A Fantasy Football Draft Recap

*This post is all about fantasy football. If you don't want to read it, that's ok, I won't blame you. I know that fantasy football stories are much like my golf stories in that none of you want to hear them. Just please come back tomorrow, I need the readers.

So, last night was the draft for my fantasy football league. Unlike a lot of guys, I only have one team and play in only one league. I have enough trouble keeping track of that team, I don't need to have more. Planning the draft was kind of a problem, cause the participants in this league are a little spread out. One guy is in New York, another in Miami and still another lives all the way in San Francisco. There was talk about using video conferencing, but that seemed excessive considering this isn't the actual NFL draft. Besides that, I really didn't need to see their faces as they took the Colts' third wide receiver. Also, we don't need to Skype; we're not long-lost relatives. So, while this cut down on the typical shit-talking that happens in a fantasy football draft, with everyone at their own homes at least no one felt left out of the fun and this year's draft was very quick and efficient.

If you're wondering why we still have the same guys in a league despite being so spread out, I'll tell you: when you get a good mix of people in a sports fantasy league, you desperately fight to keep that mix together. Inviting in new people can be a recipe for disaster, that's why we've kept the league at 8 instead of the typical 10, because expansion is a dicey prospect. It's very annoying being in a sports league with people who aren't good at fantasy sports. They'll leave roster spots open, forget to replace injured guys and not make subs during the bye week. It's like a free win and that's not fun. So when you have a group of people that all keep up with that kind of stuff it's imperative that they stick together. Hell, you can even be in a league with people you don't like as long as they're good fantasy owners. It can lead to conversations like this:

Guy #1: Hey, I'm heading over to Brian's, you want to come?
Guy #2: No, I can't stand Brian.
Guy #1: Oh. Well, we have the fantasy draft in a couple weeks, did you want to replace him?
Guy #2: Of course not. Don't be stupid.

We also have a good commissioner, which is key to any league. He needs to be the right mix of "dorky enough to care to organize everything" without crossing the line into "cares so much he'll constantly be changing rules for his benefit, because if he loses the league championship his year is ruined." It's a delicate mix. The one time I tried fantasy baseball the commissioner changed the rules 4 times between the draft and the start of the season and then declared that if a certain person won the league it would not count. When I called him on this I was then asked to leave the league. I haven't talked to that guy since (see, kids, sometimes fantasy sports are the only reason that some people are friends to begin with).

As for the draft itself, I hate my team (this is always my reaction, by the way). I had a bad season last year and thus had the first pick. I basically controlled the rest of the draft. We have a keeper league, which means you can keep one guy from last year's roster (another reason expansion would be difficult). It also means the big guns (Brees, Peterson, Brady) are already taken. I kept LDT from last year (which should prove how bad my team was) and wavered between Maurice Jones-Drew and D'Angelo Williams, ultimately going with Jones-Drew. When the guy after me picked Williams I almost immediately wanted to trade them for each other. My buyer's remorse comes on quickly. Picking first in a snake draft is tricky because you have the first pick, but then don't pick again until the 16th pick. It's a lot of time to watch talent come of the board. It's much better to have the 4th or 5th pick because at least then you can be in the middle of every round.

I won't bore you with all the details (I know, I know - too late), I'll just say I went very running back heavy with LDT, Jones-Drew, Frank Gore and Ryan Grant as my first 4 picks. I have no QB because I missed the first big wave and had to settle for Aaron Rodgers. Then in the later rounds it was just about finding the best available Notre Dame alum to fill out my roster. And, yes, I gambled that Brady Quinn will be Cleveland's starter. Either way I expect a return to glory this year. I've won the league 3 out of the last 4 times and anything less than a playoff run will be very disappointing.