There were probably as many reporters as fans at the NFL Draft. With 10 rows of media, each containing at least 20 seats, it was a media spectacle.
"I don't know how any fan could sit through this. These teams have had months to prepare. Why don't they just pick?" Chicago Sun-Times columnist Jay Mariotti said, referring to the fact that teams often use their full time to make picks.
It was a day of waiting and anticipating, highlighted by an anxious three minutes between NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue's announcement that a team had selected and his next announcement revealing who the player was.
Anxious "Star Wars" music played amid an array of Eagles, Browns and Giants fans. Only a few fans of the Super Bowl Champion New England Patriots were in attendance.
Perhaps the most emotion shown by the crowd all day was when Aaron Rodgers, the 24th overall pick by Green Bay, was selected. The crowd erupted when he was selected amid an "overrated" chant.
"I realize that for the most part, it was my family providing the bulk of the cheers," Rodgers said at his press conference.
Rodgers and the other top five picks were joking about who would be selected last. Rodgers never imagined even yesterday that it would be he who would have to wait.
"We were all making bets about who was going to be in the greenroom last," Rodgers said. "However, it's not so fun when you are the last one selected."
Rodgers admitted that he is indeed experiencing a climate change from his native California.
"I told my agent that I am going to have to go out and buy a few winter coats," Rodgers said.
Rodgers, a projected number one pick, was humbled a bit after falling so late in the first round.
"I know the Packers want me and so I am excited," Rodgers said. "Obviously I am disappointed that I am not the number one pick, but now I get to learn from the greatest quarterback in football."
This was the day for fans to get on TV with ESPN running as many cameras as fans present. There were lights flashing everywhere as Alex Smith was introduced as the number one pick. After being selected, his entire family descended upon the stage. He probably did not know he had so many relatives.
Video of each team was flashing on the screen. The NFL even managed to find positive clips of the 2-14 San Francisco 49ers. Smith was certainly relieved to hear his name called.
"I have been thinking about [the draft] since the end of the season," said Smith "I don't know who enjoys this, but I certainly didn't. It has been a long process and I am looking forward to getting back on the field."
Smith said that San Francisco coach Mike Nolan called him during dinner.
"He called me on my cell phone. He asked me how I was doing, how was everything going," Smith said. "I have been confident. I asked coach Nolan when he made his decision, and he said that he made the decision a long time ago."
There were so many microphones attached to second pick Ronnie Brown (Miami) and third pick Braylon Edwards (Cleveland) that when a cameraman from the NFL network asked to take the microphones off Edwards responded that "There are so many, I don't know where you will begin."
With all the hoopla and interviews, players were asked just about every question imaginable. Brown, drafted by the Miami Dolphins, was asked about playing in the same division as the Patriots next year. Drafted by a Belichick prot?©g?©, Brown gave a Belichick style answer.
"This is the NFL. All the teams are difficult, and so I don't picture the AFC East to be any different," Brown said.
Brown wasn't that politically correct the whole time, however, jokingly picking himself to be the rookie of the year.
The media was so invasive that even a telephone conversation between Edwards and a relative was recorded.
When it came time for the Patriots to make the final pick in the first round, defensive end Dan Cody was the consensus pick among the experts. However, as usual, the Patriots shocked everybody when they picked Logan Mankins from Fresno State.
"I think the Patriots liked the fact that Logan has versatility. He can play guard or tackle," D.J. Boyer said, from Draft.com, a year-round publication that compiles information of about 900 players per season.
"Guard was a need for the Patriots. Other linemen who were out there were rated higher, but that is why the Patriots are so hard to judge," Boyer said.
"I had him going in the third round for goodness sake."
This day, however, is always filled with surprises.
