Incline Village's female fantasy football league

As in many fantasy football leagues, Ladanian Tomlinson was drafted first overall Tuesday night at Rookies Bar and Grill. The San Diego running back was in high demand, and his early selection sent other teams looking for their next-favorite player.

Team owners showed up early to do some last-minute homework, fired up the laptops to check on injury reports and started trash-talking opponents.

The only difference is that these owners pulled their drafting guidebooks from their purses.

It was the sixth draft for Incline Village’s all-female Girl’s Football League. Founded by Incline residents Darolyn Skelton and Shelley Robins, the league runs in the same manner most do, with a group of owners getting together to draft real-life NFL players and comparing their stats in head-to-head “games” throughout the season. The stats are based on actual NFL stats; therefore, if the Champagne Chickadees (owned by Incline’s Carol King and Michele Piechocinksi) get a four-touchdown performance from Tomlinson (better known as LT), they will be awarded 28 points against their opponent.

One glance at the league Tuesday night, though, lets you know this outfit breaks the mold of the stereotype that only men play fantasy sports.

“I grew up in a home where you never asked on Sunday what you were watching on TV,” said Incline resident Rosie Webber, co-owner of the Pub Muffins. “You asked what game you were going to watch. I think this league is great because there are a lot of women out there who are really well-versed in football and watch all the games. It’s also a great way to form camaraderie.”

Webber was on the phone with niece Allison, the other co-owner of the Muffins, who was busy comparing draft picks with her aunt from her home in North Carolina.
The two are a part of a growing trend of women playing fantasy sports, who, according to a 2006 poll by the Fantasy Sports Trade Association, account for nearly 1 million fantasy players. Though it’s still a man’s game — the same report says man make up 92 percent of fantasy team owners — female participation is growing.
“There are a lot of myths out there about fantasy sports that we’re trying to break through,” Robins said. “There is such a large number of women who watch the games and they need to know that owning a fantasy team doesn’t take a lot of time and it isn’t that difficult.”

Robins, who along with Skelton started girlsfantasyfootball.com, said many women are enthusiastic about playing because of a variety of factors, social networking and bonding included. She pointed to the FSTA report which said 77 percent of males who played fantasy sports are married.

“I used to never watch football on Sundays,” Robins said. “But now I do with my husband because of the league. It’s a great bonding opportunity because couples can enjoy football Sundays together.”

Skelton said the idea to play started after the two saw how much fun the men they knew were having with fantasy sports and wanted in on the action.

“Basically myself and Shelley got interested because we saw the guys playing, but it was hard to get into their leagues,” Skelton said. “So we decided to start our own and it started strong. We found out that once we get somebody into playing for one season they get hooked.”

The league is so popular, in fact, that it has doubled in the last two years, going up to 20 teams from 10, which caused Skelton to have to split the league into two divisions this year. It’s so popular that Pam Roberts-Flynn flew out from Boston Tuesday to draft with Incline-based friend Jeanette Finney, who together co-own the Contessas.
Skelton and Robins are banking on that sort of enthusiasm with their Web site, which Skelton says the pair are actively marketing to women’s groups in the hopes they will start other leagues.

“No one else is doing what we’re doing,” Skelton said. “We really hope to market our site to women’s groups, sororities, anywhere we can.”

The Web site can work for league owners by providing live scoring, up-to-the-minute statistics and assistance in starting up leagues and running drafts. Another attractive feature is that it provides coaching for women on how to run a team if they haven’t done so before.

“When you look at the market, nobody else is doing this,” Robins said. She said the business is growing so fast the league is looking for sponsors to help with the costs of expansion.

Skelton said the appeal of joining an all-women’s league lies in the fact that it can be less intimidating than playing in a league with the boys. And, this league is strict on its no-men policy. Boyfriends, husbands and male family members are not allowed at the draft to give advice.

“And really, the women get into it. Who would have thought we’d get up early on a Sunday morning to check the injury report?,” Skelton said. “I think girls get into it as much as men.”

The first-year Sundance Chicks were into it Tuesday, as all four members were dressed in matching pink uniforms.

“We got invited and just said what the (heck),” said Nancy Griffith, co-owner of the team.

Many pointed to the league as a great source of bonding and communication. Finney said the league helps her to keep in touch with friends, like Roberts-Flynn, who live far away during the season. Katie Powers, owner of the Catholic Pole-Riders, said she likes it because it gives her a chance to spend time with friends in Incline she wouldn’t otherwise see from her Reno home. Webber said she likes it because she can keep in touch with niece Allison.

Skelton points out, though, that these women mean business.

“We all really like to talk trash and are very competitive,” Skelton said. During add/drop time at 6 p.m. every Friday at Rookies, teams are invited to add players who are un-owned by bidding on them. “Sometimes we’ll have women screaming and bidding $150 on one player, it’s awesome.”

While $150 may seem like a frivolous investment, it could have returns. Robins said the league buy-in is $100, and a first-place finish earns $1,000. Second takes home $500, $300 goes to third place, $100 goes to fourth and a $100 bonus is available to the team who scores the most in a season.

Time to strap it on, LT. The Champagne Chickadees are counting on you.