Post
by Greg Ambrosius » Fri Oct 22, 2004 5:00 am
Originally posted by JerseyPaul:
So let's assume for a moment that getting to 602 players is the next big step for the NFFC. Keep in mind they are going head-to-head with an established event that will also seek to expand next year.
NFFC has an obvious advantage in the 3 city format and in the entry fee. It has a disadvantage in the 14 team format as it reduces the chances of winning the league but interestingly the $1250 for 14 teams gives almost exactly the same expected value as 12 teams at $1450 and there is no activity fee.
So what will make one more successful than the other? Personally, I think both have a very bright future. The challenge will not be to get players to choose one over the other, but to increase the total number of high stakes players.Here's another smart man. If there are more than 12 million adult Americans playing fantasy football (according to our latest FSTA omnibus survey), then surely there are more than 600 people who want to play a high-stakes fantasy football game. That was my opinion this year, that was Lenny & Emil's opinion this year, and of course that was the same opinion 10 other businessmen had this year. The WCOFF grew to 672 teams, so they were right. We had 224 teams, so we were "kind of" right. The 10 other businessmen were right, but their business plans were proven wrong.
I'm convinced this market is big enough for multiple high-stakes contests if they are different and are run in a first-class kind of way. No way that any of these events will survive if they don't treat the customer like royalty. If I'm paying $1,000+ to compete in a fantasy football league, I sure as hell better like it. And if I don't, I'll find another contest that treats me better.
We have established something good in Year One and we did the same thing in baseball. I'm convinced that with a year under our belt, we'll attract more players in 2005 to the NFFC. They are out there, they just unfortunately trusted the wrong people this year and are now on the sidelines. I believe the WCOFF and NFFC will continue to grow and excel in future years as there's enough room in this marketplace for two good high-stakes events and possibly more. We need to grow this area of the marketplace, not undercut each other, and I'm convinced that we will as people see how much fun it is to draft with top players from across the country and compete for grand prizes of $100,000 or more.
So priority Number One is growing the NFFC in three cities on Labor Day weekend of 2005.
Founder, National Fantasy Football Championship & National Fantasy Baseball Championship
Twitter: @GregAmbrosius