Fan factor seems to be a misunderstood Blood Bowl stat by many rookies here at FUMBBL. Fan factor is essential to having a well-built team. Starting with a high fan factor is very important to having a long running team. Fans' monetary contributions help the team in almost every way. Money brings better coaches (more rerolls), more talent in the form of new players, cagey stars for that must-win game, wizards to assist you with a handy spell and sometimes can win you a match when your rabid, intoxicated fans invade the pitch and attack the opposing the team!

A good example of a team not in it for the long haul is a Chaos team right out of the chaos waste with no chain of disgusting mutants in support. These poor Chaos teams usually suffer the most from low fan factor. As they trundle out of the waste, four unskilled chaos warriors and seven beastmen strong with no apothecary, these sad teams are derided and laughed at by Blood Bowl fans the Old World over. As the stands get filled by the opposing team's fans, often one lonely mom sits by herself in the corner of the stands to cheer on her son who gave his soul to Slaanesh for his supernatural strength. These teams often have horrible coaching (0 rerolls) and can not run a play to take a life let alone do something simple like pick up the ball! Often enough the loss of a few beastmen early on will spell the doom of this team, as the more affluent and popular Chaos teams snap up the best beastman talent while this team is stuck with the pennies they earn after each match. As attrition sets in and mutants are lost faster then they can be replaced, these doomed Chaos teams quietly retire back to the waste with all thoughts of Blood Bowl glory lost.

Teams starting in well populated places like Praag in Kislev have a good jumpstart and a chance of going a long way. Their loyal fans support their team and often 61,000+ fans will show up for the team's first official match. This builds a team into a strong contender quickly, as the coveted position players are snatched up and added to the team's arsenal. Though deaths may depress some fans, they know that a star's death will not cause the downfall of a team due to the solid fiscal base the team has in their fans! Also, glorious stars that freeboot from game to game have a better chance of showing up in their home team's stadium at any time due to this cash flow. This adds to the Blood Bowl excitement by allowing the fans to see a true Blood Bowl legend in action! Well do I remember the time I saw the Greenfield Grasshuggers stroll into town with Morg and Deeproot. Sadly all that was left on the field by the end of the match were Morg and Deeproot but man, that was a good bloody match! I still have the embalmed head that I pulled off a 'fling that landed next to me in the stands, and I show it to my grandkids and neighbors frequently!

The lesson is this: a serious head coach who wishes to go on to glory and win the coveted FUMBBL Cup, the most glorious Blood Bowl prize in the Old World, will not overlook his fan base! A canny coach will look for a well populated area to start his recruiting and get a lot of homegrown talent on his team. This may mean starting with less polished position players out of the various Blood Bowl schools, but it means that people will go to see the game! Whether it's 50,000 mutants following around a group of beastmen out of the waste or the famous Chemical Reaction Tribe that isn't just a goblin team but a goblin nation, a high stable fan factor ensures a team's longevity and how competitive they are!