[Nerull]

I have been playing fantasy (American) football for 2 years now. I've been doing so at NFL.com, because it was one of the only ones that did not charge anything. It really didn't have any prizes for winning, which was one of the reasons I liked it. I really did not want to win prizes; I just enjoyed playing the game, and it helps to spark additional interest in the season and the games. Thus, I have pretty much stuck to the free game offered at NFL.com, while avoiding paying the $15.00 (the absolute minimum) to $60.00 (absolutely ridiculous) to have a team on a pay site. They really do not offer anything at the pay site worth paying for (they put some extra prizes out there, but not much else, so not terribly interested). I understand that they have to host the thing, and that costs, but at least I could go to the NFL's site, where it made sense for them to do it for free (brings in interest from the fans).

That was, of course, until this season. Looking forward to this coming season, I go to their website, click to get a team, and am presented with the fee schedule ($14.95 per team). I have no problem with them charging, if they feel they can make the money. However, that pretty much leaves me without a site, unless I choose to cough up the cash. I've been thinking about that, but when I consider how little time I actually put into playing the game (hop on Saturday, set up my roster for the next day, check back on Monday to see the stats), I almost think it would be better to save that $15.00 to invest towards a game that I can own and play anytime (ex. Temple of Elemental Evil, SoU, etc.). Why give the money to someone who is just going to crunch the numbers for a few months?

I know I am probably coming off as miserly, but I do find it a little annoying that I have searched around the websites, and see all of these advertisements shouting "FREE FANTASY FOOTBALL" then when you click on the site it is not free (the first 15 trades are free, but they charge you otherwise). I guess this post is more to vent about it than anything. I guess to some degree I've resigned myself to not playing this year. I had fun while it lasted, at least.