We recently interviewed Jacob Sloan from Fantasy Football Fools, a blog dedicated to fantasy football news, analysis, and commentary. He is also a member of the FSM community, going by the handle ‘fantasyfool‘ on FSM. He graciously took time out to speak with us about his love of sports and fantasy football, how he uses FSM, and advice for aspiring sports bloggers.
How did your love of sports develop?
My love of sports stems from a mixture of childhood admiration, jealousy, a competitive thirst and a bitter hatred of fantasy busts. While I have followed sports from the Dallas area all my life, I really didn’t follow pro or college sports religiously until I began playing fantasy sports. Now I keep up with the football news daily, driven by my desire to feel whole again and a need to know more than the next guy when I hit the waiver wire. It’s a hard life, but I am willing to make sacrifices for the good of mankind.
What sports/teams/players do you follow most closely?
All football news keeps me up at night, but I am a fan of Dallas sports teams (Cowboys, Mavericks and Stars) and the University of Texas Longhorns. I know my roots. I also follow the Tennessee Titans because it’s become a popular landing spot for former Longhorns. Other than those constants, there may be a handful of teams that I am watching closely for various underhanded and crafty reasons.
I don’t have strong allegiances to too many individual players since it’s hard to pick favorites when you break down fantasy stats week after week, but Ryan Grant, Joseph Addai, Vince Young and Jay Cutler are some of my favorite players to watch right now. I follow my sleeper teams and players closely too, but you’ll have to stay tuned to my column if you want to catch that info.
How did you start out blogging? Tell us about your blog/site Fantasy Football Fools (when it started, etc).
I’ve been blogging since 2004. My first blog was just something I toyed with throughout school on multimedia journalism and videogame/tech news. I launched Fantasy Football Fools in October of 2007 because I can talk about fantasy football all day, everyday and wanted to share my analysis with more than just my buddies.
Besides my own articles, I currently have a small group of contributors writing for the site, but we are expanding our coverage and offerings as we move forward. I enjoy writing for the site more than many of my other projects — mostly because I like putting a twist on football news and always being right…or at least semi-right.
Which fantasy sports do you play? Any strategies you’d care to share with our readers?
I guess I probably can’t hide that I play fantasy football. I’ve dabbled in others like fantasy basketball, but they just don’t give me that same satisfaction. Fantasy football has a certain purity that I enjoy each week, so it has become my focus.
As far as strategies go, I’ll give you my basic waiver wire methods. In drafting and dropping, I take a lot of risks. I don’t worry too much about taking back ups and handcuffing as much as I do snagging players that I feel will make a mark. I am willing to let the rest of my leagues take old favorites if I feel like a new guys deserve more attention. This year should be interesting since QBs and WRs will definitely shift up the draft rankings outside of expert leagues.
Once the season starts, I have no mercy. I’m pretty brutal about dropping players that don’t perform. If you can’t help me week 1, and you fail to show your worth week 2, you’re out the door. I like to have some room on my roster to snag players week-to-week.
If you want more tips than that, you’ll have to follow what I give away on Fantasy Football Fools.
How did you discover FSM?
I heard about the site online through the fantasy sites I follow and checked it out. I liked what I saw, so I signed up and sent the info out to a few of my friends. I’ve been impressed in the quality of the posts at FSM and the maturity of the community. Most people don’t even argue with me, but seriously, I enjoy the chatter on the forums and in the comments on the latest news.
What do you like most about FSM? What are things you’d like to see on the site?
I really like the video and link posting features. I wish the comments would allow for more rich text input and that more comments were highlighted on the homepage. My favorite part of the site is the commentary from fans and blog posts from others, so I’d like to see more of that.
How has FSM helped you as a blogger?
Outside of writing my articles for Fantasy Football Fools, FSM has given me a place to berate and comment on the latest fantasy football news. I think half of fantasy football analysis comes from discussing developments with other experts and enthusiasts. By being a member of FSM, I stay aware of what on the mind of the fantasy football fans, and I like that interaction. It keeps me on top of my game.
What advice would you give someone who wants to become a blogger, whether it be sports and/or fantasy-related?
Many people jump into blogging expecting to develop a following right away and without a clear idea of how they are going to market the site. I hate seeing people going into it just to make money and thinking it happens overnight. You need a real passion for whatever you blog about.
My advice would be to try out your writing by starting a blog on a site like FSM and developing your voice. Once you have an idea what you can offer beyond what is already out there, just start writing and your community will come with time. Don’t get caught up in all the big blogging hype and worry about the details. Find an original voice to call your own and write.
As a blogger, what are your proudest achievements? What are some of your future goals as someone who blogs about fantasy sports?
My proudest achievement thus far has been establishing Fantasy Football Fools enough to garner all the attention the site has brought in the last few months. Since I founded the site near the end of football season last year, we’ve seen many new readers coming in from our mock drafts and have become a part of the online fantasy discussion.
I’m glad to continue to spread an addiction to fantasy football with the rest of the world. I’m not sure what stage of the 12-step program I’m on, but as long as people can enjoy my sarcasm, I’ll continue to provide cynical fantasy football news and mockery on Fantasy Football Fools. I’d like to triple our readership next season and encourage some more action from our loyal community of fools in the comments. Studies have shown that reading and commenting at Fantasy Football Fools puts hair on your chest, and we’re determined to prove that is true in 2008.
Thanks for the interview, FSM. I look forward to a brand new season of foolish action in the FSM community when pre-season kicks off in a few months.
