As I write this the NFL Draft was happening and I’m not into football beyond being a band wagon jumper when the Chicago Bears are playing well. For the first time in my life they got the #1 pick this year and for all intense and purposes instantly traded down. Opening the door for me to share my thoughts about the general ideas about sports drafts any why I never watched them.
There is only one sports draft before this years football draft that I ever watched and that was the 2008 NBA Draft which I only had on in the background and turned it off after the tenth pick was made. I will never forget that draft because the Chicago Bulls had the #1 pick and as many of readers surely know picked Derrick Rose a home grown product from Chicago’s Englewood neighborhood. There is more to this story that does not relate at all to sports that will cause me to never forget having the 2008 NBA Draft on.
Now let’s take a look at why I do not like to watch or even follow headlines relating to the drafts in any of the four sports leagues.
The first and biggest reason is simple… the teams are picking players out of college and in some cases high school who may never make it to the big show. At the end of the day this “red carpet show” that is suppose to lead guys to fame and fortune ends up loading most of them to fortune with very little or no fame.
Add to that the ongoing competition that is created between the top ten to fifteen picks after they get drafted. What competition you ask? I am talking about stat tracking competition to see which guys build a long career and sets records. Let’s use the 1991 NFL Draft as an example here. I was too little to remember that draft if it was not for the fact the Brett Favre was a thorn in the Bears side for my entire life after that draft; he was not even drafted in the first round either. Nope, he was drafted with the 33rd overall pick which would have been the third pick in the second round. Even though I never followed football closely I can tell you that the only name I remember from any NFL draft in the 90s is Bretts.
Last but not least, in recent years the NFL and NBA have made it this long prime time TV event just to show sports highlights and have panel conversations as the guys get drafted. This is icing on the cake here because they are only doing this for the advertising revenue; sadly, when all is said and done after the first few picks most people just turn to a different station and watch the headlines on the internet to see if their favorite players from college teams gets drafted.
If you cannot play with them, root for them!