It’s a Wednesday night. You have a sink full of dirty dishes. You know that you should wash them. A part of you may even want to. But you continue to ignore them as if they were a piece of advice given to you by Matthew Berry. You know that in doing so you’ll be drawing the ire of your wife and starting down a path that winds up with you attending six months of marriage counseling before ultimately getting a divorce that leaves you bankrupt but you don’t care. Mr. Clean and your soon to be ex-wife can wait for your arch rival nemesis just stole your 11th round sleeper and all hell is about to break loose. Names will be called. Expletives will be uttered. It will get real personal real fast. You’ll both wind up saying things that you’ll later regret and neither of you will have any credibility left by the end of the night. And you’re okay with that.
If that scene sounds familiar to you then you are one of the millions of people who participate in fantasy football leagues. What started out as a hobby for some is now a multi-billion dollar industry that has spawned a plethora of websites, blogs, publications, and even a highly regarded TV show, FX’s The League. It is even for some pundits a full time job or for obsessive types like yours truly a part-time job. With its still growing popularity it would seem as though there are still plenty of money making opportunities out there for a fantasy minded entrepreneur. But in what capacity? The big time players like ESPN, CBS Sportsline, and Yahoo already have the market cornered when it comes to hosting leagues. The publication market is already over saturated with dozens of rags touting the latest rankings. What’s left for the little guy?
Well, after giving it some thought I think that there are two paths one could take. The first one involves becoming a traveling salesmen of sorts. But instead of traversing the country peddling bibles you’d be selling your advice. I know that this claim may illicit gasps from those reading this but I think that this idea has merit. So much so that I think that I, or any like minded individual, could headline an act in Las Vegas or sell out arenas around the World with a well thought out, well choreographed presentation. There would be a humorous component with an opening monologue, skits, and of course a team name generating segment that figures to be a big hit. There would then be an informative slide slow presentation covering an assortment of hot topics ranging from identifying breakout players to revealing the latest industry trends. To cap off the program there would be a question and answer session that is the hallmark of any fantasy football related talk show or podcast. If you are a big time fantasy player or just a sports fan in general how could you not find a one time event like this entertaining? From corporate offices to college campuses to little houses on the prairie this highly entertaining show would be a hit anywhere it goes. It’ll be as if we took a Kevin Hart stand up special, a Ted Talk, the Upright Citizens Brigade, Taco from the League, and Mel Kiper Jr. and mixed them all together. It would be a fantasy player’s wet dream. A one man show for The Show. And if people are willing to pay money to listen to lectures or to hear amateurs tell jokes at open mic nights then how could they not line up to pay money for something entertaining AND informative that could also help them win fat stacks?
But if that still doesn’t tickle your fancy then there is another path we could take. One that has been laid out before us by our geeky ancestors: comic book nerds. After all, if ComicCon can morph into a huge must see event then why can’t a gathering of fantasy players? Dubbed FantasyFest all of the major publications and pundits would be on hand to hawk their wares while networking with industry insiders. Former players would be there as well to sign autographs and meet fans. There would be panel discussions, Q&A sessions, live mock draft rooms, a job fair, and even a speed dating event! Anything and everything relating to sports, fantasy sports, and sport video games would be in play. And it would be epic.
Either way I think we are looking at two ideas that could work. Fantasy sports aren’t going away anytime soon and the industry is in fact only getting larger. There is money to be made here and real career paths to be carved out. All that we need to do at this point is (Christian) Ponder our options and figure out the best way to proceed. Until then I have work to do. My first PPR draft is on Monday, I have the 12th pick, and I have no clue who I want to take. Any suggestions?
A scene like this looks familiar to, well, almost everyone at this point.
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