ArenaFan caters to fans with fantasy games
Sean Chaffin
Sunday February 18, 2007
Deluxe games allows league play, makes use of historic AFL names and logos
When it comes to arena fantasy football, ArenaFan.com was one of the first to get involved, debuting their initial game in 2000. Technical Director and Assistant Statistical Editor Dave Carlson is the main man behind ArenaFan.com’s two fantasy games and recently answered some questions about the site’s fantasy football offering and the fantasy aspects of the AFL as a whole.
Sean Chaffin: What kinds of fantasy football games can a player experience from ArenaFan.com?
Dave Carlson: ArenaFan offers two games: Our free game is called "Quickplay", and it doesn't involve any drafting or other complication. To make it a little challenging (and so half the people don't just pick the same 8 players each week), we set a few boundaries: 1) you have to start a lineup of 8 players, with at least a QB, K, FB, and 3 WRs. The other two players are open to any player you want. The other stipulation is you must start two players from each division. That is all people have to do each week.
The paid game is called our "Arena Fan-tasy Football Deluxe". It costs $6.99, or you can get a year of ArenaFan Gold Membership access and a fantasy team for $19.99 (saves you $2 off both separately). You can also use points earned through our AFPoints program to purchase a team (2,000 points).
With the Deluxe version, you join a league with seven other players, and play in two divisions. We have all the players choose a defunct AFL or af2 team to use as their team name and logo (in honor of the league’s history, and it seems a bit more 'real' playing "Chicago Bruisers vs. Sacramento Attack" rather than some silly names people come up with). Each team sets up a draft list and we run the league drafts automatically against those lists. Then, each week you play "league style" versus another team each week. The two division winners and two wild cards make the playoffs.
SC: Are there any changes this year?
DC: With the AFL still being at 19 teams and having bye weeks, we have decided not to expand the fantasy league sizes to more than 8 this year, but, if and when the league grows to 20 or more and doesn't use bye weeks, we would be looking at expanding the league sizes to 10 or 12 teams. With only 19 teams and bye weeks, we didn't feel like it was fair to have teams stuck with only 1 starting QB or K just because of the fantasy league size versus the real number of AFL teams.
SC: What sets your version of fantasy football apart?
DC: For both games, we offer prizes, which can be found on the prizes page on ArenaFan linked off of the main fantasy page. It says 2006 still, but the prizes I don't believe will change. They are all in AFPoints, which are redeemable for various prizes. For example, each league champ gets 10,000 points, which could be redeemable for a $25 gift certificate at a participating online store and a year of ArenaFan gold membership).
SC: What are your thoughts on the prospect that fantasy football could get more people involved and passionate about the AFL?
DC: I think that a lot of things can help Arena Football grow in popularity. I am one of the old-school though, who thought that one of the keys was making Arena Football a distinct "sport" from "NFL" football, so, I am still sore from the apparent attempt to take away the "Ironman" aspect of the sport (and obviously the league as well). But, fantasy I think helps any sport get more ongoing interest, especially from fans who usually wouldn't watch or look for scores from other teams.
