If you enjoy reading/hearing my thoughts on sports, especially the Bills/Sabres, you can thank my step-dad, Leo. To this day, it's pretty much the only thing I talk to him about. We could talk for hours on a single topic involving the Bills/Sabres. The most recent topic that went on for an hour or 2? Who will the Bills pick in the 1st round of the NFL Draft this year?
You see when I was younger, I used to watch the NFL Draft on TV. Every pick. Every Year. No joke. I would sit down in the living room with Leo with NFL Draft analysis from newspapers and magazines. With every pick, I would cross that player off on all of the mock drafts and ratings tables. Then when it came time for the Bills to pick, we would speculate on who they would select. Leo knew the players pretty well, and I had a list of remaining players with 40-yard times, heights, and weights. We would usually narrow the choices to 2 or 3 and most of the time, the pick the Bills would make would be one of those choices. I looked forward to the draft every year. I was obsessed (not unlike my current obsession with everything sports related). But then ESPN had a great idea. The NFL Draft wasn't getting enough viewers. Their solution? A few years ago, ESPN moved the draft to the evening, at least for the first round. Then they started moving other rounds. Friday nights were taken... Then Thursday nights. The schedule seems to keep changing year to year... But the draft used to always be over a Saturday and Sunday. First 3 rounds started Saturday morning. The final 4 rounds were on Sunday. When the schedule changed, I was already in college. My obsession had decreased to the point where I was only interested in watching during the 1st round and whenever the Bills were picking. So I wasn't too concerned with the time change.
But then ESPN went too far. Over the past few years, the 1st round of the draft has been ruined. I used to speculate on which player a team would choose, especially when the Bills were picking. However, this was no longer possible. Why? Because ESPN decided to ruin the suspense by showing a player sitting a table with their family whenever they got a phone call. Sure, you can try to ignore it... But why else would player at the NFL draft be on the phone in the middle of it with a huge smile on their face. A smile that only millions of guaranteed dollars could produce. Okay, I'm probably exaggerating a bit. But 3-4 minutes before the pick was announced, it was already obvious who was getting picked.
This year, though, I may be more inclined to watch. I recently read the best news I have ever heard (still exaggerating): Both ESPN and the NFL Network have decided to not show any players on the phone during the draft. So many people complained about the lack of suspense, that they've changed their policy.
It's about time. So this year I can finally go back to my 12 year old self. I can sit in front of the TV and speculate on every pick... and when the Bills pick, I can analyze the move in every way possible... like the good ol' days. I'm finally looking forward to the draft again. Only difference? I'll probably replace all of the NFL Draft magazines with beer.
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