WAY OT: Long rant....Sorry Chicago, worst draft ever

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Originally Posted by TheSultan

"On Thursday and Friday, 110,000 people visited Draft Town, the free fan festival in Grant Park across the street from the theater where the draft was held. On Saturday, larger crowds were expected when selections in the fourth through seventh rounds were announced at the festival. The crowds far exceeded the league’s original estimates.

Many fans who came to Chicago were from N.F.L. cities within driving distance — Cincinnati, Cleveland, Detroit, Green Bay, Indianapolis, Kansas City, Minneapolis and St. Louis — giving the draft a Midwestern feel."


So it seems to me that you have those (such as IWB and Nich) that miss the traditions of the New York draft because they experienced them and enjoyed them. But this "new way" of doing things was a way to open the door to more people, and sacrificed traditions as a side-effect.

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In New York I don't recall them having the big outdoor draft party or NFL experience. Seems like that was a huge success (the draft itself never sold beer). Get the NFL sponsors to pony up and I'm sure because the weather was nice it was a real cash cow.

The old draft at the various NY locations like Madison Square Garden were kid of bucket list things for your die hard NFL draftnicks. I get that this outdoor festival is the way to go now. I probably won't watch the draft anymore seeing as they are not showing the picks live, but I get that from a NFL experience standpoint it worked out great. I'm just happy I got to experience the 'old school' version of the NFL's Annual Selection Meeting in person in the Big Apple a couple times.