Thursday April 23rd is day one of the 2020 NFL Draft. Thirty-two teams will somehow connect whether it’s meeting in small groups if permitted, or through some type of digital communication to discuss strategies, make trades, and of course make selections. As we know, the NFL Draft has become spectacle over the last twenty years but why not? It’s great to see who your team selects and its even cooler knowing that people are so involved with the sport to even care. Further than that, it’s always pretty neat how more and more fans are getting involved in watch the NFL Combine as well as the Senior Bowl. For casual fans who are trying to get more into the sport, it’s great seeing them learn more about the game and their teams and for the non-college football fans, it’s awesome seeing NFL fans track all the way back to the NCAA to watch upcoming players since college football is the direct feed into the NFL. From 1965 to 2014, the NFL Draft has held in New York, but since 2015 it began to move around to various cities in the USA. This year, the draft was scheduled to be live from Las Vegas. With the opening of Allegiant Stadium for the Raiders this year, the NFL was probably looking to make a big splash to kickoff another opening of a brand-new stadium. Unfortunately, with the outbreak of COVID-19, those plans have more been halted. But how serious is the fact that we won’t have a huge event for the draft this season?
If you think about it, for the NFL Draft, you don’t really need a large crowd, war rooms, or the commissioner going up to the podium to read a name. Since the NFL Draft will be televised, the public will be able to see who’s getting selected so there goes the crowd aspect. The next aspect is simple as all it will take is a selection being made and the selection to be announced and analyzed. Yes, there are some drawbacks such as the players who would’ve attended won’t get to shake Commissioner Goodell’s hand and Las Vegas just lost their chance to host the draft on the same year that Allegiant Stadium will open; however, there may be lots of live interviews via the internet and after the NFL Draft visits Cleveland next year, Vegas will get a chance to host the NFL Draft as soon as 2022. As we can see, there is plenty to be optimistic for in the coming years, and if we really think about it, this basically adds another venue for the NFL Draft since it’s been going around from city to city each year. This year the NFL can say that they were on the internet. Regardless of how the draft ends up this year, the big picture remains. Hard working hopeful college players who sacrificed so much to get to this point, trained hard, and gave all of themselves to get drafted will still be selected by professional football teams to get a chance to play for them in a chance of a lifetime.
Blog Written by Larry B.
