Los Angeles-based The AFFL is Majority Choice of Expert Panel Led
by NFL All-Pro Antonio Gates and ESPN's Matthew Berry, Wins Facebook Vote
LOUISVILLE, Ky.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
Papa John's, the Official Pizza Sponsor of the NFL, today announced Los
Angeles-based The AFFL as the fantasy football league that's "better
than the rest" — winner of a nationwide search that generated online
entries coast-to-coast and highlighted by a smack-laden popular vote on
Facebook.
While the entire AFFL wins the ultimate fantasy football bragging rights
for at least a year, league commissioner Raffi Lalazarian also wins a
trip for himself and a guest to represent the nation's 27 million
fantasy football fanatics at the 2011 NFL Draft in New York City,
courtesy of Papa John's.
The AFFL (Armenian Fantasy Football League) was the majority
choice of an expert judging panel that included NFL All-Pro tight end
Antonio Gates and ESPN Senior Fantasy Analyst Matthew Berry. The league
also won America's vote over the four other finalists on Papa John's
Facebook page, which has more than 1.4 million "likes."
"As the official pizza sponsor of the NFL, and being known for ‘Better
Ingredients, Better Pizza', Papa John's set out to find the fantasy
football league that was worthy of being deemed better than the rest,"
said Papa John's Chief Marketing Officer Andrew Varga, a fantasy
football player himself who served on the judging panel. "Each finalist,
and frankly many of the entries who were not named finalists, made
compelling cases for why they should be chosen. But Raffi and The AFFL,
like Papa John's Pizza, were a cut above the rest with their fantastic
website, podcasts, substance, creativity and overall passion for
delivering a better fantasy experience for its members."
The AFFL (www.theaffl.com)
began in 2005 with 12 long-time friends, all of whom have remained in
the league to compete for the coveted and customized AFFL Championship
Ring, which bears the league's creed: "Survival of the Luckiest."
Beginning in September, the AFFL and fantasy football players and
commissioners entered their leagues in Papa John's "Fantasy to Reality"
contest via essays submitted at www.papajohns.com
or the company's Facebook page. Five finalists were selected Nov. 30,
and the popular vote was conducted on Papa John's Facebook page December
1 through 12. During this period, each league also submitted to an
intense fantasy football Q&A by the expert panel led by ESPN's Berry.
"Saying a decision was really tough is a cliché but in this case, it's
actually true," said Berry. "This contest brought out tons of amazing
leagues and all of our finalists truly embody the fun and spirit of
fantasy football. But no league demonstrated their love of the game more
than the AFFL. Their close friendship, hilarious trash talk and passion
with things like a comprehensive personal website, weekly podcast and
many YouTube videos were among the reasons they are better than the
rest."
"We thank Papa John's, Andrew Varga, Matthew Berry, Antonio Gates, the
entire Fantasy to Reality judging panel, as well as our rabid fans for
declaring us the fantasy football league that is better than the rest,"
said The AFFL Commissioner Raffi Lalazarian. "We carry the honor proudly
and will continue to provide the highest standards of fantasy fun and
fellowship to all our fans across the United States."
The other four finalists will not go away empty-handed; Papa John's is
awarding each person who entered the leagues a $100 Papa Card to use at
their 2011 fantasy draft party. The leagues are: Excessive Celebration,
entered by Brent Johnson of Atlanta; The Dude Abides, entered by Hunt
Meacham of Charlotte; Southern Illinois Fantasy Football, entered by
Donald Basta of Carterville, Ill.; and The Coaches Poll, entered by
Peter LaBauve of Columbus, Ohio.
Papa John's is in the first year of a multi-year sponsorship with the
NFL and Papa John's is also the Official Pizza of the Arizona Cardinals,
Atlanta Falcons, Baltimore Ravens, Dallas Cowboys, Houston Texans,
Indianapolis Colts, Miami Dolphins, New York Giants, New York Jets,
Philadelphia Eagles, Seattle Seahawks, St. Louis Rams, Tennessee Titans
and Washington Redskins.
Headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky, Papa John's International, Inc.
(NASDAQ: PZZA) is the world's third largest pizza company. For 10 of the
past 11 years, consumers have rated Papa John's No. 1 in customer
satisfaction among all national pizza chains in the American Customer
Satisfaction Index (ACSI). Papa John's also was honored by Restaurants &
Institutions Magazine (R&I) with the 2009 Gold Award for Consumers'
Choice in Chains in the pizza segment. Papa John's is the Official Pizza
Sponsor of the National Football League and Super Bowl XLV, XLVI and
XLVII. For more information about the company or to order pizza online,
visit Papa John's at www.papajohns.com.
© 2010 NFL Properties LLC. Team names/logos/indicia are trademarks of
the teams indicated. All other NFL-related trademarks are trademarks of
the National Football League.
Papa John's International, Inc.
Tish Muldoon, 502-261-4987
Senior
Director, Public Relations
tish_muldoon@papajohns.com
Source: Papa John's International, Inc.
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