The NFL draft has been one of those "can't miss" events for me for more than a decade. Mark and I started a tradition of going to BW3 for the draft quite by accident. One year in the mid to late 90s we were up at CMU visiting some friends for the weekend and decided we wanted to watch the draft, but didn't want to hold their TV hostage all day (the house we were staying in was occupied by four girls) and we really didn't want to watch it on a tiny TV anyway. One of the girls, either Kelley or Angela I believe, suggested BW3 when we asked if there was a sports bar or something similar that might be open for the draft. We had never heard of the place before, even though we drove right by it every time we came to visit them....which was pretty damn often.
So we went there, had some food and some pop while we watched the draft and really enjoyed ourselves. I know it was only pop, even though Mark pretty much HAS to have beer when he watches anything sports related, because it was the 1997 draft or earlier and we wouldn't have been 21 yet. Because of some unfortunate events brought up myself by sheer stupidity, I missed most of the 1998 draft after trying my damndest to suck it up and make it through at least the first round. That didn't happen, and when I was told that the Lions drafted Terry Fair in the first round, I felt even sicker that when I had left BW3.
This year marked a HUGE change in the draft plans for us. Instead of meeting up at BW3 for an all day event on Saturday, the NFL decided it would be a good idea to have the first round in prime time this year....on a THURSDAY night. As if I don't have trouble finding time to sleep as it is. Thanks Commish.
The whole thing kinda soured me about our plans for the draft this year until, through a series of events at work, I found out I would be going in late on Friday morning. After that, I was cool with staying out late enough for the first round to be completed....especially when I found out Mike was willing to drive to the Dearborn BW3 for it.
Anyway, here's just some random thoughts I had about the draft.
Ndamukong Suh was not the first overall pick in the draft, Sam Bradford was, which pleased my inner Lion fan. Well, that part of me wasn't 100% pleased until Roger Goodell officially announced Suh as the second overall pick. The Bucs didn't do anything surprising at number 3 and took Gerald McCoy like everyone expected. Then it was time for my Skins to pick....and that's where the first surprise of the draft hit.
The pick itself did not surprise any of us, I had even told Mike who we'd pick just a few minutes before. It's not a flashy pick at all, but it's the perfect fit for the team needs as seen by Mike Shanahan. The surprise was how Goodell announced the pick saying, "Trent 'Silverback' Williams" when he read the card. Williams explained it all later on, saying that he jokingly asked the commissioner to use his nickname when he was announced as a pick. He didn't expect it, but he seemed very happy about it and gave Goodell a big hug.Speaking of....did anyone else notice that Mr. Commissioner was kind of lovey dovey with a bunch of these guys last night? If I didn't know any better, I'd say Roger was about 4-5 fingers in by the time the draft started.
"How YOU doin?"
After the 4th pick, my level of interest dropped a bit since my two favorite teams had already picked for the night, but there were still a few things I'd like to go over....unfortunately I have run out of time for this post. It's amazing how much longer it takes to write this garbage of mine when there are a bunch of pics involved. Hopefully I'll get a chance to finish this up on Monday.
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