You've just bought your team Ok, now what? You've just taken your first look at the frontpage of the game and you don't know what to do. Well, you've come to the right place. The first thing to do is to read the Rules and FFL '98 Introduction. While it may be possible to muddle your way through without reading them, you're bound to miss something crucial to getting your team ready for the season. So, before firing off an e-mail to the Commish's Office, give them a close look.
So, you've read the Rules Now we're talking. Having read about choosing a draft method, joining a group, ranking your players, preparing your team for the draft, and everything else, it's a bit silly repeating them all, but let's go over the whole procedure anyways.
Log in On the frontpage of the game you'll see a place to enter and submit your username and password. Once you've done that, click on your team's name to go to your preseason team setup page. If you forgot your password, it can be looked up at ESPN's Subscriber Services.
Team Setup page Once you've come to your preseason team setup page, you're in business. On this page there are links to several vital Fantasy Football start-up procedures:
Team Logo - design your own Fantasy Football helmet. The flowers are nice.
Mailing Address - enter all the applicable information in case you win your League Championship or a Weekly Prize.
Activity Level - are you a rookie, veteran, or all-pro? You choose.
Group Directory - the place to join or create a group. Keep in mind that "groups" become "leagues" after the draft is processed. Each group has its own activity level, draft method, draft date, and access. Click on the group name to view the group, and then the "Join This Group" button to place yourself in the group (private groups require a password). New this season are Winners Groups, which only League Winners from Fantasy Football '97 are allowed to enter.
Edit Your Personal Profile - everyone who plays FFL '98 gets a personal profile which allows other owners to learn about them. It's like your own web page which you are free to edit yourself.
Edit Draft List (Available August 4th) - using either HTML or Java, rank all of the players to your preferences. Do your homework, as this is the single most important part of building a successful team. Only the listed players are available for ranking -- rookies and/or players who deserve player pool consideration, will be added throughout the season. The default rankings are based on a combination of each players 1997 statistics and their projected 1998 performance.
The Draft The draft days for the regular season game begins on August 18th (Live Drafts)/August 19th (List Drafts) and run intermittently up to the kickoff of the regular season on September 6th. Team owners have until midnight Pacific Time on the day before their draft to alter their player rankings. Drafts are run throughout the day listed and team owners will be notified via e-mail when the draft is complete.
The Regular Season Now that your group has become a league and your rosters are filled, you're ready to mold the team to your own specifications. Regardless of the draft method used, each team drafts 16 players onto their team: 8 active and 8 bench players. Players can be added or dropped from your roster through the use of waivers, free agency, or trades:
Waivers - simply a holding tank for players that are new to a league's player pool. Every player on waivers has a date stamp next to the name listing the day that player becomes a free agent. You can make a "pending claim" for the player, or wait until he becomes a free agent, the choice is yours. If you do make a pending claim for a player and receive him, remember that your waiver position is moved down to 10. See the Waivers Helper for more information. Free Agency - an area for all players who are not on a fantasy team in your league and have cleared waivers. These players can be picked up on a first-come, first-served basis without affecting a team's waiver position. See the Transactions page in the rules for all the details. Trading - teams in the same league are free to trade at will. If a trade is discovered that appears to be collusive or one-sided to the point that it cannot benefit one of the parties involved, league members may protest the trade and send it on to the League Office for review.
Free Agency - an area for all players who are not on a fantasy team in your league and have cleared waivers. These players can be picked up on a first-come, first-served basis without affecting a team's waiver position. See the Transactions page in the rules for all the details.
Trading - teams in the same league are free to trade at will. If a trade is discovered that appears to be collusive or one-sided to the point that it cannot benefit one of the parties involved, league members may protest the trade and send it on to the League Office for review.
FFL '98 head-to-head play begins with the kickoff of the NFL's regular season on Sunday, September 6. Your team's schedule is linked off your team's Clubhouse page.
Good luck and we'll see you on the Gridiron!
