[h=1]Simple ways to spice up your league[/h]Randy Scott
If you're reading this ...
You care. You're frustrated, you're annoyed, maybe even considering breaking up with your league. And you're not alone. Other members of your league feel the same way. Maybe they don't actually say it, but you can tell. They're not as into it as they used to be. No one talks smack on the message board or the email chain. A few have even autodrafted and some forget to set their lineups a few times during the season. Unthinkable a few years ago, but no one seems to care enough to get upset about it. Your league needs a spark.
Darnit, it needs a leader.
That leader is you.
[h=2]Utilize the League Manager product[/h]Spicing up your league starts before you even draft. If you use ESPN Fantasy to power your league -- and we hope you do -- make sure you're using the "League Manager" (LM) setup. While the ESPN standard game is more "plug and play," where even the commissioner can't alter any of the league settings, the LM setup provides your league with the freedom to run things the way you want.
For example, you can and you should have a lot of fun with your draft order. If you're just logging into the draft room 20 minutes ahead of time to find out where you're picking, you're doing it wrong. Knowing where you're drafting a week or so ahead of time gives you a chance to hatch a game plan and even trade draft picks.
This is about being a leader, not a follower. You need to change your league settings. Want a few very basic suggestions? I've got three quickies for you.
Use decimal scoring: ESPN standard leagues use whole points as the default setting. This creates the potential for more ties. As we all know, ties are no fun, and that's what we're here for, right? Fun. To provide one example in the LM game, your commissioner can alter the scoring settings, so that each rushing yard is worth 0.1 points. Why should your back that gained 99 yards score one full point less than your opponent's RB that ran for exactly 100 yards? He shouldn't ... and with decimal scoring, he won't. He'll get 9.9 points and the opponent's RB well get 10.0. It's a truer measure of performance.
Consider trying PPR: Is your league a points-per-reception (PPR) league? No? Get with the times. You don't have to jump straight to a full-point PPR setup, but you'd be surprised how much more interesting things get when you go half-point (my personal favorite) or even quarter-point. More points, more fun.
Add another position to the starting lineup: Don't have a flex spot? Add one. Maybe you're not ready to make the jump to a 2-quarterback league (You should try it, though. At least once. It's awesome.), but add a running back/ wide receiver spot, or an running back/ wide receiver /tight end spot (like our standard game has). If you already utilize a flex spot, you can always add a third-starting WR slot. Especially now that your league is a PPR league.
[h=2]User suggestions[/h]Now if you don't want to change your scoring or lineup settings, I understand. You can still spice things up without messing with tradition. I solicited suggestions on Twitter, and some people said they determined their draft order by drawing horses in the Kentucky Derby, by drawing golfers for The Masters or by whomever has the best March Madness bracket.
Matt LeBlanc (@SpankDawg2422) -- no, not that Matt LeBlanc -- said each team in his league randomly pulls another owner's name out of a hat and gets to assign the team name and logo for the rest of the season. "Nothing is off limits," he says. "Let's just say there's a ton of photoshop."
Here's my favorite pre-draft idea, courtesy of Fanatic (@JustSportsFan). In his league, every team drafts a player for the preseason. Highest point total gets first pick, second-highest gets second pick, and so on. When have you evercared about the preseason? How would that change if you did that? For me, right away. I'm stealing this idea.
As for the draft itself, if at all possible, get the league together and do it in person. Kellen Middleton (@BKTheBiscuit) has a league where the winner gets to determine the location of the draft the following year. First year was in their hometown, then in Las Vegas the next year. Everyone should draft in person in Vegas at least once in their life. In Kellen's league, if you can't draft in person, you're out of the league. Because Kellen cares.
Sometimes, though, life gets in the way. Which is where Ted McGraw (@TedMcGraw44) and his league have you covered. They have a league constitution with contingency plans if one of the league members get arrested and end up incarcerated. Think about it, all leagues have "that guy" who's a danger to wake up one Sunday morning in a cell somewhere. In Ted's league, they have a plan to make sure that guy still sets his lineup. Because Ted cares.
Many of you know about auction drafts and have heard about how much fun they are. Make this the year you actually make the leap and try it. For those of you that already have one, you could borrow from Garrick Force (@Rickola00) and have any unspent auction money carry over into the season's free-agent budget.
One idea that seemed downright revolutionary to me came from Vincent Relio (@VRCambruzzi). His league has an "Empire Pot." You have to win the league in back-to-back years in order to claim the Empire Pot. If you win the title one year, you get half the entry fees, while the rest goes into the Empire Pot. No one has won it yet, and Vincent says it's well into the 5-figure range now.
During the season itself, why not reward teams with high point totals? How annoying is it to be the Jennifer Aniston of your league? You put up a ton of points, only to get beaten by the hottest team that particular week. That's why I'm a fan of playing for two wins every week. In a 12-team league, you get a win if you beat your opponent, and the top six point totals also get a win. Thus, every week you can go 2-0, 1-1 or 0-2. If you don't want to do that, you could just spice things up like James Grover (@JimmyBob_t1st) does in his league where the weekly high scorer gets to rename and re-logo the lowest-scoring team that week. The name sticks until the conclusion of the following week. Things can get weird but weird means fun.
Speaking of weird ...
<article class="ad-300" style="box-sizing: border-box; clear: both; overflow: hidden; position: relative; z-index: 1000026; margin: 0px 0px 0px 10px; float: right; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 16px;">
</article>Punishments obviously aren't limited to team names and logos. Matthew Berry touched on this in greater detail in his best-selling book "Fantasy Life," but the idea of punishing the last-place team in your league for its failure is a great way to spice things up and to make sure the team does not check out part-way through the season. Now, you don't have to go full tattoo mode like that famous league from Matthew's book, but what about making the last-place team in your league take the SATs or the ACT? Jacob Farmer's league takes it a step further, opting for more of a public humiliation. They bought him a hot pink, license plate frame that he says, "announces my last place finish to the world." They also got to pick his Twitter handle. You can find him at @TheRealSacko2015.
Now go spice things up.
Go be the leader your league needs.
Go save your league.
If you're reading this ...
You care. You're frustrated, you're annoyed, maybe even considering breaking up with your league. And you're not alone. Other members of your league feel the same way. Maybe they don't actually say it, but you can tell. They're not as into it as they used to be. No one talks smack on the message board or the email chain. A few have even autodrafted and some forget to set their lineups a few times during the season. Unthinkable a few years ago, but no one seems to care enough to get upset about it. Your league needs a spark.
Darnit, it needs a leader.
That leader is you.
[h=2]Utilize the League Manager product[/h]Spicing up your league starts before you even draft. If you use ESPN Fantasy to power your league -- and we hope you do -- make sure you're using the "League Manager" (LM) setup. While the ESPN standard game is more "plug and play," where even the commissioner can't alter any of the league settings, the LM setup provides your league with the freedom to run things the way you want.
For example, you can and you should have a lot of fun with your draft order. If you're just logging into the draft room 20 minutes ahead of time to find out where you're picking, you're doing it wrong. Knowing where you're drafting a week or so ahead of time gives you a chance to hatch a game plan and even trade draft picks.
This is about being a leader, not a follower. You need to change your league settings. Want a few very basic suggestions? I've got three quickies for you.
Use decimal scoring: ESPN standard leagues use whole points as the default setting. This creates the potential for more ties. As we all know, ties are no fun, and that's what we're here for, right? Fun. To provide one example in the LM game, your commissioner can alter the scoring settings, so that each rushing yard is worth 0.1 points. Why should your back that gained 99 yards score one full point less than your opponent's RB that ran for exactly 100 yards? He shouldn't ... and with decimal scoring, he won't. He'll get 9.9 points and the opponent's RB well get 10.0. It's a truer measure of performance.
Consider trying PPR: Is your league a points-per-reception (PPR) league? No? Get with the times. You don't have to jump straight to a full-point PPR setup, but you'd be surprised how much more interesting things get when you go half-point (my personal favorite) or even quarter-point. More points, more fun.
Add another position to the starting lineup: Don't have a flex spot? Add one. Maybe you're not ready to make the jump to a 2-quarterback league (You should try it, though. At least once. It's awesome.), but add a running back/ wide receiver spot, or an running back/ wide receiver /tight end spot (like our standard game has). If you already utilize a flex spot, you can always add a third-starting WR slot. Especially now that your league is a PPR league.
[h=2]User suggestions[/h]Now if you don't want to change your scoring or lineup settings, I understand. You can still spice things up without messing with tradition. I solicited suggestions on Twitter, and some people said they determined their draft order by drawing horses in the Kentucky Derby, by drawing golfers for The Masters or by whomever has the best March Madness bracket.
Matt LeBlanc (@SpankDawg2422) -- no, not that Matt LeBlanc -- said each team in his league randomly pulls another owner's name out of a hat and gets to assign the team name and logo for the rest of the season. "Nothing is off limits," he says. "Let's just say there's a ton of photoshop."
Here's my favorite pre-draft idea, courtesy of Fanatic (@JustSportsFan). In his league, every team drafts a player for the preseason. Highest point total gets first pick, second-highest gets second pick, and so on. When have you evercared about the preseason? How would that change if you did that? For me, right away. I'm stealing this idea.
As for the draft itself, if at all possible, get the league together and do it in person. Kellen Middleton (@BKTheBiscuit) has a league where the winner gets to determine the location of the draft the following year. First year was in their hometown, then in Las Vegas the next year. Everyone should draft in person in Vegas at least once in their life. In Kellen's league, if you can't draft in person, you're out of the league. Because Kellen cares.
Sometimes, though, life gets in the way. Which is where Ted McGraw (@TedMcGraw44) and his league have you covered. They have a league constitution with contingency plans if one of the league members get arrested and end up incarcerated. Think about it, all leagues have "that guy" who's a danger to wake up one Sunday morning in a cell somewhere. In Ted's league, they have a plan to make sure that guy still sets his lineup. Because Ted cares.
Many of you know about auction drafts and have heard about how much fun they are. Make this the year you actually make the leap and try it. For those of you that already have one, you could borrow from Garrick Force (@Rickola00) and have any unspent auction money carry over into the season's free-agent budget.
One idea that seemed downright revolutionary to me came from Vincent Relio (@VRCambruzzi). His league has an "Empire Pot." You have to win the league in back-to-back years in order to claim the Empire Pot. If you win the title one year, you get half the entry fees, while the rest goes into the Empire Pot. No one has won it yet, and Vincent says it's well into the 5-figure range now.
During the season itself, why not reward teams with high point totals? How annoying is it to be the Jennifer Aniston of your league? You put up a ton of points, only to get beaten by the hottest team that particular week. That's why I'm a fan of playing for two wins every week. In a 12-team league, you get a win if you beat your opponent, and the top six point totals also get a win. Thus, every week you can go 2-0, 1-1 or 0-2. If you don't want to do that, you could just spice things up like James Grover (@JimmyBob_t1st) does in his league where the weekly high scorer gets to rename and re-logo the lowest-scoring team that week. The name sticks until the conclusion of the following week. Things can get weird but weird means fun.
Speaking of weird ...
<article class="ad-300" style="box-sizing: border-box; clear: both; overflow: hidden; position: relative; z-index: 1000026; margin: 0px 0px 0px 10px; float: right; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 16px;">
</article>Punishments obviously aren't limited to team names and logos. Matthew Berry touched on this in greater detail in his best-selling book "Fantasy Life," but the idea of punishing the last-place team in your league for its failure is a great way to spice things up and to make sure the team does not check out part-way through the season. Now, you don't have to go full tattoo mode like that famous league from Matthew's book, but what about making the last-place team in your league take the SATs or the ACT? Jacob Farmer's league takes it a step further, opting for more of a public humiliation. They bought him a hot pink, license plate frame that he says, "announces my last place finish to the world." They also got to pick his Twitter handle. You can find him at @TheRealSacko2015.
Now go spice things up.
Go be the leader your league needs.
Go save your league.
