Summer isn’t quite over yet, but with around 33 million participants in Fantasy Football, there are bound to be a few people counting down the days until September. Fantasy Football is a complex, entertaining way to keep track of your favorite players, enjoy some friendly (hopefully!) competition with your closest friends, and maybe even earn a little cash! It’s a game that involves strategy, research, and frequent player monitoring. Though complex, Fantasy Football is a great way to spice up the NFL season and keep it interesting all the way to the Super Bowl.
So, you want to join a league, but you don’t know where to start? This article will highlight key points so you can get your fantasy team drafted just in time for kick-off and plan a Las Vegas fantasy football draft party!
The first step in playing Fantasy Football is to find a league to join. That may seem pretty simple but there are a lot of things to consider, such as:
If you’re a beginner, a free league might be the better option, just to get your cleats wet. However, if you’d rather go foot-“balls to the wall” on your first time, then shell out some cash and hope for the win… those of us in the biz call that a Hail Mary!
Another thing to think about is the type of league you’d like to be in. A Head-to-Head league means you face another opponent from your league each week and get placed into a ranking. As the season goes, you continue to play a different opponent until the playoffs, where you’re entered into a bracket system to determine the winner. In a Total Points league, the winner is solely determined on the member with the most points earned at the end of the season.
Alright, so you’ve made all your decisions and chose a league. Now what? The next step would be to prepare for your Fantasy Football draft! This is the part where you research your potential players, study statistics and past year’s performances, and build a strong strategy that will help you win your league. For example, if you choose a promising rookie quarterback, you might want to tread carefully on the wide receivers that you choose. With your quarterback being fairly new, it would be smart to get familiar with how he plays: does he throw the ball a lot? Is he accurate? Does he prefer to run the ball?
The league commissioner will decide how many players of each position you can choose. After you’ve collected all your data, prepare a list of your rankings and identify your most valuable players that you’ll hope to draft. Be sure to pick players you believe will accumulate the most points for you. This is determined by how well they actually play during their NFL games. You’re literally building your fantasy team!
Finally, the day you’ve been looking forward to has come: Draft Day! You got your picks down, you did your research, and you’ve determined your line-up. Many people opt for a live draft because it’s a great experience to huddle up with some friends and have a lot of the work done for you. Luckily for you, the D and sports go hand-in-hand and is offering an amazing fantasy draft party package including; a private suite for 8 to 20 people, a fantasy draft kit, multiple HD televisions, cocktail service (first drink free!), food available for purchase, and $25 match play. You may be a rookie, but it doesn’t take a “Mike Ditka” to know that that is a score of a deal!
When you arrive at the D ready to have the best fantasy football draft party, the league commissioner decides who gets to pick first. It may be a random drawing or based off last year’s standings. You and your league will use the kit provided by The D to choose your players and keep track of who has been drafted and who is still available.
Even when the draft party is over with, the fun still continues! Be sure to start your best players each week before Thursday Night Football begins. If a player is injured, you can bench him until he is healed and ready to play the next game. A lot of strategy comes to play throughout the season: if a player isn’t doing so hot, you have the option of trading players between members of your league or even replacing him with another player from the free agency. Also, pay attention to the teams’ bi-weeks as you wouldn’t want to start a player who doesn’t have a game that week!
Sounds like fun, right? Well, don’t waste another season. Head to the D to schedule your ultimate Las Vegas fantasy football draft party, get some buddies lined up, and have a ball!
