Q&A with Michael Thompson – the first fantasy sports millionaire

When FLW Fantasy Fishing was first announced, I must admit I was confused, if not skeptical. FLW Outdoors was really going to hand out seven $100,000 checks for each FLW Tour tournament and a $1 million check at the end of the season? That’s great, but why? I also immediately thought of the anglers. Why can’t that money be allocated to our fishermen – the loyal customers of our company?

My sentiment gradually changed throughout the year, but it really hit home on Aug. 21 when the $1 million FLW Fantasy Fishing winner was announced. This is for the anglers. This is exactly what they need. For years, there has been a major disconnect between recreational anglers and competitive fishermen. The majority of these weekend anglers don’t follow the major tournament trails and some don’t even believe fishing should be a competitive sport. That’s where fantasy fishing steps in as a simple and enjoyable way to learn about the pros and win some awesome prizes in the process. Fantasy fishing is and will continue to be the driving force that turns casual fishermen into fans and followers of professional angling.

A perfect example of this is Michael Thompson. An avid angler and Ranger boat owner, Thompson is no stranger to the water. However, until FLW Fantasy Fishing came about, the names Michael Bennett, David Dudley and Brent Ehrler literally meant nothing to him. Now they mean everything.

After a weekend of celebration and travel, Thompson is back in his St. Michael, Minn., home. In this in-depth Q&A feature, we talk with Thompson about why he chose to play FLW Fantasy Fishing, how he picked his anglers and what he would do differently if he was commissioner of the game.

– Brett Carlson

Q: How did you first hear about FLW Fantasy Fishing and what made you decide to play?

A: I first heard about it about from a commercial while watching “FLW Outdoors” on Fox Sports Net. The commercial immediately caught my eye. I watch the shows regularly and I figured having a roster of anglers for each tournament would make watching the shows way more exciting – especially if a few of them made the top 10. It also didn’t hurt that the commercial advertised $7.3 million in cash and prizes.

Q: The season’s first winner came from St. Michael, Minn., and you live there as well. For those that aren’t aware, St. Michael is a small suburb of Minneapolis that boasts roughly 12,000 people. Is there any connection between you and the season’s first winner, Christopher Toring?

A: No. I don’t know him and I’ve never even talked to him. It’s a complete coincidence. I will say this though. When I saw him win the first tournament, fantasy fishing became real for me. When a guy from my town won $100,000, I knew I could definitely win a prize. But I swear I’ve never met the guy.

Q: I’ve read that you were a Player’s Advantage member? Did that really help and if so, what PA tool did you find most beneficial?

A: I definitely think it helped. The Lake/Angler matchups were huge – it was probably the tool I used the most. I also looked at the current FLW Tour standings. Those were important as were the past statistics for a given angler on a particular lake. I fish a lot myself and I know that there are some lakes where some people just continually do well on. Likewise, if you’re on a hot streak you can continue it from lake to lake. For whatever reason, momentum and confidence is huge in this sport. Overall, I guess I just really looked at the matchups, the standings and the past lake history. I was definitely not going to pick someone who finishes 150th at every tournament.

Q: You said you’re a fisherman and you clearly understand how tournaments work. So why did you feel it was necessary to become a Player’s Advantage member?

A: Two reasons – there are a lot of pros out there and the prizes being offered were amazing. The quality of the prizes at both each of the seven tournaments and the overall cumulative prize was huge. To me, a $35 payment is nothing when there are that many prizes – especially with the cumulative prize. I figured if I won one prize, it would pay for itself and of course it did. I won a $50 savings bond at the third tournament of the year and I won a $40 Wal-Mart gift card at the last tournament. I figured when it comes to winning something, I’ll take every advantage I can get. My brother thought I was crazy when I first signed up for Player’s Advantage. It was funny – then both him and my neighbor bought it when they offered it in the middle of the season for like $15.

Q: How serious of a fisherman are you? Have you ever competed in any tournaments? What lakes do you fish in Minnesota?

A: I fish the Minnetonka Classic just about every year and this year was the first time I cashed a check. Incidentally, my brother and I were the last team to get a check – so we just barely sneaked in. (Editors note: Mike and Cody Thompson fished together as a team and took 20th place out of 102 boats – winning $275.) I also fish the Big Bass Bonanza which is a team tournament trail in Minnesota. I’m also thinking about fishing the co-angler side of the Silverado Pro-Am Bass Tour next year. The Silverado is sponsored by Ranger and is probably the premier circuit in the state right now. Believe it or not, I’ve only been bass fishing for like five years. I started bass fishing because I needed something to occupy me until bow hunting season starts. My true outdoor passion is hunting whitetail deer.

Q: Let’s get back to fantasy fishing for a minute. Was picking Michael Bennett to win a gut feeling or did you really have that much confidence in him?

A: A little bit of both. I knew when I was reading about Lake Murray that only 77 pros qualified and that Murray had a lot of docks. I also checked the past Forrest Wood Cup history with the Western guys and finesse fishing. Besides Suggs, the last few championships were won by young Western guys and Bennett was red hot.

It was a little bit of research and a little bit of “I think he can do this.” Earlier in the year I was thinking too much about my picks. Here’s a good story for you. I actually had Mark Pack picked to win Beaver Lake and I removed him the night before the tournament. I did the math afterwards and I would have won the $100,000 by like 1,300 points. From then on, I’ve really believed in the whole first instinct thing tremendously.

Q: How closely did you follow the action? Did you watch weigh-ins? Did you continually check the results? Did you know you were in contention during the Forrest Wood Cup?

A: I personally checked stats after each day. I would say I watched 70 percent of the weigh-ins on FLW Live. So I would say I follow the action pretty dang closely. I missed Saturday of the Forrest Wood Cup and I was actually fishing a Big Bass Bonanza tournament on the Horseshoe Chain in Cold Spring, Minn., on Sunday. We weren’t doing so hot. We went six hours without a bite and it was like 90 degrees out and humid. So I decided to head home early and watch the final weigh-in. I was in 15th place going into the tournament and I knew Bennett was doing well – which was huge. Then I was thinking that I need Brent Ehrler to fall from fifth to seventh.

When I saw him fall to seventh – I choked up. I didn’t think I won, but in my heart I knew I won a really good prize. I personally thought I moved up into the top five. After it happened I told my wife I did it. She of course tried to bring me back down to reality by reminding the points were tripled. It was a long three hours before I got the call from Glenn (Deering, Director of Membership Marketing for FLW Outdoors.) When I got the call, I knew I made the top 15.

Q: Did you have one season-long strategy or did you go with a different strategy for each individual tournament?

A: If there was a strategy, it was to definitely use all the Player’s Advantage tools. I looked at the percentages too. I didn’t use every single pick, (from the Fantasy Trend and Pundits’ Picks) but I did use all five of the top five from the Fantasy Trend for the last two tournaments. I was doing well and I really wanted to maintain my position. At the last two tournaments I definitely picked conservatively – more to maintain than move up. But early in the year I used all the tools and just made educated selections. I guess it worked out pretty well

Q: Now that it’s all over, has it really set in that you won?

A: No. Honestly it hasn’t. I had one day and then I had to get ready to go to school. (Editors note: Thompson is currently attending classes at the Center for Criminal Justice and Law Enforcement in St. Paul.) I really haven’t had time to think about it and let it sink in. We’re slowly getting things in order around here.

The night we won we just went across the street from the hotel and had dinner with my father-in-law and mother-in-law who drove down from Virginia. Believe it or not, I did a fantasy football draft over the phone during dinner. I know it sounds crazy but I couldn’t be the one to screw it up for the other 19 guys. My brother would call me every 20 minutes and tell me who was off the board. I sat there with my Fanball magazine and was crossing off players as he told me. After that, we had a drink with James Brown and his wife, who finished second and won the Ranger boat. They are really great people.

When we got home to Minnesota we had a bonfire with our neighbors in the driveway. We relaxed, had a few drinks and chit-chatted about our trip. We just needed to unwind and get ready for the week ahead. I’m almost afraid to spend any of the money now. Maybe it will sink in when we talk to our tax lawyer next week.

Q: In your opinion, what’s the future for FLW Fantasy Fishing? Do you think fantasy fishing can continue to grow, maybe even one day rivaling NASCAR and fantasy football?

A: Just by the people I talked to personally, nobody really knew about. I was surprised more people didn’t see the advertisement for it. I mean everybody watches Fox Sports Net at some point throughout the day. There are so many people who didn’t know about it then but know about it now that I think it will grow tremendously. That being said, it might be a lot tougher to win next year. But that growth will be a good thing. I know it will grow in Minnesota and I’m sure it will in the other states as well. I know a lot of the football Web sites are already trying to match the prize package.

Q: If you could change anything about the game, what would it be?

A: Personally I would change the triple points at the end. The reason I don’t like it is that it puts too much emphasis on the final tournament. The way I saw it, it looked like James Brown and I were the only ones who stayed in the top 15 from the previous tournament. Everybody else had a late surge and leapfrogged in.

I like the exacta, but maybe not have so many points for it. Even though it worked out the best for me I would still tweak it. I think the exacta, especially for first place, is too high. Other than that, the game is just about perfect.

Q: You’ve won $1 million. That amount will be spread out as $100,000 each year for 10 years. We’ve heard a little about how you plan to spend the money. You’ve had nearly a week to think about it some more. What’s the plan now?

A: First off, we’re going to buy a new house and move from our townhome. Second, come spring I am going to look for 40-80 acres of hunting property in the Alexandria, Minn., area – I just love the transition from woods to farm land up there. I’m also going to pay off the Ranger boat. And I went a few upgrades for it – a nice, big Lowrance graph. Other than that we’ll just pay off a few bills here and there and contribute to an IRA.

The funny thing about the house is that like three months ago we were driving around and saw a nice, big house on the corner of a great neighborhood that was only five miles from where we live now. My wife and I both fell in love with it. It was built in 2007 but nobody has ever lived in it. We’re still looking around but that one in particular is definitely a good possibility.