Fantasy Football Contest
Fallacy Sports: A New Genre of Fantasy Sports
Author: Steve Jones
The Fantasy Sports Phenomenon
Fantasy sports are fast becoming a popular topic in the media today. Popular fantasy sports web sites like Yahoo! Fantasy Sports, CBS Fantasy Football, ESPN Fantasy Football and FOX Fantasy Football have all been created by internationally recognized media names and new ideas are being developed throughout the year by small and medium sized fantasy entrepreneurs as well.
In a March 2009 article titled “Best Startup Markets for 2009” by Karen E. Spaeder, a writer for Entrepreneur.com, Spaeder reports, “The Fantasy Sports Trade Association estimates that upwards of 20 million (primarily male) North Americans participate in fantasy sports leagues, with a market size of more than .5 billion, including sponsorships, endorsements, contest management and advertising.” As more people flock to fantasy sports the need for continued innovation and new ideas increases. There are a few fantasy sports experts making an effort to offer fantasy diehards new challenges and more niche oriented products.
Innovation and Imagination
Over the last few years a number of unique, fantasy sports web sites and online tools have been developed including fantasy football web sites, baseball web sites, racing web sites, draft tools, cheat sheets and more. One new, imaginative take on fantasy football comes from Jason McCoy of Asheville, North Carolina, the creator of a points-based, loser league style fantasy football contest on Stinkball.com. McCoy calls this genre of fantasy football “fallacy sports.”
McCoy attended the 2009 FSTA (Fantasy Sports Trade Association) Summer Conference and shared his new idea with FSTA members and experts. He received a welcoming response. According to Andy Behrens of Yahoo! Sports the fallacy sports concept behind Stinkball.com is “fabulous”*. Scott Swanay of FantasyFootballSherpa.com states on a Stinkball.com video, “I like it a lot. I think it is a unique take on things. It’s fun to think, okay, who would be on my Stinkball team?”* So, what is "fallacy sports" and what inspired Jason McCoy to take this seemingly backwards approach to fantasy football contests?
What is “Fallacy Sports”? An Interview with Stinkball.com Creator Jason McCoy
According to the online version of the Encarta World English Dictionary the word fallacy means:
“1. Something that is believed to be truth but is erroneous.
2. An argument or reasoning in which the conclusion does not follow from the premises.
3. The condition of being misleading or deceptive.
4. A mistake made in a line of reasoning that invalidates it.”*
McCoy called his web site Stinkball.com “Fallacy Sports” because members have to do their best to predict the NFL’s worst performances. The contests are points based so there is no draft. Members choose from a pool of all NFL players and follow specific rules regarding the times when individual players are available for inclusion in a team lineup.
“Essentially, I see fallacy sports like Stinkball.com as fantasy sports turned on its head,” states creator Jason McCoy, “It challenges experienced fantasy players to expand their thinking and make predictions based on an entirely new set of stats not often considered in traditional fantasy football.” “ My vision is to use the concept of fallacy sports to carve out a new direction in the fantasy sports industry,” continues McCoy, “Why only focus on the best players? In sports, like in life, nothing is perfect. We must consider ALL aspects of the team if we intend to play the game to win. Why not have fun while you are doing it?”
The Future of Fantasy Sports
As the fantasy sports industry continues to grow many experts predict fantasy players will see more niche marketed products and services, as well as new sports added each year. Whether it is fallacy sports or new drafting tools, you can expect there to be new, exciting ideas on the horizon each season. If you want to expand and enhance your fantasy experience be sure and stay up to date on the latest developments.
*Sources
1. Encarta® World English Dictionary © 1999 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved. Developed for Microsoft by Bloomsbury Publishing Plc.
2. Stinkball.com Fantasy Football Video www.stinkball.com
Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/football-articles/fallacy-sports-a-new-genre-of-fantasy-sports-1245942.html
About the Author
Steve Jones is a diehard sports enthusiast and has been his entire life. Football, basketball, baseball-he loves it all. Naturally, he also loves fantasy sports and is currently writes for the fantasy football web site http://www.Stinkball.com.
November 30, -0001
12:00 am
I’m right there with you. I can’t wait for this season to start.
There are a million games out there. Almost every small FF site has one with prizes (even my little crappy site has one http://www.rotopicks.com), but there are a few major sites that are AWESOME!
RotoHog is a free (or pay) site that offers a rotisserie-style stock market game. You can get into the contest for free and the top prize was $25,000 last year and $100,000 two years ago. They also have a ton of other leagues that you can enter your team in and win shirts, autographs, etc. You can also choose to pay for their service and you’ll get stats and better league prizes. This is the best, most addictive, game I have ever played and I will definitely be starting a league there again this year.
NFL.com also has games under their Fantasy section. Prizes are usually tickets to the Pro Bowl and stuff like that. The prizes are great, but there are so many people playing these games that you probably have a better chance of getting struck by lightning 30 times in a row than winning.
If you’re looking for a high-stakes league, there is also a site called Fantasy Football Players Championship that has pay leagues. They have league options from $150 to a few thousand $$ per entry. They also have a few different styles of leagues (standard, survivor, draft-master). Looks like a pretty good site. I’m thinking about getting into a league if I can find some cash or someone to split the entry with.
Good luck (unless I’m competing against you in one of these leagues).
November 30, -0001
12:00 am
I have seen a few offers in various forum threads, but the only site dedicated to defensive players that I have found is DefenseWins.com. It is a total points league.
Individual Defensive Player Scoring Table:
A Solo Tackle = 1 point
Assisted Tackle = 0.5 points
Sack The QB = 4 points
Interception = 6 points
Forced Fumble = 3 points
Fumble Recovery = 3 points
Touchdown = 7 points
Safety = 10 points
Pass Defensed = 2 points
Blocked Kick (punt/PAT/extra point) = 6 points
November 30, -0001
12:00 am
I use fantasyfootballbrothers.com
I have submitted numerous pressing questions and have got prompt response emails that have helped me win my league. Here is their plug:
“Welcome to Fantasy Football Brothers. Our goal is to answer all of your fantasy related questions quickly. Whether it is a lineup, waiver, trade, injury, or drafting question we will answer all questions or comments. We cover everything because we know you don’t have the time to. If you want to win your league set up shop with us. Don’t forget we are FREE!”
Hope you have the same luck with them that I did.
November 30, -0001
12:00 am
nope they do not make those leagues
November 30, -0001
12:00 am
I can relate to that. Went through my first couple of seasons paying more attention to tracking what my players were doing than sitting back and enjoying the games that were televised.
My solution was this: Tuesday through Saturday I would check out my players, make my trades, use the waiver wire, etc. Set my team Saturday, and forget about it until after the Monday night game. Then I would get on the computer and check how I did. I enjoyed the games on Sunday/Monday and I still had a basic idea of how I was doing in the Fantasy world. I never try to draft any Raiders players (that is my team – not that there are a lot worth taking the past few seasons), but that also keeps me from getting wrapped around what to want to see happen in a game.
Fantasy football is a great way to expand your knowledge of the game. It is fun, and competitive. You will figure out how to control the Fantasy, Fan world.
September 26, 2007
12:51 pm
My first fantasy football season, and I’m having a great time with it, but. . .?
does it tamper with the appreciation of the game? I clicked on the MNF game and found a great contest (at the time) between the Saints and Titans, but almost changed the channel when I found out my running back was injured. I caught myself, though–couldn’t let myself do it. “If you weren’t involved in fantasy football,” I told myself, “you’d be glued to the set. Don’t let your fantasy misfortune make you less of a football fan!”
I didn’t just notice it in that game, it’s actually been true for the whole season. I’m caring less about teams and much more about individual players. For the state that I live in, it would have been great to see the Cardinals get a game-winning touchdown against the Ravens. As an Arizona sports fan, I would have loved that. But as a fantasy football owner, it would have seriously hurt my team since I have the Ravens’ defense. As it is, I only won last week by a few points. So to tell the truth, I’m actually GLAD they lost! What is this?!!
January 13, 2009
11:46 am
does anyone play fantasy football. what about Fantasy baseball? does anyone have leagues that are monthly rath?
I participated in contests but they were too long. I prefer a 1 month contest?
Any opinions?
June 10, 2009
8:03 pm
What site has good fantasy football contests?
looking for a site with free or pay to play fantasy football contest of different variety.
June 10, 2009
8:30 pm
Do you need a free site to answer your fantasy football questions?
come to the fbz.com, we are a combined sportsbook forum, poker site, and sports contest forum. We will gladly answer your fantasy footballquestions and we will also have free contests to win free money.
August 26, 2009
6:24 pm
Does anybody offer an IDP only (individual defensive player) fantasy football league either pay/free?
i want to know if anybody has a defensive only nfl fantasy football contest for me to maybe join.