Live vs. Online - Not Even a Contest

jdobies64 · Post by **jdobies64** » Tue Sep 06, 2011 3:12 am

Glenn X, your mailbox is full.

thegambler · Post by **thegambler** » Tue Sep 06, 2011 3:18 am

anyone that has been to a wcoff main event draft will never go online again unless they are forced. the live event feel is great. i love walking into a room full of fantasy geeks.

imagine walking into a room with over 1000 fantasy football diehards.....it is a awesome site. it gave me goosebumps everytime i enter the room. hopefull we can get that same feel here one day.

renman · Post by **renman** » Tue Sep 06, 2011 5:36 am

I would put Glenn lowy on that list of great guys to re-connect with at the live events. To me, nothing compares to the live events. The buzz, the energy, etc. The look of the rooms. The minutes ticking down to when the drafts start. Looking around the room at the guys wondering what they are thinking what their strategy is. The chance to see different draft boards and strategies.

Obviously the energy in the rooms has changed since my first year as the live draft locations multiplied (watering things down some) and then the advent of online draft options. To me, there is still nothing better than the live draft. Hoping that coveted player doesn't have his name called out by the guy right next to you before it is your turn.

I know the fantasy football industry is going through a delicate and trying time now with the economy and some of the unprofessional practices of other events. I think we all know what an explosive industry this is and we all recognize the hobby/competition isn't going to disappear and actually is likely to grow.

When the dust settles I truly believe the NFFC will stand at the top as the premier "professional" competition to play in. The live events are where it is at!

[ September 06, 2011, 11:48 AM: Message edited by: Renman ]

Greg Ambrosius · Post by **Greg Ambrosius** » Tue Sep 06, 2011 3:21 pm

Originally posted by Glenneration X:
Two years ago in 2009, I attended my 1st NFFC live event in NYC. There were eight tables. I had attended an NFBC baseball live event earlier that year in March so I had been exposed to the phenomenon of drafting with over 100 fantasy sports fanatics like myself with multiple drafts going off at the same time. Still, the football event was just as exciting and awe inspiring.

This year, there were only four tables in NYC. Online drafts have become more and more popular and the live events have suffered for it. Still, the live drafts this year were just as exciting and awe inspiring......and most of all, fun.

I've spent the past few weeks drafting online for the various Online Championships, DC's, satellites, etc. Fun, but not the same. When the draft is over, the experience is over. This week however, I've drafted at both my local leagues, the NFFC Auction, and the NFFC Classic & Primetime. Now that's an experience.

There's something about walking in the room before the draft, seeing the draft tables at the ready, seeing familiar faces and meeting new ones. The announcements before the draft, checking out the draft boards at the breaks, chatting with your leaguemates and players in other leagues before, during, and after the drafts all add to the experience.

My favorite activity at the live drafts by far is walking around the room with all the other drafters, going from draft board to draft board, checking out where players you drafted went in other drafts, looking for the strong & weak teams, hearing the opinions of everyone else doing the same thing you are doing. I wouldn't trade it for a million online drafts. I hope the live drafts are here forever.

It was great being in NYC this weekend, seeing and getting to chat once again with great guys like Nelson, KOQ, Jupinka, the Zwickels, Bob Particelli, Mike Edelman, Monkeyville, Ante, Mike & Kevin Sandman, Renman, Tom Yates, Marty Bedell, Dan Mitlof, Jersey Yo. It was just as great to meet and/or chat for the first time with other great guys like the champ Tom Carbone, Alex Kaganovsky, Jeff Dawson, Diesel, and of course the infamous Blackhand himself, Frank Mammola. Great guys one and all. It was also great to see Tom again as always. Greg's brother Mike is a helluva nice guy, as is Jim from STATS.

Greg, Tom, I know Online drafts are easier and probably a lot more cost efficient, for both provider and customer. I'm sorry, I don't care. Don't ever get rid of the live drafts. These contests wouldn't be the same without them. Next year, Vegas for me second weekend. If there's a first weekend, maybe I'll visit Chicago as well. If not, I'll definately be back in NYC. One thing's for sure, I'll be drafting live. I hope everyone knows Glenn that the NFFC is totally committed to the live event model. NOBODY likes throwing a draft party more than me and Tom, and I think you guys know that. I love hanging out with the guys, watching the draft boards, hosting league drafts. I think my Las Vegas crew knows that I'll jump in and do the big board stickers if needed and I love being the lead facilitator when I can. We definitely know how to run tight-knit live drafts and we look forward to it.

Right now we are seeing the tsunami of events that have really FORCED some folks to stay involved through the online draft method. The late NFL settlement, the WCOFF prize fund craziness, the slow economy, all of them contributed to folks just staying home this first weekend. I just don't see all of this continuing next year. I do believe the live events model will prosper and grow in the future and the NFFC will continue to be the leader in the multi-city live-events model. We will continue to bring our contests to at least three areas of the country in both baseball and football.

I think we contributed to this as well with our two weekends split the way they were. I think going forward the second weekend of September will be our major weekend of live events and it's up to me to come up with a plan that makes Labor Day weekend more meaningful. I like the two-weekend concept for the NFFC and I have an idea on how I can make this work. I think it's going to be very exciting in 2012.

I like my plan for everything we're offering and next year we'll be ramped up both on the events side and the technology side to make all of our contests better.

We're here to stay. I need to figure out a way to make people WANT to draft live. I think I can do that next year when the economy improves. It can't get any worse, can it?

Nothing beats drafting live and next year I'm going to give you many reasons to do just that. Stay tuned.