My then 6 week old American Bulldog (Special Agent Jack Bauer) passed out after a long NFL Beer Draft

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For many NFL fans the Draft is a very exciting day. It provides hope for your disappointing teams and a chance to retool for the successful teams. The NFL Draft is also a good opportunity to gather with friends and celebrate football. This article is a little different than the usual draft content in that it will not provide you with a scouting report or football related information. However, this is a way to expand your NFL Draft experience.

I want to start by saying that this in no way encourages underage or dangerous drinking and is meant to enhance the NFL Draft social gathering experience.

Overview:

The NFL Beer Draft adds an extra element to the NFL Draft. There aren’t a minimum or maximum number of participants but this event requires some organization. The basics are that the Commissioner of your Beer Draft will gather a large assortment of beer types and a committed group of friends. You will draft a name of a beer out of a hat and that’s the beer you are required to drink.

Details:

We usually start the beer draft a few minutes before the actual draft begins. We determine the order of the draft, usually by selecting a number out of a hat. We then arrange the seating according to the draft order (this is important b/c as the draft goes on you might forget the order). Everyone starts by selecting a piece of paper out of a hat and the name of the beer on the paper is what you must consume. We casually drink our first beers until the draft begins and as the clock starts to tick on the first pick the clock starts to tick on your allotted time to consume your beverage. The #1 person has two minutes after the start of the clock and if he fails to finish his beverage he is skipped and must wait until his next turn to select a new beer. The next person in the order has two minutes after the previous person finishes his beer or is skipped. This continues around and around until you are out of beer or are passed out.

Exceptions:

The basis for the game is simple but there are a few rules we incorporated to add to the excitement.

1. There are BUSTS.

- We add waters to the collection of beers and write previous draft busts on the pieces of paper. So if you select Ryan Leaf you will be drinking a water for that round.

2. Time stops during the REDZONE

- We usually watch the draft on ESPN and they have a feature that when the selection countdown is below 3 minutes the count appears red. We call this the REDZONE and the countdown for drinking stops.

3. Trades

- We allow one trade per round. Meaning that I could trade my Miller Lite for someone else’s Bud Light. You cannot put your choice back and select again you can only trade amongst the group. Also the same person cannot trade in consecutive rounds. Again only one trade per round not one trade per person per round.

Suggestions:

1. As a part of sportsmanship it is usually encouraged to take your full 2 minutes to finish your beverage but that’s part of the game and you could finish quickly to put the pressure on the next person.

2. The 2 minutes per person rule should be adjusted depending on the amount of participants. For example if you have 20 people involved you might have to wait 40 minutes to get your next beer.

3. You are going to need an empty fridge or a few coolers to keep the beers cold. I suggest a cooler b/c it will provide easy access while watching the NFL Draft.

4. Roger Goodell threw a wrench in the usual plans by switching the Draft day and time. Most people work on Fridays so in our case we all took vacation days from work but another option might be to DVR the Draft and have your Beer Draft on the weekend.

5. We usually buy a few cases of our favorite beers and a lot of six packs or other random beer. Last year we added 40 oz. to the mix, which was very exciting. Figuring out the amount of beer is going to take some math. You will need to judge the guest list and guess how many beers each could drink then purchase accordingly.

6. Executing a Beer Draft isn’t cheap so it’s good to have everyone chip in a set amount of money. Also encourage everyone to bring $5-$7 to order pizza.

7. I DVR the entire draft and re-watch some of it at a later time. I do this because some of the later picks are foggy.

Final Thought:

The Beer Draft is a fun exciting element that a group of like minded individuals developed over 7 years ago. The rules are not set in stone and of course you can adapt your own traditions. I just felt I would share something with everyone that really makes the NFL Draft more special. If you would like to know more of the details feel free to send me an email.