Fantasy Football: Starting Up and Playing

Fantasy Football is a game that is enjoyed by millions across the United States and the world every year. Whether you are a veteran or newbie to the game, many people find enjoyment and a constant source of excitement every fall, when fantasy football season strikes again.

So how can you catch on to one of America's hottest games? Well, fantasy football resources are plentiful across the Internet, so I will highlight some of these in this article!

First, you have to pick where you want to play the game. As a new fantasy player, a ton of options are available to you. For beginners, I highly recommend you choose a free game from either ESPN.com or Yahoo.com. Both of these games are easy to manage and a lot of fun. There is a great amount of fantasy information available to newbies and veterans alike on ESPN.com, so I recommend that even if you don't play there, you still go to resource all of the fantasy football materials they have to offer.

I began playing Yahoo Sports Fantasy Football in my first year of playing the game, and played there for about five to six years before moving on full-time to pay leagues. You really can't go wrong choosing either one of those websites for your first fantasy league, so flip a coin!

The next thing you will have to decide on is how you want to draft. Most beginners who are strapped for time decide to do a list-draft, where you pre-rank your players and the computer runs a full draft for you. However, if possible, a beginner should look into completing a live draft, or a draft that is held in real-time with other owners in the league. These kinds of drafts are fast paced and a lot of fun.

Drafts can be held online or in person, and they require a great deal of preparation and strategy. While one can go into a list draft unprepared (with a default draft list), live drafts require knowledge of who to pick and when to pick them. It is very entertaining, even as an onlooker not participating in a draft.

One of the most important things to note before your draft is the league's scoring system. The league's scoring system, if overlooked at the draft, can kill even the most talented roster. As a new fantasy owner, be sure you understand how many points are assigned to each given statistic so you can take all statistics that you have to into account.

That should be enough to get your league up and running. I will post a in-season strategy article very soon. I hope that you have an enjoyable first year playing fantasy football!