regardless - can this be for real? I have officially registered this one with WGA... and copywrite office... now off to find an agent or a network that will accept unsolicited material...
This is based on a one hour Football Version of the show.
Television game show titled 'Fantasy Fanatics...' A sports trivia game show directed toward the fantasy sports player with an indirect appeal to those general sports trivia buffs. Two teams will compete head to head. Each team will consist of 5 contestants. Prior to the show, each team will participate in a fantasy draft along with *8 other 'mock' teams. Each team will draft a 10-man roster consisting of 2QB, 4RB, and 4WR to fill a starting line-up of 1QB, 2RB, and 2WR.... Clever editing of the two teams in the draft room selecting their teams could offer as an introduction to the show. (Intro music with emcee saying, "Who was today's #1 Pick, Who will be this week's Sleeper, find out as 'The CAFFL' and 'The WWFFL' battle head to head in Week 13 of FANTASY FANATICS!)
*Mock teams could be represented by sports writers, analysts, fantasy experts, etc...
...the show begins with the game show host (myself) opening the show briefly introducing the show, the teams and explaining the pre show draft. As he is explaining the draft, the results of the draft are displayed. Then each team's contestant will introduce himself and the player he is representing. The contestant will follow up the player's name with the round they were selected. As this is happening, the draft results will highlight the player being mentioned with a comment box displaying a couple of reasons the team selected that player. Each contestant will be wearing a game jersey of the player he or she is representing. **Product Placement** Each team will order their teams with the QB first, then the two RBs, and finally the 2WRs.
The game begins with a random football sports trivia question. The host reads from a list of clues one at a time. The clues start general and progressively get specific to the answer. First team to correctly answer wins control. This is how a team would gain control or "possession."
The team that gains control for a round will answer 5 questions. One question for each player, starting with the quarterback and each player's question being specific to the position of the player the contestant is representing. Here in lies an opportunity for some creativity by adding categories that a contestant could select. A few examples of categories are "First Round Picks," "Working the Wire," or "Sleeper Keeper." Then. if the contestant answers the question and is correct, the contestant will be able to take a 'spin' on the 'Fantasy Ticker.' The ticker is basically a database of statistics specific to the player represented by the contestant that would 'spin' and stop on a random stat. For example, a QB prone to rushing yards would have more chances at landing on a rushing stat than a non-rushing QB. Stats can be positive or negative. For example, a RB that is injury prone would have more chances at landing on an injury stat than would a durable RB. If the result of the fantasy ticker did happen to be an injury, then the team would have to replace the injured player using the team's depth. Chances are, injuries would not happen too often, but certainly would be random and unpredictable, as in the real game.
The game plays on with each team gaining control or 'possessions' to tally fantasy stats for each player represented. The game would consist of two halves and should the show be an hour, throw in quarters with the end of each quarter and each half slotted for commercial breaks. At the end of each half, there could be a "2 minute warning." This part of the game would consist of the host reading questions in rapid fire with each team having a chance to answer. The team that answers correct first gets an immediate spin on the fantasy ticker. Questions will include all positions in football so defense, special teams, kickers would all be included. The database of stats for the Fantasy Ticker at this point would be representative of the questions asked. So a question that involved Al Del Greco as the answer would have 41-yard field goal as one of the options in the database.
Prior to the start of the second half, each team will have the option to adjust their line up by making substitutions from their depth. If a change were ever made in the line up, the contestant would switch jerseys. Half time might also be a good time to involve some trade activity - but not sure what.
At the end of the game, the total fantasy stats turn into Fantasy Scoring just as in fantasy football. The team with the most points is the winner. It might be wise to run a fantasy score at the end of the first half and before the 2-minute warning at the end of the game, so the two teams know where they stand. If there were a tie, a quick overtime would ensue with more rapid-fire questions. If at the end of overtime, the game is still tied, then it will go into sudden death with the first team to correctly answer a question winning. The winning team goes on to the bonus round.
The bonus round begins by taking the points of the winning team and converting those points into millions of dollars. For example, if a team wins with a total of 52 points, then the team has 52 million dollars. The team will then have 2 minutes to select a team from a complete sheet of players with salaries assigned. Top tier players will of course have higher salaries. The team would have to complete a standard fantasy roster of 1 QB, 2 RB, 2 WR, 1 TE, 1 K, and 1 D/ST. The goal here of course is to select the best team possible with the money/salary cap from the game. Of course, the more points from the actual game offers more money to select more studs to complete the bonus round roster. Creators and consultants of the show would need to prepare this round in a way that would test the skills of the players to offer a challenge to field the best team possible based on some average amount to spend.
After the bonus round roster is complete, then each team will have a spin on the Fantasy Ticker for each player represented. During the bonus round, the result of the Fantasy Ticker will be stats for an entire game. For example, the result for McNabb would be 14 - 23, 212 yds 2 TDs p, 73 yds 1 TD r, 1 int, The stats then turn into Fantasy Points which are then totaled for the bonus round roster and the final points are turned into 100's of dollars which is the prize for the show. For example, the total for the bonus round is 72 points so that turns into a prize for the winning team of $7,200.
The Fantasy Football game show can run 17 weeks along side the real NFL season. Then, as with most game shows, a 'tournament of champions' or PLAYOFFS would occur with top scoring teams returning to the show. Top scores would be a combination of game score and bonus round score inviting back 4 teams for a 2-week playoff culminating with the final week of the season for the championship game. Match seeded teams accordingly against each other - first week of playoff is #1 v #4 seed and second week of playoff is #2 v #3 seed.
The Grand Prize could be a trip to the following year's Super Bowl. Or maybe an all expenses paid, draft day party.
I believe this can serve as a basic premise to a fantasy sports game show. Brainstorming I am sure could create more ways to make the show more exciting. If the show aired along side the NFL season, real time information could be conveyed, relayed, or displayed to help fantasy football players watching the show manage there own teams. I could envision some sort of interactive process with the Internet. The show could have guest contestants, like real football players who are on their bye-week.
The length of the show would be key. Most game shows are only a half hour. But this certainly is a unique game show. And not all game shows are a half hour. A couple of the most successful game shows have been or are an hour. The Price is Right and Millionaire are two examples that come to mind.
Regardless, I know that Fantasy Football has a huge following. And so does the real sport. Imagine the sponsorships and advertising. Easy money - easy entertainment! I often hear people talking in the elevator at work, or while walking down the sidewalks about fantasy football. Players are constantly looking for something to satisfy their fantasy cravings between their own games - and most of all, just looking to explore all avenues of knowledge to better their teams. Sports trivia is already an easy sell for most sports buffs - throw in fantasy sports, and turn all this into a Game Show... and I figure you'd grab a few shares in the television world of today.
Mitch Davidhizar
