Goal Line fantasy continues to grow, AFL leagues double from ‘06
Sean Chaffin
Thursday February 15, 2007
Sean Chaffin: What is your regular job and where are you from? What is your background?
Dave Boese: I am a software developer for a small Twin Cities-based consulting company, married and father of two. I grew up in Iowa and miss the Barnstormers terribly.
SC: How long have you been a fan of Arena Football?
DB: I have been a fan since the late ‘80s, when the Gladiators, Drive and Bruisers were "the" teams. I just happened upon it late one night on ESPN and got hooked. Only problem was, none of my friends were really that interested. Once the Internet came along, it was nice to see that there were so many people with a great passion for the game and league.
SC: When did you start your site and why?
DB: I started my site four years ago, and I started it for my personal league. I wanted to run an AFL fantasy league, but with no online hosting options available to customize my rules, I decided to create the site myself.
About mid-way thru that season, I realized that there had to be other commissioners running AFL leagues, and we were all gathering the same stats and duplicating our work. I thought it would be nice if there was one place this could be done, and stat collection duties could be shared.
The next season, I modified the site to allow for multiple leagues, and for two years data collection and entry was shared by the commissioners. No more duplicating work, and the site was able to handle the different scoring rules of the different leagues. It's really sort of a hobby now - sometimes it is the challenge of taking a user request and making it work. I also have a site set up to handle AF2 leagues, but only have one league currently, though this will be their fourth season.
SC: What are some changes added for 2007?
DB: A) In 2007, the big change is that commissioners will no longer be required to enter stats. A data entry team will be assembled specifically for this purpose. The goal for data entry is to have stats entered by noon the day following the game.
B) An attempt will be made to include free agent stats
C) Owners will have the ability to set a "tie-breaker" player
D) Commissioners will be able to over-ride a final score - so, for example, if there is a scoring category my site doesn't support, they can still manually change scores, or use this feature to break a tie
E) There will be an option available to have first-come, first-served free agent moves on a 24/7 basis.
F) Commissioners will be able to define positions for a player. If the default in the software is "WR", individual leagues will have the ability to set the player to "RB" if that is what the league desires.
G) Something that I'm excited about is a partnership with www.arenafootballonline.com - they will enter AFL player updates - injuries, fantasy advice, etc. into our database, and these will appear automatically on fantasy team pages. If you have Aaron Garcia on your roster and there is some news about him, you won't have to go elsewhere - it's right there on your team page!
SC: What sets your site apart from others? What are some key features?
DB: I don't know of many AFL league managers. I believe what may set my site apart from the others is the ability to define your own rules, lineups, fantasy schedule, etc. From what I have seen in the past, other league managers were not very flexible in these areas. The leagues at Goal Line are not run by me, but are actually run by the commissioners.
SC: I have noticed you have almost doubled the number of leagues you have this year. What do you expect for 2008? Do you plan on adding features each year? If so, what do you have in mind?
DB: I don't advertise really, but have had good word of mouth referrals. I had no idea what to expect this year, but I only have one league that is not returning from 2006. I was surprised that I added as many new leagues as I did, but I think that means that the league is catching on, and I think fantasy football is a big part of that. Similar to the NFL, the casual fan may watch a game, or at the very least, pay attention to box scores if he/she knows they have a player playing in a certain game.
I do plan on adding features every year, but usually take direction from the users. If something is not working or can be done better, if a user lets me know, I will try to get to it. I obviously don't have the time/money of the big online league managers, so there are some things I just can't do. But I listen to every request.
Sean Chaffin is a graduate of Texas A&M University and an AFL, NFL, and fantasy football fan living in Rockwall, Texas. He owned The Rockwall Express newspaper for five years and worked for several other newspapers in the Dallas area. He is now an English as a Second Language teacher in the Dallas area.
