Why do so many leagues fail to last in madden year after year?

[ALC]

Just a simple question that seem to come this time of the year. Why do so many madden leagues fail to substain or survive year after year. It seem once the game comes out you have leagues all over the place. But after the middle of october the league scene seem to die and then completely disappear. You have alot of league that just there in cyperspace but games are no longer being play and the players have move on to something else. So my question is WHY isnt there a compettive drive that makes you want to play the game. Or is it that C.O.D. OR 2K is calling and you ready to answer. For every league that does survive there are like 4 to 5 that dont survive past the 6 week of there season. So my question with the growth of madden why is it that this part of the community suffers at a alarming rate. Dosnt matter the league either franchise sim or draft they all fall to this trend. So i ask this forum and community why is this keep happening and why is this trend continue. I like to hear your views on this and thanks ALC

[GiantNFC7]

Apathy and boredom.

[poohty_t]

there are numerous reasons many online leagues fail. one reason is , too many guys cant handle losing . they having a losing season, they just quit, because somehow in their mind they think , they are the best. they have no real desire to play , unless they are winning. another reason is , the commish and admins do not stay on top of things , keep things updated, and do not handle issues. now some leagues are SIM and some arent. i run a SIM style league . too many people wanna try to bend every rule they can , just to get an unfair advantage. as stated before they cant stand the thought that they wouldnt be the best. so then as commish you gotta stay on top of issues and punish guys who wanna bend the rules. alot of commishes do not handle these things , thus other members quit. another thing is , unfortuntely we live in a time , where more than half the people in this world, have no character about themselves . this is really probably the biggest issue overall . alot of guys wanna join a league , and then want the league to cater to their desire to play whenever they want. instead of setting up games quickly. guys get tired of waiting to advance. another thing they won text their oppnenent to set up a time . i mean how lazy can you be ??? pretty dang lazy now in days . we live in a time where setting up a game with someone in another state can take only 5 minutes, yet that is still too much for some to do .inactive players alot of times dont get booted because of lackluster commish , and then other members quit. these are some of the biggest issues ive seen as a commish and being in leagues. one other thing i have seen as a big issue is , alot of guys are soo excited to be in a league , they will go out and join 4 or 5 at once.then as times goes on, they realize they dont have enough time for them all , and slowly drop out of each one .again , inactive players, make others quit too . no one who really loves the game , wants to be in a league with inactives. these are the biggest issues ive seen myself. saldy people have no character about themselves anymore. that is truely the real issue at hand....

[ALC]

Thanks poohty_T for your answer and responce to my question. You have laid it completely on the line with your insight on this issuse. You are correct about the many differnt sito that arise with in the league concept. Again thanks for you dropping the knowledge on this do appreciated. Peace ALC

[DiodeX]

No sense of community in a lot of these fly by night leagues?

I'm in a 5 season Madden league that has be running 32 players now since M11 and we even have a 2nd league to accommodate the extra coaches.
Its an active site as well, so it never gets stale.

It is a Euro league, well, UK/Ireland and we can all take a losing season on the chin and just come back stronger next season.

[McMadden]

I would add, people who come here to this site to recruit for a league, then use another website and forum for new said league.

[susmithasen]

I'm in a 5 season Madden league that has be running 32 players now since M11 and we even have a 2nd league to accommodate the extra coaches.
Its an active site as well, so it never gets stale.

[Al DePantzue]

In the years of running NCAA Online Dynasties here are the most common problems I've found in keeping a league going.

1. All players have to agree to the play style in the league. (Sim, Anything Goes, Mix of Both)
2. Advance dates need to be established, and exceptions need to be clearly communicated to the league.
3. Players who violate play standard or are consistently late need to removed promptly
4. Players who play without mics have no ground to issue complaints when they play against people with mics.

I'm sure there are more that I'm forgetting. However, these standards need to be established in order for any league to have a prayer of making it. I'm really excited to see how the new CC online features make the communication easier.

[GREENERRRR]

The key to having long term league success is to find LONG TERM members you know will play the entire year - THIS IS NOT EASILY DONE - it takes a lot of time and effort...

I have built a group of leagues that range from 5 to 18 every year (we play exclusively fantasy draft leagues so we are cutting back our leagues to five, 32 member leagues for Madden 13) - we are doing this because our FD workaround requires to have all 32 players to be guys we know and trust - 1 bad apple will spoil the draft for the other 32 - therefore we are limiting leagues to 5 this year... The reason i mention this is to show that i have run several successful league in the past (last year my main league went to season 9 - had over 75% particpation rates and we just played our last SB) - based on this you can see i am talkn form experience...

The recipe for success started small - Back in 09 - a group of us from my friends list were tired of playn all the freestyle players in the lobby rooms so we formed our own leagues - the following year Online franchiuse came out which made league play even better! We grew from this small group of 32 from the grass root... The main way brought in new players was through referals - existing members would tell other guys they new to be SIM player about how much fun they were having in our leagues and we expanded from there...

Of course in our earlier days we posted on forums looking for players but that was never a great way to find players often these players didnt fit our SIM style, couldnt take a loss or werent able to make a long term committment that is required to play in a league - If this is the only way your looking to bring in players to your new league - you are destined for failure...

My suggestions to get new leagues started SO THEY LAST:

1 do solid networking - post on forum message boards so that players start to see you as a center of influence who is committed to madden (nobody want to be part of a league where the commish's committment level is questionable or where his madden knowledge is negligible...)

2 Go to the lobbies and play lots of games - When you find a player that fits your playn style - chat him up privately after the game about your league - tell him the benefits of your league and your plan for long term success - If your league is new sell him on the idea that he is going to be part of the initial players - he will be on the ground floor of a league that will be special - U need to be a salesmen and there is nothing wrong with that... Be sure not to go into lobby rooms with the exclusive purpose of asking guys to join your league - it wreaks of desprateness and nobody wants to be part of a league where the commish is desprate for owners (many people see that as a sign of a league that is struggling - and who wants to be part of a struggling league)

3 Provide a fun environement with all the extras required to run a league - It could be as simple as a league message board or facebook group... But each league needs a place to hang their hat - a place for members to get together... Do your best to make this place fun... Madden articles and info are always good - polls on different topics for your leagues - postgame articles etc - there are tons of things you can do - check out other league sites for ideas - some of the best ideas have already been thought up! In addition this can be used as a recruiting tool - when you chatting guys up about your league - U can refer them to your site so they can get an idea about your league without committing - Plus this is a great way to get guys committed to your league before the season even starts!

4 Once you have players committed to your league and your long term ideals ASK FOR REFERALS! Expalin to guys that for longterm success, the membership always has to grow (no matter how good your league is there is always a natural turnover of players...) _ Explain how they are a key member of the league - and as a key member they have to help with the long term viability of the league... Sell them on how much fun it has been for them - there friends will have just as much fun... 1 thing to make clear though is that you want QUALIFIED REFERALS - you not looking to take just anybody - you want players that fit in with your league ideals!

5 If your struggling for members - but are doing all these things i have described - Look for a league in a similar position - (with similar ideas and goals) - and consider a partnership with them... Make sure you pick the right league and be sure you can work with the commish - If you cant find the right partner - dont make a partnership!

6 Join other leagues - especially leagues that are different then yours... Please note - you dont join these leagues for the exclusive purpose of recruiting members (thats bad form...) - join the league to have fun and to see how they do things (you can always learn from others...) - And by joining league that are different then yours (example if you play in a standard roster league - join a Fantasy Draft league) you may find players that could be looking for an additional league that is different then what they are playing in - In addition the commish wont see your league as being in competition with yours... Be sure to be a good member in this league - If you seem like a jerk - nobody is gonna want to be part of anything you are associated with... Be active on their website - try to become a center of influence -After you have solidified your membership as a long term member - and when the topic comes up in natural discussion (or if you can seguay to the topic of new leagues) - chat your league up and mentions its benefits... All it takes is 1 member from this group to endorse you and others will follow!!!

7 Make posts on various forums that put yourself and your league in a good light - (i hope this post does that for me today! lol) - This is a good way for the soft sell approach - guys read your post and they MAY believe that you know what your talking about... This may enduce them into checking out your website and possibly joining 1 of your leagues!

8 Form partnerships with other leagues... Ideally you find other leagues that are different then yours - Maybe you are a SIM league - and you can partner with a freestyle league... There can be synergies in sharing websites, online chats, forums and membership lists - but be sure you find the right league to partner with - because the partner you choose will be a reflection of yourself!

Its true that many leagues struggle - I hope this post helps leagues be more successful... The more stronger Online Leagues we have the better the entire Online League Community is as a whole...

If you have any questions for me - dont hesitate to ask - My PSN ID is GREENERRRR and our community website is ps3maddengroup.com