History of Fantasy Sports

A baseball fan called Daniel Okrent from New York is recognized as creating the first fantasy sports league.

At the beginning of the baseball season, Daniel, with a few friends who followed baseball very closely, organized a league where they each took on the role of a team owner. Having picked their players, they calculated a winner based on real player statistics during the season.

The group of friends met in a New York restaurant called La Rotisserie Francaise and they named their league after the restaurant - The Rotisserie Baseball League. Many American leagues today are called rotisserie leagues

Basic Advice

If you were to ask 50 different people their philosophy on how to be successful in fantasy sports, you would most likely get 50 different responses.  That's why a majority of our advice, tips, and techniques come from facts and history.  We believe that hunches and instincts can only take you so far, but proven numbers and history will take you a lot further and make you more consistent.  There is definitely a time and place for 'gut feelings', but the real challenge is knowing when to utilize those feelings. 

Our Advice: Wait for the mid to late rounds of your draft to take players that you have your hunch on.

Draft Techniques

The Draft is the key to your season.  There is no other aspect of fantasy sports that will impact your season like the draft will.  Can you have a suspect draft and still have a successful season?  Sure it's possible through trades, free agents, and a player or two coming out of nowhere, but it's unlikely.  The key to fantasy drafting is basically 'going by the books' for the first 6-8 rounds (basically, your starting lineup).  Taking risks on players is advised after your starting lineup has been filled.  In a perfect world, taking a player on a hunch would be advised only the last 2-4 rounds.  Too many people draft with their heart and not with their head and that usually produces unsatisfactory results.  The key to drafting is taking the best player available.  What is the point of taking a 3rd tier running back when the #2 wide receiver is out there?  Now, with that said, if you have already drafted 2 or 3 WR's, then you might want to go a different direction.  Stay away from positions early in the draft that at the end of the year will result in about the same scoring.  In most leagues these positions are Kicker, Defenses, and sometimes Tight Ends.  The draft is all about VALUE.  If you take a player a round too early, you are not getting good value for that pick.  Another key to the draft is preparation.  At the very least, a day or two before your draft take a look at or print out an Average Draft Sheet (which we will provide you, if you sign up) and see where players are being taken.  Also, go to the draft prepared.  Do not be the person making what we like to call the "Cannonball" picks, players that have already been taken.  Take with you your draft list which, by the way, must have enough players.  If your draft has 15 rounds and 10 managers, you must have a player list of at least 150 players.  A blank sheet will help you keep track of the players drafted and a roster sheet for you to write down who you have taken.

ProFSA.com will provide you with everything you need to go to your draft organized and prepared.

Our Advice: Do not ever go to the draft with a Fantasy Magazine that you bought from the store.  That spells doom from the get go.  While they can be useful, magazines are almost always printed 2-6 months before the season even starts.  Not only are they printed months in advance, none of them are tailored to your league.  They supply basic info that is appealing to all managers.

Roster Advice

Roster management  is a major factor in staying competitive in your league.  The key in managing your roster is utilizing your bench spots.  A major mistake a lot of managers make is carrying 3 players at a position which they can only use 1 starter at, namely Kicker, Defense, and sometimes Tight Ends.  It is pointless to carry 3 Kickers/Defenses when you only need two, one for the bye week.  That one extra roster spot opens up a QB, RB, or WR spot which might come in handy.  QB/RB/WR's are all injury prone positions, so it is nice to have that extra depth there and that one extra player could make all of the difference in the world. In most cases, your starters are players that you drafted in the first 10 rounds and are typically players that you would start on a weekly basis.  That is why it is so important to correctly manage your bench positions.

ProFSA.com will supply you with constant tips and advice to maximize your roster.

Our Advice: Constantly scan the waivers in your league.  Every year there are a few players that you can pick up that will make a huge impact on your team.  That pickup could take you from third to first place.

Trade Advice

Trades are a crucial part of fantasy sports and quality trades that benefit your team can take some perseverance.  The number one goal in trading is to better your team and strengthen your weaknesses.  A good trade is a trade that always results in you not giving up too much to fill the holes on your team.  What most people don't realize is that they give up too much.  Trading is like a sales position, you never want to give up too much right away, always negotiate first.  Start out with a decent offer and go from there.  If the other team accepts it, great.  If not, then hopefully they will counter with something and now you have a negotiation.  Be persistent and don't give in.  If a deal doesn't get done, then so be it and move on.

ProFSA.com will assist you in any trade that you are offered or by recommending trades and players that you should target. 

Our Advice:  Make sure that before you pull the trigger on a trade that you are not creating a new weakness on your team.  If you trade to fill one position and you are weakening another position, then your trade might be pointless.

Who To Start/Bench

Probably the hardest aspect of fantasy sports is knowing who to start/bench.  With Fantasy Football you're constantly changing your lineup on a weekly basis.  With injuries and bye weeks, it is crucial to make the correct start and maximize your points for that week.  In a perfect world, the longer you can keep the same starting lineup continuously, the better you are probably doing.  If you can keep the same players in from week to week, that most likely means that you are avoiding injuries and those players are doing a good job.  It is definitely tough making the call on your own and we are constantly getting questions on who to start. 

ProFSA.com will assist you in the grind of who to start/bench.  We'll look at facts and history to determine your best play and give you a reason why to start that player.

Our Advice: If healthy, always start your studs.  One of the most common mistakes we see are managers outthinking themselves and not playing one of their top players because of a tough matchup.  It sounds like common sense, but it happens more than you think.

Miscellaneous...

There are many more aspects to fantasy sports than what we covered above.  There is IDP (Individual Defensive Players), Keeper Leagues, and Sleepers/Busts, just to name a few.  ProFSA.com will provide advice for any league and all scoring types.  Anyone and everyone could use advice with their team.  Sign up today to get the inside information and tips you need to dominate your league.