I have been watching drafts since about 1991 and I can tell you things have changed.  I remember when teams would give away their first rounders like they were candy.  The draft used to be just another day and not too many people cared.  But now it has become almost a National Holiday.  The draft has created a cottage industry of experts with websites and magazines.  It has become the biggest and most important day in sports where no sports are actually played.  The day has become like a quasi-Christmas and like Christmas, it can be wrought with disappointment.  Like Christmas, there will be family fights, name-calling, and bridge burning.  Many of a fan has spent months arguing about taking some guys like Haloti Ngata while others argued for Winston Justice, only for the team to end up taking some dude named Donte Whitner.  It can be a humbling time.

So, if this is your first draft or you are a seasoned veteran, I have a couple of suggestions to help you keep your sanity during this wild weekend. 

#5.   Ignore the grades:  On Monday, possibly even Sunday, people will start grading teams’ drafts.  Players haven’t played one single down, yet people feel obligated to grade how a team chooses the player.  People, who have been around, know that it usually takes 3 years to properly understand how a team drafted. 

#4.  Forget the terms "value" and "reach":  These terms represent measurement and there is simply no way to measure a player that has never played the game.  What makes these terms so worthless is that you must have a point of control to base the measurement on.  You don’t know how good or bad a player will be until he actually plays. Hundreds of players considered "reaches" have turned in excellent careers while hundreds of "values" spent most of the "careers" on a practice squad.   There is so much information that we don’t get that the teams have, it is much easier to just sit back and enjoy yourself.

#3.  Don’t get hooked on names:  Most people spend months on websites and looking through magazines searching for players that will fit their team.  They get caught up on a group of guys and pin all of their hopes and dreams only to be disappointed that the team takes a guy they haven’t paid attention to.   If your favorite guy ends up on a team you hate, it only sends your blood pressure higher (I’m looking at you, Benjamin Watson).  This holds especially true for the later rounds.  There are so many players and so few teams; there is virtually no chance your guy will end up on your team.  So hold off on that Fernando Velasco jersey.

#2.  Ignore the "experts":  As has been said many times before, the draft is a crapshoot.  You never know what is going to happen.  Sometimes they get it right, but most of the time they are wrong.  Whether it is their mock drafts or player write-ups, most of the time, they do no better than just an average guy.  It is fun to hear or read what they have to say, but take it all with a grain of salt. Wait until the guy starts to play before making a decision on him.

#1.  Avoid internet message boards:  This one may seem strange, considering where you are reading this.  However, this is a blog and has a much different atmosphere than a message board.  Blogs are usually much more personal and won’t stand for stupid behavior long.  Message boards, during the draft, become one big middle school playground with name-calling and general stupidness thrown around.  The average thread will go like this: "Buff must draft Rodrick Wright here to succed in the future".  "WTF, stpid Bills.  Teh Bills is gonna suck this year.  Who the f--- is Jon MCargo?"

"What are you talking about?"

"F--- you, dum f---! Teh Bills is going to suck now and you is just a stupid brainded fan!"

"This thread has been locked"

  I’m telling you, message boards become a treasure trove of racial epithets and insults.  This will be my first draft on a blog, so we’ll have to see how it all goes down.  My guess, much smoother.

  I’m sorry if this sounds like a rant, it isn’t meant to.  These are some of the things that have bothered me for a while with the draft.  It can be a really exciting and fun time, but it can also be very annoying and trying.  Just love thy fellow fan and keep your cool.

Could this guy be your neighbor?

via i.a.cnn.net