SportSims.net

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SportSims.net is a company based in Defiance, Ohio, U.S. that specializes in online sports simulations. Using their custom, unique SimEngine, users can experience what it is like to own, manage and coach a professional American football franchise. In one of 32 U.S. cities, users build fictitious teams consisting of players from the entire span of the National Football League and join or create leagues to play with their friends for a fee. Unlike traditional [fantasy football], SportSims.net does not rely on what actual players do each game to determine the results of the sim. SportSims simulates each game using a SimEngine which looks at each individual player’s stats, team stats, momentum and other factors.

Contents 1 Company History 2 Exhibition Season 3 Dynasty Football Simulation 4 Forums and Bulletin Boards 5 USA Today Super Bowl Predictions 6 Super Bowl Champions Tournament

[edit] Company History

Founded in 2003, SportSims was the dream of an entrepreneurial sports fan in Defiance, Ohio. While in college in the late 1980s, this entrepreneur, Steve Olson, discovered a computer game called “NFL Pro-League Football” by Micro Sports. After playing this game for many years and adding many different franchise elements, he had transformed the game into a league where team owners could made trades, participate in drafts and where players could get injured, age and retire. In early 2003, he contacted the creator of the original game, David Holt, and entered into a business contract for the website. After nearly four years of development, the football simulation went live in the fall of 2006. Many game and environmental enhancements were added to the site since that time.

[edit] Exhibition Season

After users sign up for a free membership, they can play a free Demo Exhibition Season. Users select a team, set up their starters, customize their game plan and simulate games. All exhibition simulations produce a complete set of box scores as well as a full play-by-play. If the user likes their exhibition team, he or she may keep that team and continue to play the dynasty mode for a monthly fee.

[edit] Dynasty Football Simulation

For a monthly fee of $9.95, users can select their own team in any of 32 cities and join a league with other people. Users can make trades with other people in their league and then draft rookie talent in a live, real-time draft. After sending players to training camp, the roster is filled out to 55 and all leagues play full, 16-game seasons with playoffs. Complete stats are tracked for all teams and players. Users whose teams make it to the playoffs earn from $1 to $9.95 in credit toward their next season.

[edit] Forums and Bulletin Boards

The site offers user forums for each league, along with general discussions and help sections. Trade offers, requests for help and “smack talk” often occur in league forums. For communication directly to a user, a bulletin board, called SimSpeak, is housed on each user’s team roster page. Other league members can leave a message for a specific user by posting a message. Trades are negotiated on SimSpeak as well as congratulations for games well played or condolences for users suffering losses or severe injuries.

[edit] USA Today Super Bowl Predictions

Each year for the past 20 years, David Holt and SportSims have supplied USA Today with predictions of the Super Bowl. Both teams' players and team statistics are entered into the simulation and the Super Bowl match-ups for each year are simulated at least 20,000 times. From those simulations, an accurate prediction, including the score, a full play-by-play, and individual player statistics are supplied. Although not intended for gambling purposes, the simulation is quite accurate; their record in predicting Super Bowl wins and scores is 15-5 (as of Feb. 2007).

[edit] Super Bowl Champions Tournament

Each of the Super Bowl winning teams over the past 41 years is seeded and played to reveal a Champion of Champions. In the second release of the tournament, completed after the Colts victory in Super Bowl XLI, the two teams who face each other in the final game are the 1979 Pittsburgh Steelers and the 1985 Chicago Bears. In SportSims simulation, the '79 Steelers won the game, 31-24.