Opinion | Fan Controlled Football is a unique and fun experience
Joe Perrino, Sports Editor
Throughout history, there have been a plethora of football leagues that pop out of nowhere to try to knock the NFL out of its spot as the premier destination for professional football. They all came and went primarily because of a fatal flaw: they were all so similar to the NFL — but with a far lower level of talent — that no one had any reason to watch them.
Now, we have a football league so strange, so wacky, so different that it just might work.
The Fan Controlled Football (FCF) league sports a field half the size of the NFL’s, puts a smaller number of players on the field at a time and, to top it off, has fans controlling the play calls.
I love it.
My first exposure to the league came waking up the morning of Valentine’s Day. I went on Instagram to see random highlights of former Heisman Trophy winner Johnny Manziel running around on a football field. I thought, “Weird, shouldn’t he be in jail or something? And isn’t football season over?”
Little to my knowledge, it most certainly was not. I continued to browse Instagram and I realized the league lets the fans watching the game dictate everything happening on the field.
There has never been anything like this. It’s like a cross between the video game franchises “Madden NFL,” “NFL Street” and real life. There are two 20-minute halves rather than four 15-minute quarters, with a running clock, meaning the games are over in about an hour — perfect for our ever-lessening attention spans. And whether it be picking plays or new teams each week via a full “draft” reset, the fans can make an impact in almost any way imaginable.
Wondering how I could get involved, I looked up the league, found its website and created an account. First, it allows you to pick a team to be a fan of. I picked the FCF Beasts, primarily because they are owned by Marshawn Lynch — a fellow Bay Area native and one of my favorite people and athletes of all time.
It then let me submit responses to a few different questions. Most notably, it asked me “Who would you like to be an owner of the team?’”
I answered Kevin Hart, obviously.
Apparently I could have gained even more power, as I received an email a few days after signing up that said, “Congratulations, you signed up soon enough to be a part owner of the Beasts.” But upon further review, I needed to invest a minimum of $150 into the team. I could’ve if Chapman had handled my payment correctly last week, but I digress.
Despite only a minor impact so far, you’d best believe next week when I’m fully immersed into the games — and fulfilling my ownerly duties, apparently — I’ll be on my phone telling my good friend Lamarcus Caradine to run a fade route in a 1-on-1 from the 10-yard line to complete a two-point conversion.