Fansided

The League’s Steve Rannazzisi can’t escape fantasy football fans

By Mike Dyce

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Steve Rannazzisi from The League weighs in on Fantasy Football and the Buffalo Wild Wings draft parties.

The preseason is over and the NFL season is a week away, and it is the season of the fantasy football drafts everywhere. Buffalo Wild Wings is a staunch supporter of your fantasy football league and offers a one-of-a-kind fantasy football draft kit to enhance any league’s draft party experience.

They’ve also teamed up with Steve Rannazzisi from the league for a fantasy football-themed campaign, following up their March Madness series of ads. It centers around being “Football Rich.”

The campaign works because of Rannazzisi’s association with fantasy football, one that has followed him into his personal life and created some interesting moments, similar to that of an early League episode when his character approached fantasy football expert Matthew Berry.

“I’m the prettiest girl in the bar,” Rannazzisi said. “When I go to the bar, waitresses love to see me because when I go there, the guys instead of hitting on the waitresses, they’re now all over me, talking to me about the show, about fantasy football. So it gives the wait staff a little bit of a break for the night, instead of getting hit on by guys with Jäger breath.”

Sometimes the eager fan crosses the line and approaches at the wrong time.

“If you’re in an airport bathroom, that is not the time to ask me if you think Adrian Peterson is going to be able to come back from last year and if so, how effective is he going to be,” Rannazzisi said. “What am I, Mel Kiper? I’m at a bathroom stall, going to the bathroom, this guy was two stalls away, looked over, saw it was me and just dives into conversation. I was like ‘inappropriate buddy, inappropriate.’

“Then of course I’m done, I walk over to the sink to wash my hands and I can’t get the stupid sensor to go off. So he’s like ‘just like in the show man!’ I’m thinking just got to get out of here, got to get out.”

Rannazzisi said the association with fantasy football doesn’t get tiring, except for when people ask him for advice.

“The fan base does not get tiring, people watching the show does not get tiring, people getting excited about the show does not get tiring to me. People asking me ‘who do I play in the flex this week,’ people asking me ‘who do I start between two obscure players,’ those questions are tougher,” Rannazzisi said. “I’m not an expert, I don’t know what I’m doing, I don’t even play an expert on television. The guy I play on television asks his wife for advice.”

Still, Rannazzisi tries to help when he can.

“I don’t know why people keep continuously coming to me,” Rannazzisi said. “What I do is, I politely tell them what I think in my humble opinion and ask them not to murder my family when I’m wrong.”

As far as the “Football Rich” ads, Rannazzisi said that Buffalo Wild Wings has allowed him to have input in the campaign.

“Buffalo Wild Wings has been a great partner…It’s been collaborative,” Rannazzisi said.

Rannazzisi was concerned about a campaign centered around fantasy football and how it would be portrayed given his link to the wildly popular fantasy football-themed show, The League.

“It’s tough to stand out during football season ad-wise because there are so many companies that advertise and spots are expensive. Here’s what we’re thinking, a fake sort of infomercial where you get football rich,” Rannazzisi said about how the campaign was pitched to him.

“You go to Buffalo Wild Wings, you have everything you need to succeed, everything you need for your draft day. You got WiFi, beer, the food, the wings.”

The kits Buffalo Wild Wings offer include an oversized draft board and player stickers, coupons to enjoy at B-Dubs throughout the season, pocket NFL schedules, bottle openers, and a brag flag for the winner. Kits are also available for free to fantasy football parties that order $100 in takeout.

To book a draft party and kit at Buffalo Wild Wings, go here.

Check out his latest Buffalo Wild Wings commercial below:

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