Logical and Reasonable: Fixing the MLS Fantasy game, because it’s not very good right now

I am a mature adult man with a car payment and mortgage and toddler. I have a master’s degree from the Georgia Institute of Technology and spend a good deal of my time reflecting on the world’s problems. Also, $4!tposting, lots of $4!tposting. What I’m saying is that I’m a very serious person. That’s why I spend my free time in my finite lifespan playing in the MLS Fantasy League.

The MLS Fantasy game is open for business once again and... it’s pretty much the same as it was after they changed the format a few years ago and that’s a bummer. If you don’t remember, the past version of the game was similar to the EPL fantasy game. You got a budget, picked 15 players, every week you could make two changes to the roster, and had two wildcards a year to change your whole team. That was it, that was your team. There were the wildcards, but you had to live or die with the decisions you made and think weeks in advance of the moves and matchups you wanted to make.

Frankly, I loved it. Aside from actually watching sports, nothing compared to picking a player and having that decision turn out well or be a complete disaster. The highs and lows were amazing. Double game week with Benny Feilhaber as captain? Yes, of course you make that pick. Then you watch him get a red card in the first 15 minutes of the game and your whole week is down the drain, the emotions of that are really hard to duplicate. Picking Donny Toia and seeing him score the highest points/$ of any player in the game, it was like watching your own child hit a game winning home run in the World Series. I was so proud of Donny that year.

All that is gone now. The game is a weekly fantasy style with a chance to pick a new roster every week. You don’t get to have the same relationship with the players when you can cast them aside or rage cut them from your roster. The rosters lock when the games kickoff individually so you can’t develop an irrational hatred for Ben Olsen benching his best player despite him not being injured for reasons. I miss it.

It’s not coming back. What’s worse is that what is available also isn’t nearly as good as the other type of fantasy sports - the draft league where you compete against your friends. There’s nothing like fantasy draft day especially if you have prepared for it. You know the secret players, Donny Toia could be yours and all yours alone and nobody else could have him. We need that I think. MLS needs it, fantasy is a great marketing tool and is something that would perhaps bring more fans into the fold. Honestly, I don’t care that much about that aspect, this is for my own amusement and joy. One person could watch MLS for all I care as long as I have Donny Toia.

Before I ask the question I’m going to ask, I have to post this comment from the last question I asked:

For one thing, I’m just going to bask in the glory of being so right about MLS teams crushing Concacaf this last week. Tricky fixtures, Johan Venegases, whatever. At least get the Costa Rica twitter guy who I antagonized lovingly during the game to tell you who is actually good or not before pretending that a team with the next crop of players destined for the world’s second divisions is going to be a tough matchup for MLS.

Anyway, take all the scarfcoin Poppo187, I haven’t stopped crying since reading this.

My question this week is: how would you fix the MLS Fantasy game? I at’d them in the tweet I did to this so I’m sure they’ll see it and make the game good next year.

Join our league too and suffer with the best.