Fantasy Football and Home Field Advantage?

[brdmaverick]

hello, I was just throwing around some ideas, and it got me thinking.

Do any of you guys incorporate home field advantage into fantasy football?

I was thinking of maybe using this in the playoffs. Our top four teams make the playoffs, and I was thinking that maybe the #1 team could already start with a 10 pt lead over the #4 team, and the #2 team could start with a 5 point lead over the #3 team (of course, point values can be adjusted). Just like in the NFL, we would leave home field advantage out of the Super Bowl.

Does anyone else use an idea like this?

Does anyone use home field advantage for every game, including the regular season.

[Kensat30]

I don't like the home field advantage rule myself. Make people earn their points by acquiring the best players they can, then play the matchups. Points are earned, not given.

The best teams in the playoffs already get to face the worst teams remaining. In some instances there are first round playoff byes as well.

If I lost by 1 point because of homefield advantage in the playoffs I would be pissed. That's the kind of rule that can really sour a league.

[Plato]

I like to make Fantasy Football resemble the real game when possible, and therefore I like home field advantage. During the regular season it should be very small compared to the overall scoring average.

But I think in the playoffs it should be based on a multiple of the difference in won-loss record of the opposing teams. Most of us know what its like to lose to the bottom playoff team that just got hot down the stretch. HFA makes em overcome the burden of their poorer regular season showing, it makes the regular season count for more than just to qualify for post season play.

Once in the Super Bowl I feel the two remaining teams should be on equal footing, though I've seen some leagues who even gave HFA there.

Just my .02

[Mercer Boy]

Very interesting idea...seeing as though one team is "home" and one "away" in every week, it may make sense to give the home team a slight edge. I've never thought of that before! It may help weaker teams which they would like, but the guys who put in the time to build the best team wouldn't like it so much when they are away.

I suppose if you really want to set your league apart with different rules, this would be something you could try!

[Gunslinger]

I like to make Fantasy Football resemble the real game when possible, and therefore I like home field advantage. During the regular season it should be very small compared to the overall scoring average.

But I think in the playoffs it should be based on a multiple of the difference in won-loss record of the opposing teams. Most of us know what its like to lose to the bottom playoff team that just got hot down the stretch. HFA makes em overcome the burden of their poorer regular season showing, it makes the regular season count for more than just to qualify for post season play.

Once in the Super Bowl I feel the two remaining teams should be on equal footing, though I've seen some leagues who even gave HFA there.

Just my .02

That's a pretty cool idea if I have it straight. So if you use a multiple of 2 in your scenario, an example would be:

Playoff Team A (8-4): +4 * 2 = 8
Playoff Team B (10-2): +8 * 2 = 16

So taking the difference of the 2 results, Team B would have an 8 point advantage to start the playoff game? Very interesting. I like it. I also agree that this should not be used in the SB (maybe just for the 1st round). I'll be curious to see what others think.

[CKY_ROX]

i wouldnt be a fan of this, mabee in the playoffs but def not in the reg season. actually not at all, it would juist create little battlese within the league. im against the idea

[SwiperNoSwiping]

I wouldn't like the idea. Why should you have to score that many more points than the other team to win if you are the 'away' team?

I would also be leary against commissioners that schedule away games to certain teams advantages. Teams could easily get screwed over.

[Plato]

I've often just used the difference in total wins and multiplied by 3. Say the best team finished 12-2, and the worst playoff team finishes 7-7 then you would give the best team a HFA of 15pts. More often the difference in total wins won't be that extreme, but the multiplier you use should be something that produces a descent point total based on your leagues scoring system.

In my leagues the average day for a Kicker would produce 10-20pts, so we use the numbers I mentioned above as our playoff HFA. While some balk at using HFA, I've only seen two playoff games where the HFA in our playoffs determined the outcome (over 9years in that league).

[Plato]

[quote="SwiperNoSwiping"]I wouldn't like the idea. Why should you have to score that many more points than the other team to win if you are the 'away' team? ...quote]


My only answer would be to ask why should NFC and AFC playoff teams have to play such important games in the home stadium of the team with the best regular season record ? I believe the home field does give real NFL teams an advantage, but not so much that it can't be overcome.

I ususally play in 4-5 leagues each year, but only one of them uses HFA points. It just happens to be something I like about that league -others disagree. When you think you'll finish with the best record, you get a little cocky I suppose...

[brdmaverick]

I wouldn't like the idea. Why should you have to score that many more points than the other team to win if you are the 'away' team?

ok, maybe this wouldn't be a good idea in the regular season, but it would makes sense in the playoffs.

Why should you have to score that many more points than the other team to win if you are the away team? Simple, because the home team had a better record in the regular season. Its not like these points are just being 'given', they are earned (in the regular season.