To auction or not to auction, that is the question.....

Ever since its inception, fantasy football drafting has been decided by a "serpentine" draft, a.k.a. "snake, a.k.a. "wrap-around, among other monikers. However, in recent years, a different sort of draft has captured the imagination of fantasy football owners everywhere, a revolutionary system that has caught on like wildfire.
The Guru (referring to myself in the 3rd person again) recently participated in his first auction Fantasy Football draft after giving in to the phenomena. My conerns going in were three-fold: 1.) too lengthy, 2.) what if people weren't at the auction? and 3.) would I be able to adapt?
Concern #2 was avoided fortunately because, for the first time in the history of mankind, all managers in our league were present at the draft! Imagine that! It would seem difficult if not impossible to do well at an auction draft, even with an automated system just because other managers could capitalize on your weakness much more easily (a.k.a. bidding up, collusion, etc.). This, I believe, is still an area in need of work for auctioneers.
However, everything else worked great: $200 for each manager, 30 secs to nominate, 30 secs to bed, and BAM! Let the free-market system work to its finest. In the 2.5 hours we spent drafting, I can't remember taking any time off to go the bathroom or tune out for a second, even for players I didn't want. I watched amazingly as Chris Johnson's price climbed steadily higher to a whopping $70, Michael Turner uncomprehensibly still fielded $50, Calvin Johnson go for a low-low $32, and even got a couple bids in myself with Ryan Mathews at $38 and Phillip Rivers for (what I perceive to be) a paltry $24. The common axiom is that the winner of an auction inevitably overpaid, but still, the exhilaration of winning a bid on a player was truly breathtaking. I like all the inherent advantages of the draft:
1. Get crack at every player
2. Much more active for the managers
3. Goes fast ( 30 seconds for each nominated player)
4. New, fresh system
5. Builds money management skills
6. Lots of chess-playing, strategy invovled (bid up a player that another manager really wants, nominate players you DON'T want to let others overspend and deplete their budget, etc.)

Conclusion: So far, the auction draft has the Guru's stamp of approval.

Fantasize on,

Robert Yan