What makes an expert? Most industries require some sort of extended education and/or a government certification process before you can tout yourself as an expert. Want to be an expert with US law? Graduate from law school and pass the Bar. Want to be an expert of the human heart? Graduate from medical school and pass the Boards. Want to be an expert chemist? Hang out with Jeremy Mayfield and learn the intricacies of cooking meth.
Want to be a fantasy sports expert? Start a website and write an article.
With fantasy sports, anybody can call themselves an expert, even my mom. Granted, that would mean she finally grasped the difference between the internet and Google, but that’s a discussion for another day.
The bottom line is that the only way we can communicate our “expert status” is by producing results. I know I sound like a 2008 Obama campaign speech, but transparency is key in gaining the trust of the people.
Since FNP’s inception in 2005, I’ve always tried to be as open and transparent as possible. We’re proud of the fact that we don’t hide behind anything. Some experts rank drivers, give you optimal Yahoo lineups (regardless of starts), don’t show their weekly point totals or give you sleepers and busts, which is fine, but it’s not FNP.
You can pick up at the Daytona 500 and follow us through an entire Yahoo Fantasy NASCAR season. We provide every pre-qualifying and active roster, plus updates throughout the week via our Forum, Twitter, Live Chats and Blog posts. As a result, we have to navigate the ups and downs of the season, as well as manage starts to optimize value with each driver. Basically, we’re playing the game and bringing everyone along for the ride.
This year, I’m extremely happy to report that myself (27th in Yahoo’s Full Season Rankings), KWiseman (24th), Capt_Vat (348th) and DR_FNP (186th) are all heading into Homestead in the 99th percentile of Yahoo Fantasy NASCAR. Now, this may seem like I’m flat-out bragging, but I am not a cocky man. (A recent Rasmussen poll of my ex-girlfriends reveals that 100% of people polled answered, “Yes, PJ is cocky.”)
The reason I’m so excited is that this site has attracted some very knowledgeable people who are very willing to contribute. I’m a believer in the more information you can be exposed to, the better decisions you will make.
My weekly Fantasy NASCAR preview and incessant pop-culture one-liners may not make sense to you, but KWiseman’s driver rankings help you instead. You may not agree with what KWiseman says during one of our live chats, but DR_FNP or Capt_Vat might offer another angle that you didn’t previously see.
I remember my high school Geometry teacher preaching, “It’s better to know five ways to solve one problem than one way to solve five problems.” This sentence stuck with me and I like to think FNP is now at that point.
But the most important feature of FNP is the forum, which is now loaded with hundreds of Fantasy NASCAR experts, all willing to offer advice to people that they’ve never met. When people ask me about the site, I often refer to the forum as the “engine of FantasyNASCARPreview.com” because, frankly, it is.
This year we took a huge step in the amount of people visiting the site, which has parlayed into more members participating in the forum. Therefore, we’re getting more perspectives, points of view, opinions and witty jokes (which are personally my favorite.)
So I’d like to take this time to thank everyone from KWiseman, DR_FNP, CaptVat to everyone in the forum, even if you’ve never posted. This year has been a banner year at FNP and I’m already looking forward to 2012.
With that, I’d also like to invite everyone to please contact me (FantasyNASCARPreview@gmail.com) with any questions, comments, suggestions, marriage proposals or hate mail you have. The offseason is a great time for us to add features and tweak the site, so I’d love to hear what you guys think.
Good luck to everyone trying to nail down championships this weekend and thanks again for another great season.