CommishRx: Postseason Fantasy Review – How Did You Do?

It’s been just over a month since the season’s end of most fantasy football leagues. Some league members are still basking in the glory of their championship, while others are still licking their wounds over a late-season losing streak. Let’s take a Postseason Review look back!

If you’re a commissioner, you very well might be one of the aforementioned. However, since you’re wearing the commissioner’s cap, you might consider evaluating your season, while the triumphs and defeats are still fresh in your mind.

Taking the time to review your fantasy season can help ensure future success and the longevity of your league.

What Went Wrong?

Write down everything that comes to mind. Make the list as quickly as you can. Don’t judge what you’re listing just yet. If you really have to ponder what to write down, it’s probably not worth being included.

Next, rank every instance on your list using a scale from 1 – 5, where 1 = a minor or mildly annoying incident, and 5 = the worst uproar of the season.

Take a look at your list. Start with the items on the lower-end of the scale. Take care of the easy stuff first. Ask yourself:

• Was I the cause of the situation or did it have nothing to do with me?

• What was my solution to the issue? Was it effective, or did it worsen the situation?

• Is there anything I can do to prevent the same scenario from happening again?

Eventually, you’ll make your way through the entire list. Be honest in your assessment: you’re not just taking a closer look at your role as commissioner, you’re also examining the overall state of the league itself.

You may discover that some of the same members are responsible for a number of the issues that you listed. You may actually discover that you were.

Granted, the ability to admit that you’re the “bad seed” takes a level of maturity that most folks struggle to attain. If you’ve reached that threshold, your league is lucky to have you.

Did you get unnecessarily involved in other member’s business? Did the energy you spent “commissioning” equate to the severity of the situation? Would sitting back and letting members work things out on their own, have been a better course of action?

Save the Best for Last

Now you get to pat yourself on the back. Take note of all the things you believe went well during the season.

With this list, the questions change a bit. It may seem strange to self-examine successful moments. However, the goal is the same. You’re looking for ways to make your league better.

For instance, you’re not necessarily looking for “solutions” for something that went well. “What was my solution to the issue? Was it effective?” may not apply here.

However, “Was I the cause of the situation or did it have nothing to do with me?” still does.

For example, did everyone pay their dues on time? Why? Can you take credit?

Was it because you were more proactive in reminding everyone of the deadline? Did you introduce a penalty of some sort for late payment? Has your league matured to the point where you have a core group of members who simply do the right thing without any additional persuasion on your part?

Instead of asking, “Is there anything I can do to prevent the same scenario from happening again?” You may take note of a particular success and ask:

• Can I apply the same effort or action to another area and get the same result?

Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes

After you have your fantasy heart-to-heart, you may decide that change is in order. That’s great. Make sure that your league knows what you’re doing.

Even though you’re the commissioner, you’re not in a one-person league. Other people are involved. Don’t treat the league like your personal vanity project.

Be careful of making off-season changes to leagues rules – just because you can.

Some commissioners seem hell-bent on coming up with crazy rules to make their league outrageously different from all the rest. They won’t let you forget it either. They’ll also make these changes without consulting the rest of the league.

I’ve received plenty of letters over the years from these same folks who somehow seemed surprised that their league members aren’t happy with what they did.

I’ve read enough Twitter posts this past season from commissioners who liked to puff their chests and say, “I have the authority” in the name of exhibiting bad behavior, like changing rules in the middle of the season (the Jaylen Samuels situation comes to mind), or punitively blocking the transactions of a member based on something that happened the previous season.

What surprises first-time commissioners the most is how much work it actually takes to keep a league running smoothly and to keep league members happy. If things are going great in your league. Fantastic. Be happy, pat yourself on the back, shake your league member’s hands and relax.