Column:

NFL Draft tedious, boring

The process is too drawn out.

By Mark Levitt

Published April 30, 2009

I hate the NFL Draft.

I am beyond thrilled for Jeremy Maclin, Ziggy Hood, William Moore, Chase Coffman, Colin Brown and Stryker Sulak for being selected last weekend. Congratulations to them, and also to Chase Daniel and Brock Christopher for being signed after the draft was completed.

Missouri had more players' names called than any other Big 12 team. This is quite the accomplishment for a program just a few years removed from mediocrity. It is a credit to coach Gary Pinkel and his staff, and will hopefully show top high school recruits that Missouri can be a stepping-stone to the next level.

But other than my personal pride for my university, I have no positive feelings for the long, tedious, boring marathon that is the NFL Draft.

Sports fans always get excited for the two days in late April when they can sit around all day and watch nine minutes and 59 seconds to see which team picks which player. I don't understand the phenomenon. In an ADD society, it is difficult to comprehend why people can focus on this. Maybe the draft is a sign that football will be back soon. Maybe fans believe the weekend truly is the turning point for their lowly franchise. Maybe people are really just lazy and revel in the opportunity to sit on the couch for 48 hours.

I hate waiting to see who gets picked. I would rather wait and look it up later. What's the difference? The most exciting thing that happens live is when Jets fans boo their pick. Neat.

I hate listening to Mel Kiper for a month leading up to, and during, the event. He takes up precious time during "SportsCenter" being the "expert" of who is going to be picked where. Through no fault of his own, he is usually wrong. He knows more about the prospective players than anybody in the world; he knows what they ate for breakfast and what grade they received on their last test. He knows their 40 times and their bench press. But he can't predict which teams will pick Maclin and Coffman.

I hate the mock drafts. Writers get paid to go through a hypothetical seven rounds of who is picking whom. If they're lucky, they are able to pick the first three choices correctly. Once they miss one, it's game over.

I hate the fact after every draft, there are 12,535 articles talking about which teams "won" and "lost" in a given year. It's all garbage. It takes three years to figure out which players will end up panning out and which ones will fall flat on their faces. Former quarterback Ryan Leaf was drafted in the top five picks, but became possibly the biggest bust in draft history. Quarterback Tom Brady wasn't drafted in the top five rounds, but is a three-time Super Bowl champion.

I hate how ESPN devotes so much time to the coverage. There's so much more I would rather be watching.

On Sunday alone, there were four NBA games more entertaining than the draft. There were two hockey games and 15 Major League Baseball games. I would flip to see Rafal Nadal against Roger Federer before watching NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell announce Matthew Stafford to the Detroit Lions.

I'd rather work out or nap or clip my toenails. I would rather do my homework. I'd rather solicit phone calls for a day. I'd rather watch soccer.

It's not all negative. There is one aspect about the draft I am ecstatic about: It's over.