FanSection Blog

There are some professional sports leagues that get it and some that don’t.  Put the NFL solidly in the “don’t get it” category.  Earlier this summer the league told players that they could not tweet during team functions.  Now the policy has been updated to ban all Facebook and Twitter use on game days.  But wait, that’s not all.  The new policy also extends to anyone “representing” a player or coach, and now even includes members of the media attending the game.  While not quite as absurd as SEC banning the use of social media by fans attending games, this policy is very close.

So the big question here is what is the NFL afraid of?  Users getting play by play via Twitter?  Users getting some insight behind the NFL’s iron curtain?  Players actually being personable and not just a face behind a helmet? My guess is the first one is the most frightening as any replacement of TV and radio could cost the NFL and it’s partners some significant advertising dollars.  But as evidenced by the futile attempt of the music and TV industries to delay the impact of technology on their respective businesses, the NFL’s best course of action is to figure out how to work with social media rather than ban it.  The NHL has done a decent job with that already and has shown the willingness to continue to embrace social media going forward.  I realize the NFL has significantly more at stake here since it’s revenues and power dwarf that of the NHL, but that means it can take more of a leadership role in ushering in new business models.  I think eventually they’ll get there…kicking and screaming maybe (see music industry reference)…but they’ll get there.

Several weeks ago, we announced the launch of our first ever fantasy football application - FanSection Fantasy Football 2009.  Since then, we’ve seen fantastic growth with over 300K installed users and a subscriber base that is growing every day as the season approaches.  And today we’re excited to launch our second installation of fantasy football - the $20K Football Challenge.

The $20K Football Challenge is a salary cap style game that allows users to play in a variety of fantasy football pools by purchasing virtual currency via our partnerships with TrialPay and Peanut Labs.  At the same time, the game is unique because it also allows those same users to win real cash prizes in certain pools.  The lead game is a tournament that gives user the opportunity to walk away with $20,000.

The game is definitely one of a kind on Facebook as there are no other virtual currency fantasy football games on the platform.  And the tournament is a completely new take on the standard salary cap pool with users duking it out in 32 individual 200 person pools with the winner advancing to bracket play against other pool winners.  Each pool is named after an NFL team, so football fans get the added benefit of representing their favorite team in the FanSection Bowl bracket.

Eagles fans have spoken, well at least 3000 of them have, and 58% are not thrilled by the recent signing of embattled QB and ex-con, Michael Vick. This is a bit of a surprise to me considering Eagles fans are some of the most passionate, loyal, and die-hard fans in the NFL.  They’re also some of the toughest to please so maybe that’s what we’re seeing in this instance.  Whatever the case, it’s obvious that Vick has only completed one step of a very long reputation recovery process.

I know we all hate those analogy questions that probably brought our overall SAT score down a notch or two, but here is a good one – I promise.

Green is to St. Patrick’s Day as your school colors are to: ____?

Correct Answer: College Colors Day!

The Collegiate Licensing Company, or CLC, is running a promotion called “College Colors Day 2009″ on September 4, which they want to transform into the next big holiday. The goal of College Colors Day is to get current students and alumni to wear and promote their college colors/logos. In order to help make this day more successful, FanSection is working with the licensing company to create fan photo contests for 45 college football or basketball teams. Though winners from each participating team will win an online Champs Sports coupon (Champs is involved because they will be providing some of the funding for College Colors Day and running promotions in their retail stores), all entries will be combined, and the top three overall winners will also receive a Champs Gift Card in the amounts of $250, $150, and $100, respectively.

After only 24 hours, we received well over 400 submissions. Now, we’re up to nearly 1,100 submissions, and that number is constantly growing!

We know you’ve been sitting at the edge of your seat in eager anticipation, and we’re not going to hold out on you any longer. Cue drumroll, please…

Watercooler, Inc. is pleased to announce the launch of FanSection Fantasy Football 2009!  Sponsored by Coors Light, this league-based head-to-head commissioner-style game will bring a new social aspect to the 30 million Facebook users that play social games monthly.  And, unlike other fantasy sports offerings, FanSection will open up the game to a user’s entire social graph by giving players the opportunity to invite their friends to play or simply participate as a spectator, as well as talk smack to one another and contribute to communal polls and trivia.

“We’ve spent the past few years building up a strong user base that speaks to what fans want to see as part of their social experience with sports,” said Bryan Bennett, VP of marketing and GM of fantasy sports for Watercooler. “Now that we’ve established that relationship with fans, we feel we’re well-equipped with the feedback and backend tools to provide them with the best fantasy football game play possible.”

While fans can sign up for and create a league within this application without charge, they can also choose to upgrade to premium features, including live scoring and custom reports.  Other complimentary features include breaking team and player news, video content and a draft kit, all from partner CBSSports.com.

Check it out now at: http://apps.facebook.com/fansectiongames/commish/nfl/