Top 5 Mistakes Made at Fantasy Football Drafts

Thrilled. Nervous. Excited. Embarrassed. Confused. Lost. We experience just about the full range of emotions at a fantasy football draft. It may only be a game but we take fantasy football way too seriously. But if you want to experience all of the good emotions and none of the bad ones at your fantasy football draft there are certain things you simply do not want to do.

1. Do not be late: You can be late for some social events. Sometimes it even looks better if you are fashionably late. But your fantasy football draft is definitely not one of those events.

People will be nervous enough the way it is. They are not going to want to wait for you if you are late. More often than not they simply will not wait for you.

Sometimes the commissioner of your league will make the pick for you if you are late. Now if that person is your best friend it does not make any difference when it comes to fantasy football drafts. All bets are off for the fantasy draft. He could just as easily give you Adrian Peterson of the Bears instead of Adrian Peterson of the Vikings with your third pick. And you really don't want that to happen.

The first round of a fantasy football draft can go really fast. Everyone pretty much knows who they are going to take. The first 10 picks could easily fly by in less than a minute. So if you have the first pick in your fantasy football draft don't mail it in early and expect to get there half an hour late for the second round.

2. Do not get drunk: Let's face it. Beer is served at the vast majority of fantasy football drafts. Whether it is at the local watering hole, someone's backyard or a fancy private room at a sports bar alcoholic beverages tend to flow freely at fantasy football drafts.

Beer will mess up your fantasy football drafting skills just as much as it gets in the way of your driving skills afterwards.

So get there a little early and maybe have a single beer to take the edge off things. But don't be half sloshed before the draft even starts.

3. Do not go unprepared: It is embarrassing to run out of names of players and have no idea who to pick in the middle and late rounds. At a minimum you should have a cheat sheet prepared the day before your draft that goes deep enough to cover all the way to the end of your draft.

If you plan to go to the bar an hour or 2 early to prepare you will probably end up drunk as well as unprepared. Do yourself a favor. Be totally prepared the day before your fantasy football draft.

4. Do not get distracted: You need to stay focused during a fantasy football draft. You need to make note of every single pick as you go. Falling behind is not an option. No one is going to want to stop and get you caught up.

Picks will be made almost constantly, usually faster than you want them to go. This will go on for a good hour and maybe even 2 hours.

That waitress serving you drinks may be really hot but if she ruins your fantasy draft you will probably not be happy about it the next morning.

5. Do not draft someone that has already been taken: Almost nothing is more embarrassing than drafting a player that has already been taken. Just about everyone in the room will loudly shout TAKEN! when you do this.

If you do it over and over and over again in the same round people are going to start to snicker or sigh in frustration.

What is even worse is drafting a player that is injured and out for the year. In some leagues people are allowed to correct you when you make this mistake. But in other leagues you are simple stuck with the injured player. How embarrassing!

So there you have it. Take it from me. Don't be the laughing stock at your fantasy football draft. Don't look like an idiot. Don't do any of these 5 things.