[Reginald Rutledge]

Coach,

This is one of those types of questions that a book could easily be written on. I know this question very well and two things come to mind right away about "How far to go". Number 1, commitment and Number 2, investment.

First, if you are gonna be the one doing the "heavy lifting", be ready to take all the criticism when things don't go good and be ready not to get much praise when things do go good.

I believe if people don't have a vested interest in something, they are quick to cut ship when things don't go well. Whether its financial or sweat equity, guys will just stop showing up and begin to blame you for their shortcomings. The commitment level, I believe, begins with being willing to spend out on the product. A league is a product and you can tell right away how serious the players are. If they don't want to invest in anything, that usually tells you "they are not in it for the long haul". For a lot of us, the beauty of the game is not just in the game playing but feeling what a real franchise experience from negotiating deals to get the players, finding a suitable playing environment, and outfitting your team like the NFL. When guys don't put that type of emphasis in their teams, they usually are not trying to win which means they really don't plan to stay in it that long.

When I began the DFW, I open up my thousands of bases to everyone in the league. I let them have hundreds of figures. All of this, without any charge. I wanted everyone to have a fair and equal chance. Many guys started out playing but walked away. I was very giving (maybe too giving) and it still did not matter. If it is not in your gut to play, you will not stay!

Then there is the investment. There's an emotional and financial investment when you are the one that do everything. No one can really see it or appreciate it as you can. I have experienced this when setting up numerous leagues. You'd hope people would get on board and work just as hard as you to make it be a great league but my experience has shown me, that is a rare bird. So you try to do right by everyone anyhow so they will have a good time. But at the end of the day, you may have a horrible time. That is just the nature of the beast (if you are the type that look out for everybody). From what it seems, you do have a charitable heart and you will have to take the good with the bad. If you have a family (wife, kids, etc), there are big-time sacrifices on them that really can not be underestimated. You must help them understand in some way that you will be giving your time to others in this way because you want to have fun in a hobby that you are passionate about. Your hope is that your family is understanding. The one thing you don't won't to do is ruffle the feathers of the person you promise to spend the rest of your life with! So this is an emotional investment that you have to understand.

The financial investment is equally challenging. You are already starting off saying you're going to do this for the league and that for the league to jumpstart it. My experience has been that they start expecting it. It's one of those thankless jobs that you will never get out what you put into it. If you are ready to absorb that, then it's great to have a league.

I am not telling you that you should not have a league but do understand, there are pitfalls and rewards. Some of the rewards range from watching the development of a league, establishing friendships, creating the characters of the league, and playing others. Some of the pitfalls is the lack of appreciation, the expectation that you're suppose to do everything, monetary waste, and being blamed for everything that goes bad.

I would close in saying that let those guys show you how serious they are by at the very least, anteing up and buying their own products and let them get intimate with their teams. As long as you are doing everything as far as painting teams and letting them use them, "They are still your teams". Guys tend to put more effort into a team when they can feel proud of their own work.

Not trying to spoil your efforts and I hope that you do it but keep these things in mind. Just talking from a person who has given way so much in establishing leagues.

Reg