I must be missing something. As I recall, though I didn’t see it to the end, Tim Tebow didn’t go until the very end of the first round. Why is his face the first thing I see when I turn on the Internet this morning? Was that really the biggest story of the night?
A bigger story would be how the Big 12 took 5 of the top 10 picks. Several of the schools who usually dominate the draft are conspicuously missing from the top and not showing up but more than once through the bottom. What’s going on with these school’s programs that they are not carrying the caliber of players that they usually do? I’m sure we’ll here about these programs later, but I would much rather have heard about them today than a #25 pick!
Maybe it’s Tebow’s personality. How unfortunate that he is being criticized for being such a nice guy. Of course that would be nice by some people’s standards and completely cheesy by a whole group of others. How many times can you say “I’m going to do whatever they ask me too” in one interview. I hope they don’t ask him to jump off a bridge! Better yet, let’s keep him away from the likes of Michael Vick. Whatever my personal opinion of the boy himself, I’d much rather hear about him and positive image he projects, that the admittedly exciting but over publicized negative ones that we usually see.
If you’re choosing him for his personality though, what about any one of those boys who couldn’t help but contain themselves once they reached the commissioner. Last night I truly envied Roger Goodale being the recipient of all that joy. From honoring their mothers, to smothering their grandmothers and daughters with hugs, there were a great many human interest stories to be had. It’s the main reason I watch the draft myself. I understand that this moment (being called up in the NFL draft) is the culmination not of just the dreams of those boys, but their families and often their communities. The moment that a dream becomes a possibility, everything else stops-including your heart-until you know, one way or the other. Sure they may have had fantasies of winning the Superbowl, but before they can get there, they have to get the call. Watching them in their anticipation, but mostly their joy, is what makes football more than just a sport.
But personal interest stories don’t necessarily equal big bucks. Whatever else the NFL is, it is a business first. So why aren’t the ratings the number one story? I had no intentions of watching the draft this year. We wake up mighty early around here, and that makes for an early bedtime. Changing the draft to start on a week night, even just one round, pretty much ruins the football holiday we usually have. Of course I couldn’t resist and I only missed a few picks because I feel asleep. Maybe that’s why I’m a bit grumpy this morning about the lack of useful information in my face. Actually, after an hour’s research, I still can’t find information about last night’s ratings.
Other than the number one draft pick, or maybe some of the surprise picks, I would think that last night’s ratings would be the number one story. That’s how we are going to find out what we can expect for future drafts. For my husband, the NFL draft is his version of Christmas. It’s a holiday where he steps away from the world and submerges in pure enjoyment of the details of this sport. I completely support him in that since I get an entire month for Christmas. Sure, giving him a 4 day instead of 2 day weekend doesn’t seem unreasonable, until you consider that he’s one of those people who won’t take a day off work, especially for a personal or even “mental health” day. He is more serious about his job than he is about football (which should be true of anyone whose job isn’t football, but we all know that’s not the case), and even knowing a year in advance, he is not likely to take that one day for himself.
As a good wife, I’m begging again-please!re-think the way you have changed the draft. I get how great it is to be prime time two nights in a row, but that is not the end-all be-all of television. How do you have a draft party three days in a row? Here’s an idea, I think a perfect compromise: How about next year we start with the first round on Fridaynight? Maybe even start earlier (like tonight) and have the first two rounds. Shoot, I’ll bet you could even start around 3 on a Friday and interrupt the nations work week that day. It happens. Holiday weekends there’s not much going on Friday afternoons, and there’s certainly no reason to not over commercialize the NFL Draft. Having seen better commercials during Nascar, I’m sure that the NFL can carry some of their Superbowl magic into the draft. Think about it guys! Oh the possibilities!
It’s not that I don’t appreciate making changes. Shortening the time made a huge difference in our ability to hang with the draft at all last night. That seemed to be a pretty good change. Drama may get people to watch something, but we want answers first, drama later. If you want to give us more drama during the draft, add some cameras so we can see more of these young men as they share their elation with the world. Success or failure isn’t in the dollar signs, it’s in the eyes of these boys and in our appreciation. If you are going to make more changes, make them in such a way as to allow us to appreciate more, not less.
