Slow drafts were still new at the time.
So new, they were still called 'slow drafts'.
Some of the drafters 'kind of' knew each other. Mostly, we had seen each others names on the Message Boards or participated in a previous draft with them.
What started as just another draft became a draft that every one of those drafters would remember.
Because I'm such a bigmouth on these Message Boards, some of the drafters would leave phone numbers and ask me to text them when they were up.
Little did they know that I didn't have a cell phone. So, I would call them from a land line.
For those of you not familiar with a landline, just think of your phone only working inside of your house.
Anyways, I wrote the numbers down and if somebody was up too long, I would give them a call.
This worked pretty well.
I got a call from Roger Martin. He was at the hospital. There was something wrong with his daughter.
He didn't know exactly what, but he said that he hadn't had time to put his draft on auto,but that he would just auto the rest of the draft.
I brought up the subject of baseball players.
I figured if my six year old daughter was in a surgery room, I'd rather bethinking about the merits of Ryan Braun or Miguel Cabrera, not the impending life or death of a loved one.
We talked baseball for awhile and he said he had to go.
I told him he wasn't going on auto.
That we would wait eight hours or another eight hours after that if need be.
Roger said, "Sure, Dan."
I got on chat and relayed to the other drafters what had happened in Roger's life.
Almost every drafter, a Father.
Fathers who felt for Roger's plight immediately.
We felt as if we were right there in the waiting room with Rog.
We would receive updates from Rog on the phone and mostly, it was good news.
When Rog's turn was about to come up to draft, we would take our time so that Rog did not feel rushed when making a pick.
Other events for drafters would slow down the draft as well.
There was a large hurricane that hit the East Coast.
One drafter was flooded in his house and drafted from another place two hours away.
Another drafter, Dan Semsel, had a goal of running a marathon in every state and was away for that.
Another drafter had a wife have an accident and had to have surgery on her achilles heel.
But the main focus was on Mia, Roger's daughter.
When Rog came on chat and expressed thanks to us and that Mia was going to be alright, it was something.
An outpouring as if Mia had had 15 real Dad's.
It was one of the most longest drafts on record.
There was not one 'zzzz' comment. Not one gripe. Not one bitch.
The length of the draft was secondary.
It lasted 36 days. Nobody cared.
It was the one draft that I will never forget.
After it was over, we received messages from Kathy, Roger's wife, expressing how much we meant to the family
And from Mia, thanking us for our well wishes.
They didn't know that it was us that should be thanking them.
They turned a meaningless event into a time of togetherness.
Where one Dad and 14 would-be Dads can all pull for what was really important during a fantasy baseball draft.
The 'Mia Draft' has been a yearly event since.
Some of the original members of that draft no longer participate.
They have been on the Boards since and said it was a draft never to be forgotten.
They have been replaced by some who know the history.
This Saturday, the Mia draft will be held once again.
Ironically, it will be a fast paced draft with a one hour clock..Maybe we're trying to make up for the length of the first draft
We do not KDS.
Mia picks each of our names out of a hat to decide draft slots.
A cute, happy, and healthy Mia, 12 years old, doubling her age since scaring the bejeezus out of Mom, Dad, and folks not known.
By far the cutest thing that ever happens on these Boards!
Watch for that this week on this thread.
. I think I have about a few hundred cell numbers in my phone by now...and the owners of those phones have all come to dread that fact. 
But being who I am, I decided that when I got involved with the NFBC, I would immerse myself in it not only as a staunch competitor, but also as a member of its close knit community as well. And I think the draft that turned out to become known as the "Mia Draft" will not only be the most special to me because I gained a new adopted niece as the "prize" from getting to know Roger while being a part of it, but also 13 other phenomenal guys, especially Dan Kenyon, who I truly got to know during this draft because I had the advanced technology of a cell phone (and he didn't) which I used to communicate via text with many of the other drafters after we would speak from time to time. All of us bonded during what became known as Super Storm Sandy out here in New Jersey and New York while this draft was going on. Coincidentally as I recall, other than Dough and a couple of others, I believe most of us were right in the middle of it when the storm hit. So as we learned about the news of Roger's daughter what she was going through, at the same time many of us were fighting to save our homes and families all while trying to get through a fantasy baseball draft with no power, no heat, and even no water for days on end, and surrounded by either flood water or so many downed power lines that we couldn't leave our homes. Yeah, shit was real, y'all! 
). But despite the circumstances, her father was receiving hourly moral support from me and others. I'll never forget it, and I will never forget what it was like when Roger gave me the news that the tumor was benign and Mia was okay. I wish I could share some of the pictures on here that Mia and Roger have sent me from time to time over the years as she has thankfully celebrated birthdays and other milestones since then. And it was all because a bunch of guys got together online to do a fantasy baseball draft. Looking forward to the draft order call from you as always, Mia, and doing another one of these in your honor. Thanks kid, or I guess I should now be referring to you as "young lady." 
