While many are beginning to at least hum along to “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year” in preparation for school, football fans are revving up for a new NFL season. But to many what is even more exciting than the NFL season opener between the Steelers and Titans on September 10th is the start of another year of Fantasy Football. The time and location of the thousands of drafts all over the world will be finalized in the next couple of days and then the fun begins.
Three kinds of Leagues: Annual Draft Leagues, Keeper Leagues, and Auction Leagues
There are three basic kinds of fantasy football leagues according to expert Gene Wang of the Washington Post: Annual Draft League, Keeper Leagues, and Auction Leagues. Annual Draft Leagues allow participants to draft new teams each year. If the league participants remain fairly consistent, subsequent drafts often occur in the opposite order of how a player’s fantasy team finished the previous year (If you finished first in 08 you would draft last in 09). This is the most popular draft technique and allows players to get a fresh start each season.
Keeper Leagues permit participants to keep players they drafted in previous years if they wish, but each person must give up the corresponding draft position of the player they keep. If they drafted Peyton Manning first last year and want to keep him, they would not get a first round pick this year.
Auction Leagues are popular in places like Las Vegas where, of course, people like to gamble. In these leagues a real dollar “salary cap” is set and participants bid on specific players. If you have seven players and have hit your salary cap, then you cannot draft any other players to round out the fantasy team. These leagues are very well researched and very intense largely because participants are putting their own money on the line.
What Happens in a Fantasy Football League?
Fantasy leagues vary from sport to sport, league to league, and even in how winners and losers are determined, but basic fantasy football works like this:
- You have a draft either in person, over a conference call, or live on line. Usually around 20 players of different positions from different teams are selected.
- Each week you “start” the players you want to be active for that week assigning them to the “start” position or “bench” position on the fantasy website. After the Monday Night Football Game your players’ statistics are compiled and then your team scores points based on a pre-determined scoring system.
- Leagues are then set up in multiple round-robin schedules until the playoffs or aggregate totals often finishing in a playoff format by the end of the NFL regular season.
How Do You Prepare for a Fantasy Football Draft?
If there is no money on the line, then there is less pressure to pick a good team other than personal bragging rights (which at least Yahoo Football League allows smack talking on League Post-it boards and on live chats during the draft, if you're into that). A little research would be helpful. Yahoo’s Fantasy Football site has a ranking done for you and/or check out one of the many fantasy football magazines. Like many things, it is subjective. At the very least be familiar with your particular leagues rules. In some leagues more points may be scored for yards rushing than in other leagues, where passing is favored.
If you are not sure whom to pick for your Fantasy Football Team, search for Fantasy Football players on Youtube.com. There are some entertaining and fun videos done by NFL players encouraging you to “pick them.”
Fantasy leagues make cheering for your team more exciting and even cheering for your opponent sometimes acceptable.
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