Calling all fantasy football players

By Tim HippsAugust 17, 2010

ALEXANDRIA, Va. (Army News Service, Aug. 18, 2010) -- Morale, Welfare and Recreation patrons from all five branches of the U.S. military are invited to play in a free fantasy football league with $100,000, a trip to Super Bowl XLV, and championship rings on the line.

Participants can create an account and begin drafting teams to compete in the RapidDraft Fantasy Football League at <a href="http://www.mwrfantasysports.com">www.mwrfantasysports.com</a>. Fantasy football revolves around the individual statistics of players throughout the National Football League.

Registration and all drafts must begin by Sept. 12 at 8 a.m. EDT. Do not wait until deadline time because draft rooms could be full and computer servers can get overloaded, so draft early.

Entrants should draft often. Each player may field as many as 60 teams, each of which will draft and play a full season of fantasy football games against 11 fantasy football professionals, including Joe Namath, most valuable player Super Bowl III.

Avatars/cartoon characters are used to represent the pros. Each fantasy pro is a "robotic general manager," with a draft strategy managed by a real person or team of experienced fantasy professionals. Each pro has defined a unique, professional draft strategy and will create and submit a proprietary, subjective player draft ranking.

The draft rankings or player lists are updated dynamically - often hourly, daily, or weekly - based on subjective analysis, breaking player news and research done by each pro. After creating an account and becoming a World Fantasy Games member, participants may enter the website and sign-up to draft a fantasy football team against the fantasy pros. Members may draft at any time of day or night until the final draft deadline.

Rosters will consist of 20 players and defenses in any numerical combination. A starting lineup consists of nine players (QB, 2 RBs, 3 WRs, TE, Flex - RB, WR or TE, K) and one defense/special team. Entrants must submit a lineup each week. Positions left blank receive zero points. Be forewarned: successful fantasy football playing can be excessively time-consuming.

RapidDraft Fantasy Football is strictly for entertainment purposes and may not be used in connection with any form of gambling. All participants must be 18 years of age or older at the time of their registration and have public or private Internet access as of Sept. 15, 2010.

The league is open to all active-duty personnel, their family members, retirees, reservists, National Guard, Department of Defense and Coast Guard civilians.

Winners will be determined solely based on the objective RapidDraft Fantasy Football scoring system outlined in the official rules.

The overall military winner, based on the accumulation of points throughout the season, will win a trip for two to Super Bowl XLV on Feb. 6, 2011, at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas.

The winner from each branch of the military - Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps and Coast Guard - will receive a custom championship ring. All MWR contestants will compete for the national grand prize of $100,000.

(Tim Hipps serves with Family and Morale, Welfare and Recreation Command Public Affairs.)