NFL DRAFT: The Good, The Bad, and The Fugly

The Good

 

Dreams become Reality 
Seeing the look on the majority of the player’s faces affects even the least emotional of us. Just imagining this feeling of validation after such a long, hard journey can move an ambitious man to tears in a way that few other stories can.  Not to deny the fact that, of course, these players are physical specimens. These freaks of nature have the genetics in place as they are taller, faster, and stronger than 90% of the American population but even with these god-given gifts there’s no way they could’ve made it to the league without training. With each 6am sprint, tire pull, after-school practice lift, these players pushed themselves beyond us mere mortals in order to gain any and every minute advantage which got them to where they are today. At some point in most children’s lives, they come to realize that the naysayers and doubters are valid when they pull your pro athlete dreams down.

While my brother's more of a dreamer, I'm a bit more of a realist and while to shatter a kid’s dreams is as devastating as telling them there is no Santa, this will provide them with the mentality to pursue several different options, thus yielding a better chance of success. Think the kids who spent an hour less a night running sprints to study for their business final, the kids who used sports simply as a means to get to college. On the other hand, most of the players who get drafted decided to throw the security out the window to hit their goals. They risked it all, proved the countless doubters wrong, and achieved greatness. What is nobler than that?

 Name Game 
As an avid sports fan and gambler, I feel I know a little more about college sports than the average Joe but even I can’t say I know everyone in the draft. I recognize the majority of the players in the first and second rounds but I can’t say that I’ve watched all of them play and certainly haven’t  maintained an eagle eye on the individuals’ stats. The draft provides clips, stats, and other information of the players picked. There is so much going on in a football game it’s hard to keep radar on a guard, tackle, linebacker, or corner. It also brings to your attention those players from small colleges no one’s ever heard of. It does a great job of highlighting players who you might be watching for the next 10 years.

The Lucky Leo Watch 
Leonardo DiCaprio is an actor who everyone has followed from his inception, no pun intended. He was in the television series PARENTHOOD (1990 version) and GROWING PAINS until a breakout performance in WHAT’S EATING GILBERT GRAPE. Following this film, he became a regular in high-end cinema; THE QUICK AND THE DEAD, BASKETBALL DIARIES, ROMEO + JULIET, all the way to becoming one of the top two or three actors today. In a similar fashion, you can follow big high school recruits all the way to The League. With such websites, as Scout.com, rivals.com, and maxpreps.com, it’s easier to find information on the potential greats and follow them until they hit it big. It sounds fucking bizarre, but it feels like you’ve invested in a player by continually talking to your boys about this rising star. You can also take pride in knowing more than your boys about sports, which only rivals how often you get laid in the competitive realm of males.

 

The Bad

Length  

The Draft is not perfect and could use tweaking. “It’s not the size of the boat, but the motion of the ocean”, “It’s not the years, it’s the mileage”, and “It’s Quality, not Quantity”. Basically, what I’m hinting at is that the draft should decrease it’s duration as it doesn’t need to be so tedious to be intriguing. A lot of teams have several options and the great GM’s have figured out every scenario possible in order to draft the right individuals. This draft was full of essentially pre-meditated picks and trades, which was more prevalent this draft than others in the part. There were a few teams that needed to really switch gears last minute, i.e. the Ravens trading their first rounder, but the majority had a plan and did not need all the time allotted. After pick 25, all I want to do is them have them show the NFL’s greatest hits while the names scroll along the bottom. Please note that even after pick 25 is still the first of 7 rounds.

Gruden approval

Let me state that I am a big proponent of the man they call Chucky. Jon Gruden is one of my favorite analysts in all of sports as he understands the players and the teams and is not afraid to speak his mind. His understanding of the NFL is extensive. On Monday night football he does the unspeakable, questioning the officials, play call, teams, and essentially everything that would be considered out of line for a color commentator.  And so the biggest issue I have with him during the draft is how consistently positive he is regarding most picks. A few picks were a little suspect to me including Trent Richardson for several reasons and yet Gruden, like his other picks, thinks this was genius. While he was the best running back on the board, you can get a solid contributor in a later round for half the cost.

The Boss/Employee Bro hug

 When you get hired for a job, do you have a 15 second intense hug with your future employer? I can safely say that I have never experienced such an act nor has anyone I’ve ever met. I wouldn’t even give such a long awkward embrace to my girlfriend. Sure I didn’t overcome the odds to achieve something that most people aspire to and never attain, but why would they embrace a man they will most likely hate for a longer period than their family? It’s awkward and just does not make sense to me. The majority of the players dislike Goodell, which is pretty fucking apparent. I personally don’t mind him, but if I’ve learned anything from the lock-out and the players’ quotes, Goodell is public enemy number 1. I have a feeling that in a year these players will look back and wonder why, Why the fuck did I man-hug this asshole who’s now fining me?

Another aspect to consider is the fact the man they’re embracing is the reason they’re getting paid half of what their predecessors received. Again, I thought the salaries were inflated before the lockout, but I also do not risk a life of pain in order for a few years of glory. 

The Fugly

Apparently Occupy NFL means you’re diehard

I recently read an article on yahoo stating that NFL “Diehards” showed devotion by hanging out all day in line. The word Diehard is not something I would affiliate with the Occupy Wallstreet Protesters and, thus, not with this. A lot of the crunchy and homeless vagabonds occupying cities because they don’t have jobs remind me of a more extreme version of these NFL “Diehards”. It must be nice to stop everything, take weeks off, and hang-out all day in a pretty little park yelling at people because they have more money than you. This is similar to what some of the NFL Diehards did and, based on their interviews, it seems like they only care or have knowledge of what happens with their individual team and thus boo or cheer unnecessarily.  While they have general knowledge of the sport, they have no more knowledge than someone who studies the game intensely whenever they have free time from their 9-5ers and family/friend time. It is still hilarious to see the clip of the fans booing McNabb who had an arguably HOF career as an Eagle and it truly makes you wonder whether these “Diehards” know what the fuck they’re talking about.

I also wish I could literally bring all of my responsibilities to a resounding halt but, unlike a majority of them, I have a job and a life. I’m sorry if that sounds too harsh, but they’re unwilling to contribute financially to the league that provides them with so much and at the same time they get called “Diehards” because they wait in line while I work my ass off so that I can pay for tickets, gear, the NFL network, and maybe even eventually pay for tickets to the draft. And yet it’s amazing that I would be considered any less of a fan. I believe the Diehards shouldn’t get the recognition they received recently. Devotion is making time around a hectic schedule to follow the sport and contributing something back to it. Also, a lot of them are, in fact, just fugly.

- Kyle