Scenes From Radio City Music Hall

I’ll give more Packer-centric draft thoughts tonight/tomorrow, but right now I want to tell you about the brilliance that is Day Two at the NFL Draft.

I truly hope they never move the draft from Radio City, because every NFL fan should get to experience the NFL Draft in the venerable theater. It is truly one of the most mis-matched days, with the great unwashed that is the average NFL fan mixed in with the famous hall. I mean, nothing beats seeing a truly rotund man in a way-too-small Reggie Bush jersey buying 4 large pretzels, two hot dogs and a large Diet Coke, marching to a seat at the back of the hall and shouting out “Kiper sucks!” This was just a preview of some of the hilarious visuals I was to be treated to this afternoon.

The first thing to realize is that downstairs on Day Two is for the true draftnik. I saw a man in full Falcons regalia, listening to something in his headphones (presumably the ESPN feed) and keeping track of each pick on his own stopwatch. Seriously. Every. Single. Pick. I mean, thank goodness he was there in case the great big clock keeping track of each pick on stage broke down. After Stopwatch Man, I saw a couple of Steelers fans in the front row of the fan section who waved their ‘Terrible Towels’ when the Steelers were announced to be on the clock with their fourth round pick, only to be totally deflated when it was announced that the pick had been traded to the Giants. I will admit, however, that I didn’t know whether to be incredulous or impressed that they had brought the towels to wave for their teams’ draft picks…

Not to be outdone by the main floor, the mezzanine is where the less serious, but no less dedicated, fans congregate to talk smack to each other and shout at the television personalties. In my first visit upstairs (I kept moving around, looking for Packer fans to promote the site to…along with Rich Eisen, who I’m sure is now an avid reader after I gave him a CheeseheadTV business card) I walked straight into a verbal volley between two Browns’ fans who had ganged up on a lone Steelers fan. I also spoke with a truly gracious Bears fan (yes, they do exist) who was very despondent that the Bears did nothing to address their quarterback situation. I, of course, found it hard to conceal my glee.

I was in the auditorium for the Finley, Thompson and Stitton picks. But I have to tell you, it’s hard to be a Packer fan at the draft. You wait two hours for you teams’ pick to come, get on the clock, get all excited, and then it’s announced that the pick is traded. After three or four hours of that, you’re ready for a beer, which I left the theater to get along with a brilliant burger at the Heartland Brewery across the street (I highly recommend the Red Rooster Ale)

I’ll be reading what I can re: the newest Packers and giving you my thoughts as the week progresses. In the meantime, rest easy knowing that Stopwatch Man is out there keeping us safe from malfunctioning scoreboard timers…