Fantasy league bullfighting returns
Those toros:toreros readers who are also longstanding members of the Club Taurino of London may recall that, in 1994 and 1995, I ran a light-hearted competition called ‘Fantasy Figura’ in which contestants were given a notional £20m to invest in two matadores de toros, one novillero, a ganadería and a bullring. The aim was to score as many points as possible over the forthcoming temporada, with points awarded differently in the various categories. The matadors and novillero would receive one point for each appearance (excluding festivales) and a further point for each ear awarded on those occasions: on the other hand, any injury classed as ‘grave’ or worse would incur a deduction of six points. In the case of the ganadería, points were awarded or deducted on the bulls’ performances in first class plazas: five for an indulto, two for an ovation en arrastre and minus two for pitos. The bullring investment was determined by attendance at the plaza’s corridas - two points for a full house, minus one point each time the plaza wasn’t filled, and minus two points for any corrida that was cancelled. Players would also receive three points for each £1m they didn’t invest “as there may be more sensible things to do with your money!” In its second year, ‘Fantasy Figura’ also offered a mini-competition based solely on the results of Madrid’s Feria de San Isidro.
In hindsight, as the organiser of the contest, it was too complicated, and, at a time of vastly greater numbers of corridas than now, it was very laborious going through each weekly Aplausos - particularly in the summer months - totting up the various point scorings. The competition ran for two years, both temporada winners receiving six bottles of wine for their efforts, but the second year’s ‘winner’ was subsequently found to have invested £27m rather than £20m, which should have resulted in his disqualification. At that point, I opted to cease running ‘Fantasy Figura’, which had been inspired by Lenny Freedman’s story of the Lozano apoderados considering whether they would make more money by backing Manuel Caballero or Juan Mora, by the football fantasy competitions that were then all the rage, and by a period of bed-bound illness when I had nothing better to dream up.
The existence of ‘Fantasy Figura’ was picked up at the time by one of Spain’s national dailies, but it has taken 32 years for the launch of a similar game there. ‘TauroFantasy’ (which has erroneously promoted itself as “el primer juego fantasy del mundo taurino”) looks to be a simpler concept. Registering on the game’s website delivers you a notional 20,000 euros to spend on one of 20 matadors (if you introduce other players to the game you and they are awarded an additional 1,000 euros each) for a competition that runs throughout the temporada and produces a monthly league table. As your holdings go up or down, depending on how your chosen torero performs, you can ‘sell’ your matador and ‘buy’ another, with such moves intended to bring a strategic element to the game.
Aside from this competition, you can also choose to back particular toreros in individual carteles. There is also a separate game based on la Copa Chenel where you can pick three of the certamen’s contestants and see how you fare in the subsequent league table. The Copa Chenel competition has prizes, too - a visit for two to the ganadería of Victorino Martín for the winner; a case of Victorino Martín wine for the runner-up; and a Victorino Martín polo shirt for the player who comes third. In addition, all three will receive two abono tickets for the 2027 Copa Chenel.
Anyone wanting some enjoyable entertainment to accompany their corrida viewing this year can sign on at TauroFantasy.