Official Launch of The Football Club 2012

Congratulations, you have found the new home of The Football Club, a yearly NFL picks competition that has been based out of Novato and Sonoma since 1997.  If you are reading this, you probably received an invite by e-mail or were referred to the club by one of your friends.  I am happy to report that The Football Club has officially reopened for the 2012 season.  The Week 1 picks sheet will be posted on Friday, August 31st for games which will be held the following weekend.  If you are a newcomer to the club (what we call a Rookie player), please familiarize yourself with all of our Official Rules and pay particular attention to #2- Contract Rule.  For returning club veterans, feel free to spend the next week getting to know the new official site of The Football Club.  We are very happy that we now have our own domain to host the club.  So what can you find on the new official site?

To navigate through the pages of The Football Club, simply click on the menu links that are located below the main header (the picture of the football field).  There you will find 5 main menu buttons– Main Page, Club Central, Weekly Play, H2H & Team Play, and The Hall of Fame.  As you hover your mouse over each of these menu buttons, you will find that there are sub-menus.  It is in these sub-menu buttons that you will find all of the club pages (both old and new).  For starters, all are encouraged to read the About the Club page and then the Official Rules page.  The About the Club page will explain all of the sub-menu buttons which lead to various club pages.  The Official Rules page gives the current rules that the club is operating under (which has a few updates for the 2012 season including the Bye Week Rule).  Always remember that the Main Page menu button will return you back to this page, which is the Club home page.  It is on this page where I will share my weekly Main Page Column, give regular updates via brief blog posts as necessary, and where everyone can talk to other club members by using the Club Shoutbox.  The new club site is best viewed on a home computer, laptop, or tablet.  But there is a mobile version of the site which you will see if you are reading this with your mobile phone.  If you are using a mobile phone, please press the menu button on the top right of your phone screen.  Next, press on the About Football Club Mobile link that shows up to familiarize yourself with how the club works on a mobile phone.  Enjoy looking over our new site as we get ready for the release of the Week 1 Picks Sheet one week from tomorrow.  If you haven’t already, please send me a brief message or post a quick note on the Club Shoutbox to officially sign up for the 2012 club.

While I have kept in touch with most of you through the off-season, I haven’t talked to a few of you since last season.  So if you’re wondering why the Sixteenth Year of the club is named the Family Edition and why I’m playing under the name Papa Tuna (in honor of Papa Rickster and Papa J-Bird using similar names in the past), it is because our first baby is due this Saturday.  And actually, redesigning the club and making this new site will be very helpful in that regard, as the club uses a simplified format that requires much less time on my part.  In particular, the new Current Standings chart, Head to Head chart, and Pro Bowl charts use a format that will make things much easier by saving all data.  In the past, the charts were pretty much written from scratch each week for the most part.  Be sure and check out the new format we will use for Current Standings by visiting the Current Standings page.  Try hovering your mouse over the new Current Standings box and other charts to see how rows are highlighted for easy viewing.  Additionally, The Hall of Fame has been redesigned and much more information has been added to the Club Archives.  So check that out as well.  See you on the field!