If you think about the NFL Draft, it shouldn't draw nearly five million people to watch it. After all, it's just a rich dude who no-one seems to like (outside of his owners) too much (NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell), calling out the names of some very big guys, who no-one has a clue what they will do in the future.
And yes, there are the Jets fans who routinely show up to see their team shot in the foot by a sea of really, really bad picks, or the anticipation of the next Hall of Famer the Patriots will pick in the late rounds, but really, it's a guy standing up and reading out the name of the player who each team has chosen. The great thing for Goodell is that unlike many NFL fans, he doesn't have to add the words "What in the hell were they thinking?" (see Cleveland Browns for details).
So why do people love it?
For the pure NFL fan, it's hope. Every rookie brought in - they hope - will work out, and be the sign of a great future. They will be able to cheer on the guy who they didn't know very much from Saturdays as he absolutely kills it on Sundays, making a fantastic throw, or gravity-defying leap, or big-time tackle that would have shaken the walls of Jericho. 'This guy, he'll be the one to turn our franchise around", they say to themselves in the top of the NFL Draft. After all, in American sports, it's the bad teams who get to pick the best players from college football. The good teams like the Patriots, perennially picking in the 30s of the first round, wait to see who might keep them winning.
For the NFL Fantasy Player, it's renewed interest, because their draft is coming up next. There's the hope that the rookie who they draft on their team will turn out like DeShaun Watson, who they picked much to the laughter of their buddies, and he shredded the NFL for 1,699 yards and 19 TDs until, you know, his ACL was shredded. The unpaid NFL Fantasy Player probably takes as many notes as any (paid) GM, trying to work out if a quarterback, running back, tight end or wide receiver will fit into a team's schemes, and therefore gain them the points that lift them to the top of the bragging tree.
And then there's the college football fan. For them, it's the players they've loved, hated (because he decided to play for their most hated rival instead of our team), shredded their, or helped them become National Champions. When they go to the NFL Draft, these former idols aren't hated anymore (apart from Alabama fans, who still hate Cam Newton). They are proven commodities on the college football field, and if they tear up the NFL too, college football fans can go to their NFL peers and say: "I told you he would be good in the pros."
As is the case with any NFL rookie, there are some who tear up the league (Alvin Kamara for the New Orleans Saints would be an example), and some who do well for the first year or two, and then it's their careers who are torn up due to injury or their own idiocy. Look at Robert Griffin III, the former Heisman winner who torched college football defenses for over 10,000 yards in four years and ran for another 2,000. He had a great first two years in Washington, but it was injuries - in the form of a blown-out knee - that cost him his career. Or then there's Johnny Manziel, who was also a Heisman Winner, who came into the league as one of the most-talked about NFL picks in years. This was mainly due to over-confident demeanour rather than his passing skills, and he's now thought of as one of the biggest college football-to-NFL flops since Ryan Leaf. That's not a good comparison.
But hey, it's good to dream.
Here's a guy who played at Oklahoma State who ended up being quite a good player...
He went onto play for the Detroit Lions, where he ended up OK too....
And yes, there are the Jets fans who routinely show up to see their team shot in the foot by a sea of really, really bad picks, or the anticipation of the next Hall of Famer the Patriots will pick in the late rounds, but really, it's a guy standing up and reading out the name of the player who each team has chosen. The great thing for Goodell is that unlike many NFL fans, he doesn't have to add the words "What in the hell were they thinking?" (see Cleveland Browns for details).
So why do people love it?
For the pure NFL fan, it's hope. Every rookie brought in - they hope - will work out, and be the sign of a great future. They will be able to cheer on the guy who they didn't know very much from Saturdays as he absolutely kills it on Sundays, making a fantastic throw, or gravity-defying leap, or big-time tackle that would have shaken the walls of Jericho. 'This guy, he'll be the one to turn our franchise around", they say to themselves in the top of the NFL Draft. After all, in American sports, it's the bad teams who get to pick the best players from college football. The good teams like the Patriots, perennially picking in the 30s of the first round, wait to see who might keep them winning.
For the NFL Fantasy Player, it's renewed interest, because their draft is coming up next. There's the hope that the rookie who they draft on their team will turn out like DeShaun Watson, who they picked much to the laughter of their buddies, and he shredded the NFL for 1,699 yards and 19 TDs until, you know, his ACL was shredded. The unpaid NFL Fantasy Player probably takes as many notes as any (paid) GM, trying to work out if a quarterback, running back, tight end or wide receiver will fit into a team's schemes, and therefore gain them the points that lift them to the top of the bragging tree.
And then there's the college football fan. For them, it's the players they've loved, hated (because he decided to play for their most hated rival instead of our team), shredded their, or helped them become National Champions. When they go to the NFL Draft, these former idols aren't hated anymore (apart from Alabama fans, who still hate Cam Newton). They are proven commodities on the college football field, and if they tear up the NFL too, college football fans can go to their NFL peers and say: "I told you he would be good in the pros."
As is the case with any NFL rookie, there are some who tear up the league (Alvin Kamara for the New Orleans Saints would be an example), and some who do well for the first year or two, and then it's their careers who are torn up due to injury or their own idiocy. Look at Robert Griffin III, the former Heisman winner who torched college football defenses for over 10,000 yards in four years and ran for another 2,000. He had a great first two years in Washington, but it was injuries - in the form of a blown-out knee - that cost him his career. Or then there's Johnny Manziel, who was also a Heisman Winner, who came into the league as one of the most-talked about NFL picks in years. This was mainly due to over-confident demeanour rather than his passing skills, and he's now thought of as one of the biggest college football-to-NFL flops since Ryan Leaf. That's not a good comparison.
But hey, it's good to dream.
Here's a guy who played at Oklahoma State who ended up being quite a good player...
He went onto play for the Detroit Lions, where he ended up OK too....
