So tonight is the NFL Draft. It used to be a two-day weekend event, starting Saturday morning, going through the day, and then picking up again on Sunday to finish. Now, because that was such a big hit, it has become a prime time event. The first pick will be made in just over an hour, and we will see the first round tonight. Tomorrow night, we will get to see the second and third rounds, and then the fourth through seventh rounds on Saturday.
This isn't the Super Bowl. It isn't a regular season game. Heck, it's not even a preseason game. Yet, because it involves the NFL, it's a prime time event. Unless you are Mel Kiper Jr. or Todd McShay, you probably won't know most of the names being announced by the end of tomorrow night, but that doesn't even matter. What the draft is, is basically a list of young kids that will have a shot to make the team next season. Obviously, the top of the draft is full of guys that will be playing next year, but in two years, it's likely that about half of the players selected tonight won't be making much of an impact with the team that originally drafted them. For all the promise and great expectations placed upon these kids, the draft is many times remembered for failures more than successes. All the mock drafts and 40-yard dash times can't predict what will actually happen when these guys step on the field.
As I am writing this, some of the guys expected to be drafted early in the first round are walking into Radio City Music Hall on a red carpet surrounded by cameras. This is a perfect example of how the NFL can turn anything it wants into a spectacle that will be watched nationwide.
The NBA Draft is interesting for maybe half of the first round, and the NHL and MLB drafts are full of guys that won't even play for a few years. The NFL is a league of instant impacts though, and I think that plays a role in making the draft as big as it is. Players used to be drafted and then "groomed" for a season or two before they started to play regularly. Now, guys like Cam Newton and A.J. Green and many others have come into the league and made a huge impact right away. Some of these guys will be asked to play huge roles on their teams the minute they are drafted. Andrew Luck and Robert Griffin III will have huge expectations placed on their shoulders as soon as training camp begins, and that is why so many people watch the draft. Instead of seeing your team select players that will make an impact a few years down the road, we are seeing instant stars that will be picked by teams tonight.
Another reason I think the draft is such a spectacle is that it involves all 32 teams. Any game on television involves two teams, but the draft is about the entire league. The Colts, who had a terrible year, are soon to be "on the clock" and they will have their moment in the sun when Andrew Luck walks across that stage and puts on a Colts hat. The same will happen with every other team in the league. No matter what their record was last year, they will be in the spotlight at some point in the next two days.
I have to say that I will be watching as much of the draft as I can, and a poll on ESPN.com from earlier today showed that most people throughout the country will be doing the same thing. Tomorrow morning, I could simply look at a list of the players drafted and I would know who was going to which team. Instead, we tune in to basically see nothing happen. We wait for the clock to tick down in between picks, we listen to Roger Goodell announce the next pick, and then the Jets and Eagles fans boo the player as they walk up on to the stage. The same thing happens every year, yet we still all watch. The NFL is the only sport that could make such a spectacle out of what is really a pretty boring event, but all of us watching it will just be more evidence of why the NFL can make even the simplest of things into a nationally televised, prime time event that we all can't wait to see.
Daily Rangers Update: The puck drops for Game 7 any minute now, and the season will end tonight for one of these two teams. Big name players step up in big games like this, so we better be hearing names like Brad Richards and Marian Gaborik tonight. Win and the season continues. Lose and we have to wait again until next fall. Let's Go Rangers!
Daily Diamondbacks Update: An off-day today is probably a good thing. Joe Saunders takes the mound tomorrow night against a Marlins team that has gotten off to a slow start. Saunders has been terrific so far this year, so hopefully that continues.
Daily Giants Update: We will be closing out the draft tonight (which is a good thing). I've seen a few more changes in projections. There are a lot of good offensive linemen available this year and we need help there, so I wouldn't be mad if we heard a name like Bobby Massie or Jonathan Martin called. Jerry Reese has proven that he is a master of drafting, so whoever we get I'm sure will work out.
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