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

[IWB]

Ok, I will start with an apology to our Chicago members, but that was the worst draft ever.

Gato78, Goose85, the Notorious GAS and I used to frequent the NFL's Annual Selection Meetings in New York. Some of the greatest sporting events I have been to. From the trivia battles between the Giants & J-E-T-S fans to the bus loads of Philly fans in full pads (that a sober Gato tried to take on for some reason), the draft was always incredible. The set up was like this - upper deck split in two between Giants and J-E-T-S fans and the rest filling in in the lower level along with the TV booth, and down in front the team tables etc. Oh, and the Cleveland fans in the mezzanine making it a true "dog pound".

Last night was a joke, here were the problems....

1) The NFL tried to make this a three day made-for-TV event. The draft is a long drawn out ordeal. It is not made for TV, it is made for true sports die-hards. Day three? Really? Blame this one on the NFL. All night long, one round.

2) Grant Park? Really? The draft and 'draft area' was out doors? From what it looked like on TV, the main stage with the main crowd was in a tent/studio, but the rest were outside. They were lucky it wasn't 10 degrees. Too big of an ordeal for something that is several hours long.

3) They are trying to make this a family-friendly event. Really? I know a guy taking his young son today. "He's not into football, but I am, so we'll have fun." Really? Your kid won't mind sitting through 5 hours of calling out names and showing some highlights? That kid will be scarred. Again, the draft is for the diehards, not the casual fans.

4) No love for the J-E-T-S fans? It was always a tradition that when the Jets were about to pick, the Jets fans would give it their all with a J-E-T-S JETS JETS JETS cheer that would be as loud as the stadium would be on game day. Then the pick..... Jets fans would usually hate their pick, look shocked, boo, etc. It they hated their pick - the rest of the crowd would cheer. If they liked their pick - the place would boo. Last night when the Jets were on the clock they showed two, yes two Jets fans. Pathetic.

5) Chicago fans. Sorry, they were terrible, for two reasons.

1) Yes, it has always been tradition to boo the commissioner, but you stop when he starts talking, and the booing really dies out after a couple of picks. Not Chicago fans, they would boo to the point where, on a few of occasions, the commissioner would have to stop and start over. For one pick he had to start over not once, but twice just while announcing a single pick. And there were plenty of individuals that were likely loaded, that would yell something in the midst of the announcement (kind of like the a-holes that yell "In the hole!" every time a golfer tees off.) It was beyond obnoxious. In New York, while the fans do boo the commissioner and do heckle other teams, above all they respect the draft and at no time try to yell themselves onto TV.

2) Bears done? We're done. In New York the draft was always long. They did the first two rounds on night 1. It was a long night. Hell, the year that they expanded with two teams they moved the first pick time from what, 5 minutes to 8? Or something like that? Just with those two rules, they expanded rd 1 by almost two full hours. But that was ok, the fans stuck it out. These were the diehards. The crowd would finally die down 3/4 of the way through round 2. Last night the Bears picked 5th, and from the looks of it on TV, when they were done their fans were done. The place cleared out. That blew.

Side note, on the loaded fans trying to yell themselves onto TV? While there were some people putting down beers in New York, most fans waited until it was over because they knew they were there for the long haul. The real drinking was done on Times Square after the selections were complete.

6) Worst draft ever. This is an NFL/TV issue, and that is the TV timing and the best example of why the draft is not 'made-for-TV'. We learned long ago that interviews and commercials were deadly. I remember the year they were interviewing Denny Green. The ESPN booth was right next to us. They had him on a live feed and Chris Berman asked him one question. Green wouldn't stop talking. Seriously. The next pick was up, Tagliabue was at stage left - they were all looking at Berman who had his hands up in the air like, "What should I do, he won't shut up?" So when there is a delay on TV, that doesn't mean the pick isn't ready. However, back then when the commish got to the stage, they did what they could to wrap it up. Last night I get in the car to go to the store and what do I find? Radio is 3+ picks ahead of TV. I knew who the Packers took at #30 when they had yet to announce pick #28. Here is what started it.....
All of the GMs are on a computer system that shows when a pick is made, who it was, how much time left on the clock. They all know how to 'play the game'. Once a pick is made the kid comes up to the stage, poses for a pic, they show highlights.... But Carolina has a new GM. He doesn't get it. When he was on the clock he punched in his pick 30 seconds into the clock. The pick before them wasn't even up to the stage yet, so the next team proceeded with their pick. After all, they have a time limit. It continued on. By the time they had gotten done showing Carolina's pick, two more picks had been made. What made it worse, is that these players were tweeting out that they were picked by XYZ team, so no matter what was on TV, follow the players on Twitter and you are ahead of TV by 10 minutes.

Although the NFL and Chicago fans will say it was the greatest ever, they moved the draft to Chicago and it failed big time.

[Gato78]

I think the actual draft was across the street from Grant Park at an auditorium--it looked like it was an extension of what was going on outside but it was inside a theater. I was shocked when IWB texted me the Packers 1st Round pick two or three picks ahead of the Packers actual selection on TV. The Annual Selection Meeting needs to return to NYC. When I went with IWB et al, there was no alcohol served at MSG Theater. Still, some found its way in. The whole thing last night was pathetic--Chicago fans, or any other locale, cannot compete with NYC. The fact there are two big fan bases in NYC helps the atmosphere along with the Philly fans and all of the rest of the league. Non Bears fans last night were weak, but it had to be expected. Nothing better than the J-E-T-S fans being happy, PO'd etc. Giants fans are right there with them. I did once take on a bus full of Philly fans who were part of a sports radio promotion as they exited their bus at MSG--several in full pads. They were crazy. IWB and Goose 85 had to pull me away before fisticuffs ensued. Pretty hilarious in retrospect--the full Philly fan experience, they were going to bitch about everything. They were the guys that booed Santa Claus and threw snowballs at him.

[The Reptile]

You know that Chicago needs help when they have to import Jets fans and set them loose to understand what makes their participation in Draft Day so special. And as a long suffering Jets fan I will say that until the Jets draft the next Joe Namith we will always boo our picks.


http://wgntv.com/2015/04/30/angry-je...oo-everything/

[Litehouse]

The actual draft was in the Auditorium theater a few blocks away from Grant Park.
http://www.auditoriumtheatre.org/shows/nfl-draft-2015/

[TheSultan]

The NFL draft has had round one on Thursday night for a few years now. That isn't a Chicago thing. That is a "made for TV" thing. The crowd looked good on television and looked like they were having a good time. The lack of trades took away the intrigue. And you should watch the NFL Network's coverage instead of ESPN.

I agree that it is too long, but I am old and not the die-hard guy they are catering to.

[IWB]

Crazy - a few shots on TV made it look like it was all part of it - maybe that is how they tried to make it look.

[TheSultan]

Crazy - a few shots on TV made it look like it was all part of it - maybe that is how they tried to make it look.

Yeah I think that's exactly what they were trying to do.

[IWB]

I know the Thursday isn't a Chicago thing, that was created a few years ago when the NFL Network wanted to give themselves three days of programming. It was still part of a terrible draft.

Bottom line, when I know the pick three picks ahead of TV - it is a terrible freaking draft.

While the crowd looked good on TV, yes - you can always make a crowd look good on TV. But when they had different angles, you could see how sparse it was when they had a different angle - again, not until the Bears made their pick.

[MUMac]

The NFL draft has had round one on Thursday night for a few years now. That isn't a Chicago thing. That is a "made for TV" thing. The crowd looked good on television and looked like they were having a good time. The lack of trades took away the intrigue. And you should watch the NFL Network's coverage instead of ESPN.

I agree that it is too long, but I am old and not the die-hard guy they are catering to.

I believe that started in 2010. For a few years prior to that, it was a two day event, with Rounds 1 & 2 on the same day (Friday night). At one time, they did Rounds 1-3 on Saturday morning and Rounds 4-7 on Sunday. going way back, it used to be on a Tuesday, starting at 7:00 am.

I prefer the two day event with Rounds 1 & 2 together.

[MUFAN2010]

Hey speaking of the draft. What do the Packers and Bears have in common?


They both drafted a pass catcher for Jay Cutler last night!