At Long Last, NFL Draft Time is Here

Late April on the calendar signifies a lot of things to sports fans: the first round of the NBA playoffs are here, the NHL playoffs are back (after a year-long hiatus) and Major League Baseball's getting in the swing of things with the first month of play wrapping up . . . But none is higher on the intrigue list for me this week than the two day frenzy in New York known as the NFL Draft.

It's the single biggest event in any NFL fan's off-season. Sure there's free agency and cuts day and the first day of training camp, but the Draft is make it or break it time for most clubs. (Especially if you're a beleaguered Jets fan coming off of a terribly-disappointing 4-12 year like myself.) The impact of a successful draft on a team's future success cannot be overstated. Maybe that is why most teams are now more reluctant than ever before to part with so much as a second or third round pick, even in exchange for "big-name" players like Dante Culpepper or Terrell Owens. The impact of players taken in later rounds can be tremendous (i.e. Tom Brady by New England in the 6th), while wasted selections can trigger the downfall of almost any front office.

Pressure anyone? And I'm not even talking about the players involved in this thing yet! Imagine the myriad thoughts running through the minds of Reggie Bush, Mario Williams and Vince Young just as I write this . . . Will it be the first pick where I get selected or the second? The fourth or the tenth? Will I get twenty million dollars guaranteed or five? And where will I be putting down roots for the next six to ten years of my life? Houston, Texas? The Big Apple? Green Bay?

And that's just for the big names in the draft. The megastars can at least feel confident about being drafted, which is to say, they at least know their names are going to be called at some point, whenever it might be. But how about the lesser known players, the guys just praying for someone to tab them---anywhere, it doesn't matter---fifth round, sixth round, seventh . . . To those borderline draft hopefuls, never has the idea of being Mr. Irrelevant sounded so good.

Yes, indeed. The NFL draft is as thrilling a non-game sporting event as there is, particularly in the world of football. (On that note, it's way more thrilling than the actual Pro Bowl game as well. But then, what isn't?) The draft is the pulling up of the curtain, the revelation of long-rumored decisions, the main course of the mythic meal. And most of all, it's fun. Although the fifteen minutes between picks thing has definitely got to go. How about ten minutes between picks in the first two rounds and five minutes between the rest of the way? Wouldn't that make the whole thing just a tad more digestable?

Bring on D'Brickashaw, baby.


-JAB