The NFL Draft

Baseball season is underway, and the playoffs in the NBA and NHL have begun. So what has dominated the cable sports news programs for the last week? The NFL draft, of course, an event in which the athletes' most strenuous move is to stand up, hug their families, and don the cap of the team that is going to make them millionaires.

This event is now holy in many homes where football is a religion. Before ESPN came along, it wasn't even televised, but now it's going to be pushed into prime time and gets absurd ratings. It proves a couple of things: football is king of sports in America, and if you put some things on television, no matter how boring, people will watch them.

I will admit some years parking myself in front of the set and watching this thing, hour after hour. Some years I realize life can be more fulfilling, and will watch the first couple of picks and then move on. This year I will certainly tune in to see who the Lions pick number one (I guess it will be Matthew Stafford, which I think is a mistake) and then turn the set off and try to enjoy a glorious spring day.

The draft is an essential part of football, as it is the easiest way for bad teams to get good. But it's way overblown. I was watching ESPN when one of the many reporters discussing it (and how many guys are needed to examine every detail of this? The economy clearly hasn't hurt the sports bloviating industry) said that the draft was more exciting than the Super Bowl. Now that blew my mind. When the business of the sport becomes more appealing than the on-field game, there's something seriously askew. I think he's nuts--watching Chris Berman talk about a left tackle from Utah State is only a little more thrilling than watching grass grow, and certainly can't compare with a last minute touchdown pass. But that's just me.

The growth of the NFL draft as entertainment has done one interesting thing--it made Mel Kiper rich and famous. Kiper is an interesting figure, mocked by many, but you have to give him his due. He started examining college football players and their draft potential when he was a teenager, before ESPN was on the air. He published a newsletter and eventually was hired as a TV analyst, arguing football skills with established commentators, coaches, and players. Somehow he turned this into a year-round affair, and has done quite well for himself, considering when he started there was no such thing as a draft expert. He is a wonk on the subject, and when he starts tossing off facts about players from schools that no one in the audience has seen play you have to be impressed. I don't know that there's anyone on television who appears to know more about his subject than Kiper.

Some consider draft day to be a new sports holiday, a day for men to put on their favorite teams' jersey, get well stocked in beer and salty snacks, and settle into the Barcalounger for hours of football arcana. This has had a ripple effect, where now the combine is covered closely, and the results of players' Wonderlich tests are scrutinized along with their time in the forty and the amount of weight they can bench. I say it's goofy, and I'll pay attention to football again when the season starts in September.