WTF, Fantasy Football?
When I first heard of Fantasy Football ten years ago, that was the question that I asked, but now, after playing for a decade, I can tell you that Fantasy Football is the best Fantasy sport around, and it is as close to managing a real team as it comes.
JOINING A LEAGUE
In 1999, a friend of mine asked me if I wanted to join his league. Now, this was a guy who I have known my whole life. When we were kids, he was the best athlete, dominating basketball, baseball, football, and always getting the girl. Being as competitive as I am, I always wanted to beat him at something but had little success. Thus, when the opportunity to face him in a new realm presented itself, I had to take it.
PREDRAFT TIPS
Once you join a fantasy football league, make sure you become familiar with the rules and how the scoring system works. If passing touchdowns are worth 6 points, you will know that quarterbacks automatically become more important than they would be in leagues where passing touchdowns are worth just 4 points. Many great leagues will provide you with a rulebook that will list the rules and scoring system. If your fantasy league doesn’t offer this, don’t worry it can be found relatively easily. All you need to do is log onto your league’s site, see the settings and check them out.
Do your homework: After becoming familiar with the scoring, you go online and utilize what has become the best tool out there on the web, the Bruno Boys Fantasy Football Pre-Draft Webazine, which will help guide you through your draft. If you seek a second opinion, purchase a fantasy magazine, but remember to look online for updated information before drafting. Also, watch for training camp injuries. No one wants to draft a guy who is already out for the season with a torn ACL (what a waste).
THE DRAFT
There are many ways to draft – a computer draft (where the computer does it for you), live online draft (where you join a league and draft at a time when you are available over the Internet), or an in-person draft with the other members of your fantasy football league. I recommend the latter
If I let the computer draft for me and I win, I feel less satisfied than when I draft for myself. If I draft live online, it’s convenient, but the experience is lacking. When you draft in person with everyone else in your league, the possibilities are endless, though I guarantee it always ends up being a good time no matter what the situation.
DRAFT ESSENTIALS
Get a Draft Board from Commishkit.com for only $19.99. This board allows you to manage your draft easily. It comes with pre-made stickers color-coded by position, making it easy for owners to see who needs what when it comes to constructing their team.
Next, get a bikini girl, model, stripper, someone you wouldn’t mind your friends staring at, and teach her how to put those stickers on the board (so easy a blonde can do it).
Make sure you have a timer to keep your draft on schedule. No one wants to take 12 hours to finish a draft. Give everyone two minutes to make a pick and get on with it.
Every good draft has much good food, drinks, alcohol (if you’re of legal age), decorations, and rules that force people to pay attention. “Draft a guy that has already been picked, and that owner has to take a shot… next guy takes two, etc.”.
During my first draft, I wasn’t sure what to expect. I drafted a WR first, a QB second, and a RB third only to find out later that RB’s were the key to fantasy. Every position is important, but in my league, RB’s are the top dogs. Again, I remind you to know the rules.
SUNDAY/MONDAY RITUALS
To fully maximize the enjoyment of the Fantasy Football season, you should have access to the NFL Ticket offered by Direct TV. Go to a sports bar that has it, go to a friend’s house, or order it yourself. To be successful, you need to see how your players are playing, how the coaches are using them, and most importantly, you need to know right away if they get injured. On the flip side of that, you need to know when someone else loses a player, so you can take advantage of their misfortune by picking up the player that took their guy’s spot. You can prevent all this by handcuffing your players (drafting or picking up a player’s backup, known as FANTASY INSURANCE.
No matter where you are watching, make sure you’re with friends, with food and drinks available. If you have ordered the games, make sure the other people watching provide food and beverages at your house, so you are not the only one coming out of pocket. After watching all the games Sunday, do it all over again Monday as you watch and see if you can pull out a last-minute win during Monday Night Football. Nothing beats a game that goes down to the wire on Monday night.
INJURIES AND BYE WEEKS
Injuries and byes are really what make any Fantasy Football league interesting. What moves will you make to fill the holes that you have? Will a guy be out one week or multiple weeks? Do I drop a stud on a bye to find a guy who is playing? There are hundreds of people out there who can tell you what they think you should do, but in the end, that decision is yours; choose wisely.
If you play your cards right, you might end up in the playoffs. In some leagues, only the top four make it. In my fantasy league, the top six make the playoffs, and the top two teams get a bye in a three-week playoff setup.
Ten years ago, I was lucky enough to make the playoffs. A lateral pass to my RB that he threw to my WR (a 12 point play, how exciting) pushed me over the top and into the Championship game. In that final game, my opponent was none other than my childhood friend, the one who invited me to play, the one I was never able to beat as a youngster. In that game, all my years of frustration came to an end, as I was able to win a runaway, making the trophy mine.
Fantasy Football isn’t just a fun thing to play, it is a weekly event, but it can also be a very redeeming experience for some.
Good Luck in 2010.
-Commish Kit
Don’t forget to order your Fantasy Football Draft Boards from commishkit.com. They are now shipping.
Come back next week for more 2021 Fantasy Football news and insights!
And, don’t forget to order your 2021 Commish Kit Fantasy Football Draft Boards. They are now shipping.
