of a combination of things.

1-Life - people are older, have kids, wives, etc. just not enough time

2-multiple leagues - 8 years ago everyone was in one league only...so all their ff time was dedicated to the one league....nowadays people are in 3 or 4 leagues...some at work...some with other friends, etc. Peoples time has to be distributed now.

I see this league maybe lasting another year and that's it..

 

[nightshift]

I have a league that has been playing for 8 years...it was an awesome league full of a bunch of friends. But for the last 2 years it has pretty much sucked. It's getting boring....most of the guys are still there..but the message board is dead..no one gets together to watch the games anymore. It's not because the guys aren't close anymore. I think it's because of a combination of things.

1-Life - people are older, have kids, wives, etc. just not enough time

2-multiple leagues - 8 years ago everyone was in one league only...so all their ff time was dedicated to the one league....nowadays people are in 3 or 4 leagues...some at work...some with other friends, etc. Peoples time has to be distributed now.

I see this league maybe lasting another year and that's it..

I think most leagues have a life cycle to them. Some short, some long, but once owners become complacent, or know each others moves, tactics, etc. too well, or simply it just isn't fun anymore, then it's time to end it. IMO, if your league is boring, ending it could be the smart move. Otherwise you could get burned out on FF and probably stop playing altogether (Joe & company don't want that! )

There are a select few I enjoy playing with and we have even moved on to different leagues together. However, at least for me, it is very rare to find coaches that keep it interesting and challenging year after year.

 

[offdee]

I believe the biggest thing to keep a Dynasty League alive is advanced entry fee payments.

Pay entry fee one year in advance and if someone quits unexpectedly they lose the money paid in advance and the new owner plays the first season free to help find a replacement owner on short notice.

Or someone can give a retirement notice one year in advance and play out their final season without losing the money already paid in advance...than that gives the league one full year to find a replacement owner.

has anybody else tried this? any resistance to paying in advance?

Both of the leagues listed in my signature has the 1 year paid in advance rule....no problems whatsoever. Actually for the owners that are against doing this would raise a major red flag to me as that would mean they are not in it for the long haul and a much greater risk of bailing when the going gets tough. So, on top of helping the life of the league it also helps weed out the bad/undedicated owners.

 

[nightshift]

I believe the biggest thing to keep a Dynasty League alive is advanced entry fee payments.

Pay entry fee one year in advance and if someone quits unexpectedly they lose the money paid in advance and the new owner plays the first season free to help find a replacement owner on short notice.

Or someone can give a retirement notice one year in advance and play out their final season without losing the money already paid in advance...than that gives the league one full year to find a replacement owner.

has anybody else tried this? any resistance to paying in advance?

Both of the leagues listed in my signature has the 1 year paid in advance rule....no problems whatsoever. Actually for the owners that are against doing this would raise a major red flag to me as that would mean they are not in it for the long haul and a much greater risk of bailing when the going gets tough. So, on top of helping the life of the league it also helps weed out the bad/undedicated owners.

So what if your league play simply sucks? (lack of trades, smack talk, general interaction, etc.)Yes, you have everyone's money, but is that the reason you want coaches to stay, simply becuase they paid for it?

If a coach doesn't want to (or sometimes can't) be there and gives the league a fair amount of time to replace him/her, why not let them go? Do you really want that person in your league?

 

[jdoggydogg]

I'm really hoping it doesn't happen to me again. The guy from my old league who moved over here was able to get me a spot last year in a new league that he had joined. It was both our first years in it, and I won it. The commish seems like a nice guy. He told me on draft day that he was told that I was a good "player" and he took me because he liked strong competition.

I was actually pretty nervous going in because it was my first auction league and didn't have as much time to prepare as I would have liked. The league actually almost folded because the owner felt like people were starting to lose interest. Fortunately, that was not the case, and this year we are actually doing a double draft...one auction and one snake. I also started playing internet leagues and don't have any problems because people just assume that I'm a guy. There's just nothing like a "live" draft with people that you know though...so hopefully these guys feel like you.

We've had women in our league for years. I've never heard a man in the league complain.

 

[offdee]

I believe the biggest thing to keep a Dynasty League alive is advanced entry fee payments.

Pay entry fee one year in advance and if someone quits unexpectedly they lose the money paid in advance and the new owner plays the first season free to help find a replacement owner on short notice.

Or someone can give a retirement notice one year in advance and play out their final season without losing the money already paid in advance...than that gives the league one full year to find a replacement owner.

has anybody else tried this? any resistance to paying in advance?

Both of the leagues listed in my signature has the 1 year paid in advance rule....no problems whatsoever. Actually for the owners that are against doing this would raise a major red flag to me as that would mean they are not in it for the long haul and a much greater risk of bailing when the going gets tough. So, on top of helping the life of the league it also helps weed out the bad/undedicated owners.

So what if your league play simply sucks? (lack of trades, smack talk, general interaction, etc.)Yes, you have everyone's money, but is that the reason you want coaches to stay, simply becuase they paid for it?

If a coach doesn't want to (or sometimes can't) be there and gives the league a fair amount of time to replace him/her, why not let them go? Do you really want that person in your league?

guys that don't participate and aren't up to standards of the league either get expelled (if actions severe enough) or forced into retirement by a league vote. Guys can retire in good standing or be forced by the league into retirement, but needs to be done one year in advance before the rookie draft. That way they can still play out that final year that was already paid for and not lose any moneys already paid in advance. (If actions severe enough to be flat out "expelled" than they just lose the money already paid in advance as a penalty for their actions...and they are aware of this going into the league)The other side of the coin is if somebody quits unexpectedly than you have that guy's money as a penalty and allows you to find a good owner to take over that team (which will most likely be a bad team otherwise why did the owner quit) on short notice and they get their first year Free to make the team their own (aka: rebuild)

The biggest downfall in Dynasty Leagues is that over time the league gradually gets to a point where half the teams are strong and half the teams are weak.....when all the weak teams realize that it will be very hard to compete anytime soon they just bail and leave the league in limbo and eventual demise of the league. This rule prevents that from happening.

 

[JohnnyU]

I have a league that has been playing for 8 years...it was an awesome league full of a bunch of friends.  But for the last 2 years it has pretty much sucked.  It's getting boring....most of the guys are still there..but the message board is dead..no one gets together to watch the games anymore.  It's not because the guys aren't close anymore.  I think it's because of a combination of things.

1-Life - people are older, have kids, wives, etc. just not enough time

2-multiple leagues - 8 years ago everyone was in one league only...so all their ff time was dedicated to the one league....nowadays people are in 3 or 4 leagues...some at work...some with other friends, etc.  Peoples time has to be distributed now.

I see this league maybe lasting another year and that's it..

I think most leagues have a life cycle to them. Some short, some long, but once owners become complacent, or know each others moves, tactics, etc. too well, or simply it just isn't fun anymore, then it's time to end it. IMO, if your league is boring, ending it could be the smart move. Otherwise you could get burned out on FF and probably stop playing altogether (Joe & company don't want that! )

There are a select few I enjoy playing with and we have even moved on to different leagues together. However, at least for me, it is very rare to find coaches that keep it interesting and challenging year after year.

Personally, I don't see the need to keep a league jumping year round, even in dynasty leagues. Hell, that's how folks get burned out on FF. As long as owners check in from time to time and respond to trades, I don't see a problem with a slow down in the off-season. Owners usually get juiced up when training camp starts. In the two leagues I commish, we have off-season trades, and there is WW activity, but it does slow down. It picks back up again as we approach the regular season. I also don't see the need to have message board chats year round in these leagues either. I'd rather owners avoid FF burn out, and come ready to play toward the end of the summer.

 

[nightshift]

I believe the biggest thing to keep a Dynasty League alive is advanced entry fee payments.

Pay entry fee one year in advance and if someone quits unexpectedly they lose the money paid in advance and the new owner plays the first season free to help find a replacement owner on short notice.

Or someone can give a retirement notice one year in advance and play out their final season without losing the money already paid in advance...than that gives the league one full year to find a replacement owner.

has anybody else tried this? any resistance to paying in advance?

Both of the leagues listed in my signature has the 1 year paid in advance rule....no problems whatsoever. Actually for the owners that are against doing this would raise a major red flag to me as that would mean they are not in it for the long haul and a much greater risk of bailing when the going gets tough. So, on top of helping the life of the league it also helps weed out the bad/undedicated owners.

So what if your league play simply sucks? (lack of trades, smack talk, general interaction, etc.)Yes, you have everyone's money, but is that the reason you want coaches to stay, simply becuase they paid for it?

If a coach doesn't want to (or sometimes can't) be there and gives the league a fair amount of time to replace him/her, why not let them go? Do you really want that person in your league?

guys that don't participate and aren't up to standards of the league either get expelled (if actions severe enough) or forced into retirement by a league vote. Guys can retire in good standing or be forced by the league into retirement, but needs to be done one year in advance before the rookie draft. That way they can still play out that final year that was already paid for and not lose any moneys already paid in advance. (If actions severe enough to be flat out "expelled" than they just lose the money already paid in advance as a penalty for their actions...and they are aware of this going into the league)The other side of the coin is if somebody quits unexpectedly than you have that guy's money as a penalty and allows you to find a good owner to take over that team (which will most likely be a bad team otherwise why did the owner quit) on short notice and they get their first year Free to make the team their own (aka: rebuild)

The biggest downfall in Dynasty Leagues is that over time the league gradually gets to a point where half the teams are strong and half the teams are weak.....when all the weak teams realize that it will be very hard to compete anytime soon they just bail and leave the league in limbo and eventual demise of the league. This rule prevents that from happening.

I differ with you here. Why are these teams weak? Bad breaks, bad coaching, or the strong coaches keeping them weak (it doesn't have to be intentional)?

Who really wants to take over someone else's mess, clean it up (pay to do that to boot), and really start "in the hole" with a new league? IMO, you are further ahead to pay your dues to a new league and draft.

Dynasty is a pitfall waiting to happen. Most leagues fail eventually. The point is you play with other people and it is hard to find good players. All I see is a rule that forces someone to do something they don't want to do, which will result in poor league play (they don't want to be there, so they only participate when they have to) and another player you won't be playing with in the future.

 

[nightshift]

I have a league that has been playing for 8 years...it was an awesome league full of a bunch of friends. But for the last 2 years it has pretty much sucked. It's getting boring....most of the guys are still there..but the message board is dead..no one gets together to watch the games anymore. It's not because the guys aren't close anymore. I think it's because of a combination of things.

1-Life - people are older, have kids, wives, etc. just not enough time

2-multiple leagues - 8 years ago everyone was in one league only...so all their ff time was dedicated to the one league....nowadays people are in 3 or 4 leagues...some at work...some with other friends, etc. Peoples time has to be distributed now.

I see this league maybe lasting another year and that's it..

I think most leagues have a life cycle to them. Some short, some long, but once owners become complacent, or know each others moves, tactics, etc. too well, or simply it just isn't fun anymore, then it's time to end it. IMO, if your league is boring, ending it could be the smart move. Otherwise you could get burned out on FF and probably stop playing altogether (Joe & company don't want that! )

There are a select few I enjoy playing with and we have even moved on to different leagues together. However, at least for me, it is very rare to find coaches that keep it interesting and challenging year after year.

Personally, I don't see the need to keep a league jumping year round, even in dynasty leagues. Hell, that's how folks get burned out on FF. As long as owners check in from time to time and respond to trades, I don't see a problem with a slow down in the off-season. Owners usually get juiced up when training camp starts. In the two leagues I commish, we have off-season trades, and there is WW activity, but it does slow down. It picks back up again as we approach the regular season. I also don't see the need to have message board chats year round in these leagues either. I'd rather owners avoid FF burn out, and come ready to play toward the end of the summer.

So why did you join a HYPERACTIVE dynsaty league, where the rules require you to check in frequently?

 

[JohnnyU]

I have a league that has been playing for 8 years...it was an awesome league full of a bunch of friends.  But for the last 2 years it has pretty much sucked.  It's getting boring....most of the guys are still there..but the message board is dead..no one gets together to watch the games anymore.  It's not because the guys aren't close anymore.  I think it's because of a combination of things.

1-Life - people are older, have kids, wives, etc. just not enough time

2-multiple leagues - 8 years ago everyone was in one league only...so all their ff time was dedicated to the one league....nowadays people are in 3 or 4 leagues...some at work...some with other friends, etc.  Peoples time has to be distributed now.

I see this league maybe lasting another year and that's it..

I think most leagues have a life cycle to them. Some short, some long, but once owners become complacent, or know each others moves, tactics, etc. too well, or simply it just isn't fun anymore, then it's time to end it. IMO, if your league is boring, ending it could be the smart move. Otherwise you could get burned out on FF and probably stop playing altogether (Joe & company don't want that! )

There are a select few I enjoy playing with and we have even moved on to different leagues together. However, at least for me, it is very rare to find coaches that keep it interesting and challenging year after year.

Personally, I don't see the need to keep a league jumping year round, even in dynasty leagues. Hell, that's how folks get burned out on FF. As long as owners check in from time to time and respond to trades, I don't see a problem with a slow down in the off-season. Owners usually get juiced up when training camp starts. In the two leagues I commish, we have off-season trades, and there is WW activity, but it does slow down. It picks back up again as we approach the regular season. I also don't see the need to have message board chats year round in these leagues either. I'd rather owners avoid FF burn out, and come ready to play toward the end of the summer.

So why did you join a HYPERACTIVE dynsaty league, where the rules require you to check in frequently?

I believe I said that checking in frequently to respond to trades is a good thing. I just don't think having a million trades, and constant message board chat is a necessity during the off-season.

 

[nightshift]

I have a league that has been playing for 8 years...it was an awesome league full of a bunch of friends. But for the last 2 years it has pretty much sucked. It's getting boring....most of the guys are still there..but the message board is dead..no one gets together to watch the games anymore. It's not because the guys aren't close anymore. I think it's because of a combination of things.

1-Life - people are older, have kids, wives, etc. just not enough time

2-multiple leagues - 8 years ago everyone was in one league only...so all their ff time was dedicated to the one league....nowadays people are in 3 or 4 leagues...some at work...some with other friends, etc. Peoples time has to be distributed now.

I see this league maybe lasting another year and that's it..

I think most leagues have a life cycle to them. Some short, some long, but once owners become complacent, or know each others moves, tactics, etc. too well, or simply it just isn't fun anymore, then it's time to end it. IMO, if your league is boring, ending it could be the smart move. Otherwise you could get burned out on FF and probably stop playing altogether (Joe & company don't want that! )

There are a select few I enjoy playing with and we have even moved on to different leagues together. However, at least for me, it is very rare to find coaches that keep it interesting and challenging year after year.

Personally, I don't see the need to keep a league jumping year round, even in dynasty leagues. Hell, that's how folks get burned out on FF. As long as owners check in from time to time and respond to trades, I don't see a problem with a slow down in the off-season. Owners usually get juiced up when training camp starts. In the two leagues I commish, we have off-season trades, and there is WW activity, but it does slow down. It picks back up again as we approach the regular season. I also don't see the need to have message board chats year round in these leagues either. I'd rather owners avoid FF burn out, and come ready to play toward the end of the summer.

So why did you join a HYPERACTIVE dynsaty league, where the rules require you to check in frequently?

I believe I said that checking in frequently to respond to trades is a good thing. I just don't think having a million trades, and constant message board chat is a necessity during the off-season.

What else happens in a HYPERACTIVE league during the off-season besides chat & trades (oh, and one rookie draft)?

 

[JohnnyU]

[What else happens in a HYPERACTIVE league during the off-season besides chat & trades (oh, and one rookie draft)?

I'm saying that I don't think leagues that have less activity during the off-season are bad leagues. They may be the best leagues possible during the season. Of course I do believe all league members should check-in several times a week to respond to trades and check the WW for possible add/drops, whether it's off-season or in-season. That is important to a dynasty league, but it doesn't mean all members need to spend as much time at the site during the off-season as they do during the season.