July 21/28, 2014; Volume 28; Number 3
By Steven Feldman
September is just around the corner. You know what that means…the unofficial start of the fall selling season. Equally important to many is the start of that sacred time of the year commonly known as football season.
Throughout the last 10 years, one of the most popular hobbies among U.S. citizens has been fantasy football. According to the Fantasy Sports Trade Association, the number of participants in fantasy leagues rose to a record 33.5 million Americans in 2012, or roughly 10% of the U.S. population; fantasy football players account for 90% of that number. Twenty percent of fantasy sports players are women. Participants spend roughly $1.6 billion on products and services in the fantasy sports space, and that does not include entry fees.
And with that, FCNews is getting in on the action with the launch of its inaugural fantasy football league. I know what many of you are saying: “What place does this have in a floor covering trade magazine?”
To that I say, “Lighten up.” Here’s the deal. No. 1, we are all people, and people need to have some fun in their lives. No. 2, so many of you are playing fantasy football anyway. And No. 3, the FCNews league is going to be different than any other league in that it will benefit more than the winning team owner.
Here’s why: Those who enter will not only be playing for personal profit, but also for charity. If you are interested in entering, you will be playing for the cause of your choosing. And, we will be covering our league both in the print publication and online. We will include your team name, company and the charity for which you will be playing. At the end of the season (actually Week 16), the winner will split 67% of the pool with his or her named charity and the runner-up will split the remaining 33% with his or her respective charity.
Now here is where this gets interesting. Before the NFL’s first week of games, we will publish the 12 team names and the charity for which they will be playing. We may even post the rosters online. At that point we will invite FCNews readers to get behind either the team they believe is best or the team that represents the charity that most resonates with them. And by “get behind” I mean pledge a certain amount to that charity should it finish in the top two. Of course, you can certainly contribute to that charity no matter the outcome. For the record, FCNews will be playing for the Floor Covering Industry Foundation.
We will not be monitoring whether people make good on the pledges; we subscribe to the honor system. However, we do ask that you make us aware of any pledges so we can keep a tally as to the amount a charity will benefit by virtue of a victory by its supporting team.
So you are interested in participating. Here’s what you need to know: There will be an online draft on a date and time to be determined, most likely the first week in September, maybe the last week in August. If you are unavailable the night of the draft, there is a feature called auto draft where the computer makes selections for you based on pre-determined rankings. You will have the ability to make moves throughout the year. Should more than 12 people express interest, there can be multiple leagues. But please contact us quickly if you have interest in participating. There are a limited number of available spots.
For more details, please email me at steve@fcnews.net.