It’s bigger than Christmas.

It’s better than Thanksgiving.

It’s more glorious than the Fourth of July!

It’s Fantasy Football Draft Day—and it’s just weeks away.

You might be in a lot of fantasy leagues, but there’s nothing better than the familiar feeling of your own home league, right? Right.

By now, you should know who’s in, who’s out, and who’s online. If not, it’s time to crack some skulls and make some moves, because the Big Day is right around the corner.

Here’s how to make it count.

Get our Draft Kit and award-winning draft tools

1. Do It Live!

Doing Draft Day live and in-person? I respect the move. Let me suggest that you enjoy the festivities at someone’s house—preferably outside if you can swing it.

In my home league of unlovable drunks, for example, we’ll be spending the entire day outside, in the pool, under the shade, and around the house. Whether COVID-19 is a concern of yours or not (it should be), you’ll love the feeling of your hair blowing in the breeze as you snipe your best friend’s most highly coveted prospect.

Sounds pretty sweet, right? Well, it is. So here’s what to do: Convince your wealthiest or most privileged friend to host your draft party—and then ruthlessly exploit the fruits of his or her labor. “Mike’s got a pool? Heyyy, Mike you know me and the league were thinking and…”

You know the rest. But be a bud and bring some beers or something, okay?

I mean, if you’re going to harness your inner Bill O’Reilly and do it live, you might as well go balls out and make the event as poppin’ as possible. So, who in the crew’s got the best place to party? Poolside or not, nail it down and let it rock—the sooner the better.

2. Stay at Home

This will sound like heresy, but even in Buffalo, New York, our league has had incredible Draft Day experiences at Buffalo Wild Wings.

I know I know. Hear me out.

The service was sensational. The drinks were solid. The wings were… fine.

I’m telling you! The BWW Fantasy Draft Party is legit. So if you’re trying to get out of the house, check ’em out. Pro tip: Make a reservation ASAP.

Also, uh, let’s keep in mind that there’s a bit of a flu bug going around, so please remember to mask up and stay socially distant out there, please. Thank you.

3. Ride in Style

Back in ’96, we peddled our bikes to Mike’s or Joe’s or Jimmy’s on Draft Day. Twenty-four years later, we’ve traded our pogs for paychecks and times are a little different—we’re making slightly more money than we did delivering newspapers and mowing lawns. (Some of us more than others, and believe me, it ain’t me.)

No, I don’t have money to burn—but wouldn’t it be cool if you could enjoy Draft Day (or at least part of it) on a party bus or luxury limo?

Assuming you’d have places to stop along the way, you could turn Draft Day into the ultimate barhopping, show-stopping experience. Draft a round. Get off. Have a round. Just do that over and over for like 15 rounds, wherever and whenever you want, and there you go!

This idea, at the very least, is 100% better than 75% of weddings you’ve had to pay for, so there’s that.

4. Recognize the Champ

You could be at home, out to eat, or online—it doesn’t matter. Draft Day is a time to recognize and honor your league’s most recent champion. Like it or not, it just is.

As I’ve mentioned in my article, Best Fantasy Football League Trophies & Awards, the winners in my home league receive a Hall of Fame jacket that gets passed down from one champ to the next every single year.

On Draft Day, the commissioner (me) resides over a small jacket ceremony where the incumbent is given the floor to graciously accept his award and/or y roast his opponents while basking in the spotlight. Sometimes it can be downright dastardly, but sometimes it’s really kind of sweet. Either way, it’s become a cherished tradition that everyone loves, and I’m confident that you’ll love it, too.

This year, why not up the smack talk and fuel the fire at this year’s Draft Party with a little something-something for your league champion. And if you’ve got to host a virtual ceremony, so be it! These days, there’s little that can’t be recreated in an online setting.

Recognizing the champ any which way is always stupid and fun and hilarious. In other words, it’s everything your Draft Day party needs to be. Trust me when I say you’ll love it.

5. Shame the Loser

I’m not much of a league punishment guy, but if you think laughing alongside the champ is funny, why not double down with a dose of jokes at the expense of your league’s last-place finisher? Nothing says friendship like complete and total humiliation—and now’s the time to really pile it on.

Our friends at Trophy Smack have an alarmingly eclectic selection of fantasy football loser trophies, none of which is more degrading, perhaps, than the Fantasy Football Loser Toilet Seat. But with so many options to choose from, which trophy will be the most heartless (and therefore the funniest) prize of all? Find out now at Trophy Smack! 

6. Recreate the NFL Draft

Microphone. Amplifier. Every first-round pick hand-delivered to the commissioner. Announcements made. Fantasies achieved. Dreams dashed. Boos. Cheers. Tears. Booze. Congratulations, you’ve just recreated the NFL Draft.

To really nail the NFL Draft experience on Fantasy Football Draft Day (at least for the first round, just for fun, of course) implement a visible “on the clock” clock, play “the pick is in” music, and make a formal announcement for every selection. When your league is huddled around the table or virtual chat, and all eyes are on the commish, the suspense and drama of every pick will be that much more exciting. Sounds dumb? Good. Let the leaguemate with the most personality make it great.

7. Get a Draft Board

This isn’t a big surprise, is it? Pretty much every league out there is going to have some sort of draft board—whether it’s homemade, store-bought, or online. And there are a ton of cool draft board packages out there, too. But our five-star favorite is the 2020 Fantasy Football Draft Board Kit from Trophy Smack. Why? Because it comes with:

• Heavy-duty 58″ x 36″ draft board on high-gloss copper paper
• Customizable roster spots for up to 12 teams and 24 rounds
• More than 500 player labels, including all rookies and blank labels
• 22 in-your-face Smack Tack labels
• Official Trophy Smack permanent marker
• Free shipping and 100% satisfaction guaranteed!

That’s it! You’ve done it. It’s happening. Your Draft Day is now exponentially greater than it was just 10 minutes ago. Tell me you’re grateful or choose to be hateful by letting me have it on Twitter. It’s all good.

Until then, don’t forget to follow FantasyPros and Good luck on Draft Day!

Run custom mocks with your league settings with our Draft Simulator

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google Podcasts | Stitcher | SoundCloud | iHeartRadio

Jim Colombo is a correspondent at FantasyPros. For more from Jim, check out his archive and follow him @WideRightNBlue.