Viva Murillo!

I think drinking while you draft is an excellent idea -- probably the best decision you can make and a great way to improve your chances of winning your league. I know a columnist here used to say not to do it, but he was obviously crazy. Here are some reasons why he's wrong.

Better Thinking.

When you drink, you're sharper, you think clearly and you make good decisions. You know why people never fight in bars? Why domestic disputes never involve alcohol? Because drinking improves your decision-making. You recall information faster and you retain more information (important when you're on the clock) if you're drinking. After all, who's the coolest fan at the football game? The guy who had four of those giant beers, of course. It's awesome sitting next to that guy.

This is all backed up with real science, by the way. The kind with numbers and charts and studies. Look it up on the Internet if you don't believe me.

The Draft is a Purely Social Event.

Never forget why you're there: To be with your friends and have fun. You can't do that unless you're drinking. It's not really about winning a league. Think about it: Do you even know who won your league last year? Do you remember the last time you won your league? Of course not. Nobody ever talks about it. Most people don't even bother to pick up their winnings. It's just not that important. You're not playing for bragging rights or a trophy or some cash. It's just an excuse to have a good time. You'll never remember how your season went, but you'll definitely remember that fifth beer at the sports bar while you were drafting. That's how the brain works -- science again.

You Stay Ahead of the Curve.

Instead of following trends during a draft, you call your own shots and end up with better players as a result. Just this week I participated in a draft, and one guy was seriously into his vodka. Now, you might think that sounds like a bad idea, but he made us look stupid at the draft.

You see, when everybody (myself included, sadly) was busy picking up quarterbacks, receivers and running backs in the middle rounds -- guys who aren't guaranteed to do anything and aren't at the top of any lists -- this guy was way ahead of us. At the turn of round six and round seven, he took a defense -- and then took a kicker.

We were stunned. Why didn't we think of that? Here we are fighting for scraps and he gets his first choice in two starting positions on his fantasy team. We were so demoralized it was a while before anyone took another kicker or defense.

You might think this guy is simply a fantasy genius, but I don't think that's the whole story. Call me crazy, but I think it was the vodka that gave him the courage to make that kind of bold move. You think some lame sober guy is going to think of something like that?

You'll have Plenty of Time to Play Fantasy Football Sober.

Look, you probably spend at least a couple of hours during the week managing your team; probably a lot more than that. Over the course of a season you could spend upwards of 100 hours playing fantasy football, and most of those will likely be sober. So who cares if you drink during the two or three hours when you actually choose the guys that make up your team? Even if it doesn't help you pick better players it's not going to have a big effect on your season anyway. Might as well just enjoy the atmosphere.

I hope that clarified my position. I'm just trying to help out. In fact, I'm sending a copy of this column to every member in my league, just so they definitely get a chance to read it ahead of our draft. I want this upcoming draft to be the best ever and if my fellow owners follow this advice, I have a feeling it will be.

Youtube Clip of the Week: It's highly unlikely that alcohol was involved in this incident:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ea_GWs2W794&feature=related

You can reach Michael Murillo at vivamurillo@gmail.com.

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