Yes, I went with that title. Don’t ask me why I thought that would bring in readership. I’m actually assuming it’ll scare most off but you’re gonna miss out on the meaning if you just freak out about how I said ‘prom’ in the title. We can’t all be Will Ferrell with our marketing strategies. Not everyone can come up with ‘Talladega Nights: The Ballad Of Ricky Bobby’…damn messed up genius that man is sometimes. Ahem, Semi-Pro? I did say sometimes, imaginary reader. However I didn’t just put that title out there hoping everyone would misread it as ‘porn’ to click on it. Though that would’ve been a better idea no doubt. No, I’m going to take you back to that time in your life when your priorities were messed up and you didn’t know what you wanted but you knew you wanted it now. So without further reveal, let’s take a look at a draft strategy for 2013 fantasy football that I’ve stupidly titled the prom analogy…
So the prom analogy plays on your inner teenager. You remember that kid, right? He/She/It had that bad acne and pictures of Luke Perry or Tiffany Amber-Thiesen – or both – plastered all over their locker. That kid had a ton of friends that they’d come to find out later were actually acquaintances that they’d lose touch with. Thanks, now if you’ll excuse me I’ll go off myself.  I swear I’m not trying to depress you, I’m simply trying to set the tone, I.R.! Could you do it faster then before I stick my head in the oven? Duly noted, trudging on. Well you see, that kid thought they had it all figured out. They knew more then everyone and that includes the you that you are now. Everything that was important was clear to them. So when prom time came, they knew who they wanted to go to the dance with. He/She/It had a great smile, was funny and had a great head on their shoulders. But they never did. They weren’t valued by your peers enough to be recognized as a great catch. They’d just laugh at you, your inner voice whispered. You can’t have that, they’re not the right one. But of course, it’s Prom. You can’t just NOT go to Prom. Everyone goes so you have to too, right? So you go with that one friend. You know that one. They kinda like you, you’re not really all that interested in them but they don’t make you look bad so it works out. Prom goes over fine but you didn’t have the fun you thought you would and you can’t quite place why. But looking back on those times in your current state of mind, you realize going to the prom with someone you like is more important then just the prom itself. So how does this relate to Fantasy Football you ask? There’s a lot of data out there for fantasy sports nowadays and people can literally drowned, getting lost in the reasons why they go to the prom/draft in this silly game. If you drafted by the numbers and by the ADP value plays all the time, I can promise you the fun isn’t going to be there. You have to like who you take to the prom with you to enjoy the dance just as much as you have to like the picks you make to enjoy your success within a fantasy football season. For example, Murph brought up on twitter yesterday that Ryan Mathews is going as a very cheap RB option in this year’s drafts. So cheap that there’s value and to not overlook it. Though on the one hand I get what he’s saying, I don’t like Ryan Mathews. Getting him cheap in this year’s draft would not make me happy and I wouldn’t relish in the value of where I picked him up. That has a domino effect on your entire approach in how you’d play him. He has one bad week and you say to yourself ‘I knew I shouldn’t have drafted him’ and you put him on the trading block. Heck, he might be on the trading block before week 1. Is there value in that? I’d say not. The key thing here is you have to draft guys you believe in, their ADP is just a placeholder to tell you how the world values them not how you should. You have to make a choice of who you want to go to Prom with and not worry about what everyone else will think. It’s your team and if you don’t believe in it, it’s going to be a long season. Yes, this was a preachy article which was maybe 10% analysis and 90% analogy but it fits. Draft the guys you want on your team not the ones that everyone tells you are a value. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to go watch Pretty In Pink.
