IFL Archives - a look back at the 1997 Draft

August 23, 1997, the frozen tundra of the NE Philly Best Western... this was the site for the 1997 IFL Draft. It was the last IFL Draft held at a public venue. This almost became infamous for the defending champion, Holland, pulling a no-show. Apparently he woke up at around 6pm on Draft Day, which is his normal wake-up time, but it was also the start time of the Draft. What a dope. He did show up, trophy in hand, and we were all never so happy to see him.


If I recall correctly, our deal with the Best Western provided us with unlimited draft beer and hot roast beef. If anyone recalls if the roast beef was tasty, please feel free to comment below. I would bet that it was not as tasty as the roast beef curtains that would follow future drafts.


When the lottery was complete, D-Max (a former owner) pulled the #1 pick for his Wife Beaters, and yours truly pulled the #2 and the Highlight Reals were born. Here is a recap of the 1st round. My how things have changed in fantasy football.

1. Wife Beaters - QB Brett Favre
2. Highlight Reals - RB Emmitt Smith
3. Aborted Avengers - RB Barry Sanders
4. Nine Fingers - RB Curtis Martin
5. Razen Kanes - QB John Elway
6. Hit Squad - QB Steve Young
7. Ballbusters - WR Herman Moore
8. Mustangs - RB Terrell Davis
9. Prime Rob - QB Drew Bledsoe
10. Lizard Kings - WR Jerry Rice
11. Brewers - WR Carl Pickens
12. Dragons - DEF Green Bay
13. Chaos - QB Jeff Blake
14. Napalm Death - RB Terry Allen

I should also note that Devo came back with the 15th pick and took San Fran DEF, the first of 3 DEFs to be taken in the 2nd round. I snagged Antonio Freeman at 2.13 right before D-Max would have taken him to have the Favre-Freeman combo.

Dom's pick of Barry Sanders at #3 was a great one, as Sanders ran for 2,053 yards and 11 TDs that season. However, what he did with Sanders after that day was not so great... after Week 1, me and Dom made a blockbuster deal where I traded him my first 3 draft picks (Emmitt, Freeman, and Dan Marino) for Sanders, Warren Moon, and someone else who I can't remember. So I basically fleeced him for Sanders, and not to mention, Moon had a great year too. Emmitt started off slow that season, and battled injuries all year, finishing with only 1,074 yds and 4 TDs (w/ 40 rec). So I won the league right??? Of course not, because a few weeks later I stupidly traded Sanders and Moon to RVG for fucking Drew Bledsoe and Ben Coates. I think that was basically my equivalent of the Curse of the Bambino, because since then I've yet to go back to the finals.

Some other gems from the 97 Draft:

• D-Max takes Shannon Sharpe at 2.14 then takes Ben Coates at 4.14. The ol' Double TE...
• Take a guess whose team this is after 6 rounds: Herman Moore, Jeff George, Eddie George, Jeff Graham, Cinci DEF, Tim Biakabutuka. Yes - Ballbusters.
• Every team had a defense after Chaos took Miami D at 6.02
• Dom took 4 straight WRs in rounds 6-9: Chris T. Jones, Horace Copeland, Frank Sanders, and Curtis Conway.
• D-Max's 11th round pick - Detroit Offense.
• RVG's 6th round pick - John Kasay.
  
• Napalm Death was wisely waiting on QBs even back in '97, before we all heard of that strategy. He ended up with Tony Banks and Gus Frerotte. And still made the Finals.
  
• Shu ended up going 12-2 and winning the league somehow. His draft actually looked pretty weak other than Martin in the 1st round. Maybe some trades were made...

To be honest, 1997 was a long time ago. A lot of beers and drugs ago. I'm just thankful I could remember as much as I did.

As a courtesy, I will be sending you all an Excel sheet with the 1997 Draft.