This is the fourth and final article in our series on the Basics of Dynasty Fantasy Football.  Here are links to article 1, article 2 and article 3 if you've missed them.

So we've discussed why you would want to start a dynasty style league, what kind of rules you need and scoring tips.  The final article is going to focus on tips to make your dynasty league an awesome experience for everyone and fun all year long.  The beauty of the dynasty format is that it caters to football fans who like to keep track of the off-season just as much as they enjoy the regular season and playoffs.  There is so much to pay attention to during the NFL off-season, free agency, the NFL draft, OTAs, training camp and pre-season.  Each part of this 6-month period deals with an aspect of the dynasty format that is crucial to getting a leg up. 

With so much to keep track of and all year to do it, there are a lot of opportunities to keep things interesting for you and your league-mates.  Here are some ideas to keep in mind when starting and executing a dynasty league:

• Have your rookie draft in the pre-season.  You can have your rookie draft any time between the end of April after the NFL draft to early September just before the season.  I find the best and most fun time to have the draft is on Saturday evening of week 3 of the NFL preseason.  That usually equates to about Augusts 20 to 26 depending on when the season starts.  There are a couple of reasons why I love this particular time to have the rookie draft, stick with me.  First, there is no sense having the draft over the spring or early summer when rookies have not had a chance to show themselves in training camp and a couple of pre-season games.  Generally you only have 5 to 10 rounds in your draft and you don't want to waste any of those spots with rookies who you think might have a chance when you pick them in April but then face-plant in August.  By the third week of the pre-season you've had OTAs, training camp and 2 pre-season games to evaluate the players you want.  Second, the third pre-season game is usually the dress rehearsal for most teams so they are usually the most entertaining games of the pre-season.  If you time your draft right and have it around 4:00PM or 5:00PM you and your buddies can go down to the local watering hole and watch the evening games and have a few beers.  Love it!
• Buy your league a trophy or a plaque.  If run well, your dynasty league can be run for years.  Why not commemorate your league with a trophy, or even better a plaque.  If you get a trophy with a big base or get a plaque you can put the winner on there every year and then let the champion keep the trophy/plaque for that year.  If things go well, everyone will eventually get a chance to host the trophy/plaque and it give the league and the championship hardware that much more cache.
• Hold an NFL draft party.  What better way to get together with friends from you dynasty league than to have an NFL draft watching party?  Watching the first round from your favorite watering hole or friends house not only gives you license to talk about football in April but also serves as a way to evaluate players and talk about what situations they are coming into for fantasy potential.  A win-win if I've ever seen one!
• Communicate  league changes right after the season.  If you get through the season and find that you want to tweak some rules, scoring or anything else, it's a good idea to do it while everyone is still paying attention.  My strategy is to always ask for feedback during the fantasy playoffs and then confirm any changes at that time.  You'll have to remind people at the start of the following season, but at least nobody feels blind-sided by any changes nor can they say that they haven't been told as you'd have told them at least twice.

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