League Membership

Regarding owners, it really doesn’t matter how well designed your league rules are if you don’t have good owners.  As a commish, I not only spend a good amount of time finding owners, but cultivating their participation.  I often lament not being able to spend more time doing such, but my two young kids come first.  As they are becoming older and more independent, I’m looking forward to developing my leagues further. 

A league needs owners to be active participants.  Being diligent in paying league dues, making roster moves, making punctual draft picks, and setting lineups is the bare minimum of a good owner.  The better ones communicate.  Encourage that by setting up a primary method of communicating, asking for opinions, making comments on not just league issues but NFL issues, and even engaging in a bit of trash talk.  I accept the fact that as Commish, I will put in at least as much time and effort into league communications as the rest of the league combined.  And if I ever get discouraged at the lack of participation, I remind myself that as Commish the success of the league starts with me. 

When an owner starts their own trash talking, I immediately try to join in.  This is to build on what has already begun, but also to show an example of how trash talking should be good natured ribbing.  It will quickly become apparent which owners take things too personally, and need to be assuaged behind the scenes, and which need to be policed regarding their choice of language.  But overall, trash talking is a net positive, even if it requires more work by the Commish.

I also write up weekly game summaries Monday morning in my TUFFSCCL league, showing what each team needs in the Monday night game to win, or what the win/loss, or player injury or breakout, means to their team.  Sometimes these reports don’t get a lot of feedback, but whenever I’m late in publishing it the complaints come rolling in.  So I know they are part of what makes my league stand out.  I also try to get other owners to write up a draft review with grading each team, and a season preview come August to ramp up interest.