Day 1
We started out by waiting in line at around Midnight early Saturday morning. They did not hand out tickets until 6:00 AM. Yeah we slept (sorta) on the sidewalk. I was chatting with some Raider fans as well as some fans of the Jets, Bills, Tampa and I even found a few Packer fans.
My friend was just about to go get some beer, when a I see an NYPD van pull up and talk to this guy wearing a Gradkowski jersey. The cop tells him to pour out his beverage (which was wrapped in a plain white paper bag), So we decided to go "drinkless" while we were standing in line.
Fortunately it wasn't too cold outside. We ate some McDonalds. First time I've had that in probably a year or so. They announce over the loudspeaker that "We will be forming our line at 6:00 AM!" Nobody really understands what that means. Fast forward to 6:00 AM and the officials come out. We were initially 800 people or so from the "front" of the line. The place holds 3,000 people. The Officials are now "forming the line". It turns out the "front" of the line is 100 people from where we are standing. We are about to get fantastic seats for the draft. We wind up sitting literally 50 feet from the NFL Network stage and about 75 feet from the ESPN stage. We were behind the cameras which is why I didn't get on TV.
The draft begins and the place roars with excitement. The Jets fans are loud and obnoxious netting them lots of face time on TV. I swear up & down I think the Raiders are going to take Calvin Johnson. Whoops. Incorrect. For a change, I think the Raiders finally got it right by taking the QB. We'll see.
The first round continues and the draft is excrutiatingly long. I am a die hard and although a little weary I am enjoying each and every pick. I definitely learned a lot about the teams and how much preparation they put into the draft. You can see each teams table and they are all on the phone throughout their selections. The first half of the draft teams are very busy fielding calls as some of the lower teams wanted to get up into the top 18 picks. I have read and heard this draft only has 18 players with a first round grade.
The Packers are on the clock. I'm wondering if "Tradedown Ted" is going to make a move. They announce the Packers have made a selection. Everybody stands up except me. I'm holding my breath. Goodell announces "Justin Harrell" and the whole crowd goes. WOOWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!!! I continue to sit there stunned with a little smirk on my face. Justin Harrell was rated a top 10 talent that would have gone a LOT sooner had he not been injured in 2006. I knew this but didn't say anything. I'm watching all the 12 year olds at Lambeau give the pick a "thumbs down" putting a bigger smile on my face and giving me memories of the McNabb booing. People are razzing me a little bit but not too bad. Most people thought he would go towards the end of round 1 like Ted Ginn.
The next pick happens and Denver trades up to #17 to grab their guy Jarvis Moss. We will find out later (Day 2) just why the Broncos made that trade.
The picks continue on. Brady Quinn has that Aaron Rodgers look on his face as pick after pick goes off the board. We find out later that the Browns tried to trade up with the Packers to draft Brady at #16 for next years 1st rounder. Ted says he doesn't like that because it's too much unknown. Ted must've really liked Justin.
The first round comes to a close and commissioner Goodell announces "You are all a part of history! This is the longest first round ever in NFL history. 6Hours and 8 minutes!" Cheers engulf the crowd and then he smiles and says, "This is not a record we want to break!"
The 2nd round starts and I'm thinking "WOW! This is going to be a long day today but I'm up for it!" I'm strangely drawn to each and every pick no matter how long it takes to get it. Fortunately, the picks are only 10 minutes apart now. The draft begins to speed up as many teams do not take the full amount of time to select a player. I'm keeping track of the players via the ESPN draft magazine that is handed out for free. We are listening to the NFL Network via little handheld FM radios that are handed out for free. The NFL network is announcing the picks about 30 second before the announcer is!!!
Yes the NFL is definitely screwing ESPN on "scooping" the players drafted first. Very interesting stuff.The 2nd round rolls around and I tell my buddy. "Watch Ted trade down now" Sure enough, Ted does not disappoint. My friend is just just cracking up. He can't believe I called it. I have Ted pegged as a lot of us do. More picks means a better chance of drafting some diamond in the rough. The Jets fans are going crazy because the Pack traded with them. I was hoping for something along the lines of a pick next season on top of what we received but no such luck. Damn!
Some people thought Ted reached with the WR pick (James Jones) in the 3rd. I highly doubt it. I guarantee at least one team would have drafted the guy in round 3 or Ted would not have taken him. These guys are paid millions of dollars to know what is going on and I trust them to do their homework especially when draft day is a GM's "Super Bowl". The Packers also draft a huge safety named Aaron Rouse in round 3. DB is what I wanted in round 1. Thanks Ted.
As the day comes to a close I look at the time and we have stayed the distance setting of course another record for the longest first day in history. Approximately 11 hours and 15 minutes. I'm exhausted plus the fact I can't have a beer! No alcohol served inside RCMH. We head out to a restaurant in Times Square and have a couple Killians Red's. Very nice.
I'll continue my report on Day 2 in another thread. Fire away if you have any questions on Day 1.
Thanks.
