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History of Zealots Field

Zealots Field first began as the vision of our founder Oscar Knight in 2002. Growing tired of the common simplistic redraft leagues, he wanted a new kind of fantasy football experience – one that provided year-round action, team ownership, and in-depth rules. Not finding that kind of league in existence, he decided to start his own, and it has grown ever since.

Oscar Knight’s goals and early history with Zealots are best described by him in his own words. Here is our “Lord Zealot” speaking on why he created Zealots and how things grew in those early days.

Q: What led you to start that first Zealots league?

It was early in 2002 when I first decided to start a new league. I had been in a local league for 14 years and was growing bored with the simplistic rules and small rosters. It was a great group of guys, but I simply wasn’t challenged with the format. My first thoughts were, “What kind of league would look as close to a real NFL as possible?”  While there are some limitations, like no offensive line players, punters, etc – I thought an NFL-size roster with maximum scoring possibilities would be a good start.

Q: Did you have several guys in mind for that first league or did you have to seek new members on message-boards, web-sites, etc? Or did that occur during the later expansion?

Actually, I only had a couple friends in mind when I first started Zealots Field. I had been in an online league and asked a few of them if they would like to join my experimental league. When I explained my concept to a few of them, they jumped in and asked if some of their friends could join. I also posted the idea on a few fantasy football sites simply to get ideas and feedback and was overwhelmed by the number of guys who wanted to join.

Q: What led to the idea of expanding to that first Grange Syndicate of twelve Zealots leagues? Was that a thought or goal even when you started the first league?

Initially I just planned on one league of twelve owners. Within a few days, the response was so positive that I offered to start Z2. By the time I realized Zealots Field could end up with four or five leagues, it occurred to me that 12 leagues of 12 owners would be perfect. That’s when I started “recruiting” new owners. Although our first year had some growing pains and false starts, we had a waiting list of guys wanting to join. That’s the reason I started thinking of Zealots as a larger project.

Q: How long had you been involved with fantasy football when you started Zealots?

My first fantasy team was drafted in 1989.  My first team was Jim Everett, Ickey Woods, Barry Sanders, Gary Clark, Willie Anderson, Henry Ellard, Mike Quick, Fuad Revez and the Redskins Team D/ST.

Q: Had you been involved in previous on-line leagues, or mainly live local leagues?

I was involved in my local league from 1989 until 2004.  My first online league was in 2001, the year before I founded Zealots Field.

Q: Had involvement with other leagues help you decide what things you wanted to do and/or avoid in the Zealots format?

As I mentioned earlier, I was looking for more of a challenge. I wanted larger rosters and the opportunity for maximum transactions between teams. I did not like all of the dead space in my other leagues. Rules about not trading during large portions of the year and the inability to pick up free agents during the off-season were frustrating for someone who wanted a little football action year-round. That’s the reason I wanted Zealots Field to be a football community where something was always happening. We can never dictate that owners stay active throughout the year, but we can create a system that encourages it.

Q: Why did you want to make Zealots a dynasty league as opposed to a redraft league?

I love to draft.  However, I also like to feel ownership over my team.  If I was going to try to model closely after the NFL, I wanted every owner to have the ability to actually own a franchise that they could build and improve over the years. The whole dynasty versus redraft argument has always seemed a bit silly to me. It’s simply a matter of preference. There are thousands of redraft leagues available annually to fantasy football owners, but very view quality fantasy football communities which specialize in dynasty leagues.

Q: What were your opinions on Individual Defensive Player (IDP) leagues as opposed to team defense leagues, and why did you want Zealots to include IDP?

The challenge of having individual defensive players was key. Also, it fit with my goal of having an NFL-like environment. For 14 years I had played with only team defenses. The idea of IDPs was fairly new in fantasy football, mostly because league management software was just catching up with the trend. If you are a Zealot how can you not want to be involved in every aspect of the game!?

Q: Why did you structure the initial rules the way you did -- any particular issues or emphasis you were looking to get out of the league?

I adopted some of the better rules from other leagues. I brought some from my local league, lifted some ideas from other Internet leagues and created some new ones for Zealots Field. The Rules are still a work in progress, but I knew I wanted to make it hard to change the rules. That’s why we have to get a 75% approval to pass any amendments to the rules. Stability is important to the success of any fantasy football league, so I wanted to make sure that guys knew that things would change around here based on a whim.

Q: What led to the Code of Conduct -- why did you feel that would be an important and needed component of the Zealot leagues?

First, and foremost, I am a Christian man with strong beliefs about integrity and proper behavior. While I'm certainly not without fault, and often fail in my own personal code, I wanted to create an environment where everyone would feel comfortable – a place that a man’s child could visit and not be compromised in any way. A Code of Conduct is essential with a large group of guys who do not know one another. But whether or not you are a man or woman of faith, we should all be able to agree that we treat one another with decency and mutual respect. I have little patience for guys who take the game too seriously and are willing to tear down the people around them.

Q: Why did you seek to make Zealots free leagues as opposed to leagues where a pool is wagered and won?

Money changes people – usually for the worse. Many of our owners gamble and are involved with money leagues – just not here. I wanted Zealots Field to be just for fun. The fact that we have hundreds of men and women playing this game without the possibility of a pay off is evidence that we can just enjoy the hobby without wagering. Again, many leagues exist outside of the Zealots experience for those that want to gamble.

Q: What are some of your favorite memories of that first league and/or year?

In 2002 there was simply an excitement about starting something new. We all feel that way, whether it’s a new job, new car, new video game, etc. The thing that I enjoyed the most, however, was the knowledge that we had created a little game that was growing and enjoyed by many. It may sound corny, but it’s true.

Q:  If you could start it over again, what things would you do differently if you were to start Zealots all over again? Would you even do it again?

There is no doubt I would do it again.  It’s been a blast.  If I had it to do over again I would have started to build a leadership team around me much sooner.  The road from benevolent dictator to ruling council has been rough at times, but much needed.  We are fortunate to have many talented leaders in Zealots Field.  All of them unselfishly donate their time and talents to this game.  I should have tapped into it from the beginning.

Q: How has presiding over Zealots for these years as it has it grown and expanded felt to you? How has it changed you?

I’m an extremist. Like the python trying to swallow the pig, there can come a time when you wonder if you bit off more than you can chew. As an extremist, I tend to jump into the deep end and hope I can swim. In a strange way, Zealots Field, as a hobby, has helped me find some balance in life. My faith and family are most important to me. My career and life mission is fulfilling and rewarding. My hobby is Zealots Field and a few other side items. We must always keep things in proper perspective. This is just a game. Extremists tend to sign up for more leagues than they should and make commitments they cannot keep. Extremists tend to quit the game in mid-course. I’ve whittled down the number of teams I own and have not quit Zealots, so perhaps I’m learning to be less extreme, but still have fun.

Q: Has Zealots changed your opinions and/or your involvement in other leagues, or fantasy football in general?

Yes. I’ve dropped out of every other league because, in all honesty, Zealots has been the most fun. I’m speaking purely as an owner now. When I play the game in one of my Zealots leagues, I truly enjoy it. For me, the Zealots Way, is the only way.

Q: Anything else you'd like to add?

Whatever the future holds, it is encouraging for me to know that Zealots Field is no longer just “Oscar Knight’s leagues”, but all of ours. To know that this game will live on, regardless of my involvement, to give some happiness to a few crazy fantasy football gamers is rewarding. Enjoy!

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