<html>
<head>
<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=Windows-1252">
<style type="text/css" style="display:none;"> P {margin-top:0;margin-bottom:0;} </style>
</head>
<body dir="ltr">
<div class="elementToProof" style="font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">
<br>
</div>
<div class="elementToProof" style="font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">
<br>
</div>
<div id="appendonsend" class="elementToProof"></div>
<div style="direction: ltr; text-align: center; line-height: 1.284; margin: 0in 0in 8pt; font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">
Sport and Society for Arete</div>
<div style="direction: ltr; text-align: center; line-height: 1.284; margin: 0in 0in 8pt; font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">
April 27, 2025</div>
<div style="direction: ltr; line-height: 1.284; margin: 0in 0in 8pt; font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">
</div>
<div style="direction: ltr; line-height: 1.284; margin: 0in 0in 8pt; font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">
I stopped watching the NFL draft a few years ago, but of course it still cannot be avoided if you are a fan of American Sport, because the NFL is omnipresent and the draft has taken on mammoth proportions. This year three things stood out and became news: First,
205,000 NFL Fanatics made their way to the Draft held in Green Bay, Wisconsin, not a centrally located venue; Second, Mel Kiper’s meltdown over his own failure of prediction on the number one quarterback was one of those cringe worthy moments in television;
and Third, the revelation that one high-drafted player should not have been a high draft pick because his arms were an inch too short.</div>
<div style="direction: ltr; line-height: 1.284; margin: 0in 0in 8pt; font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">
So, I offer you a repeat of my Sport and Society essay from 2022 which summarizes my continuing views on this ludicrous spectacle.</div>
<div style="direction: ltr; line-height: 1.284; margin: 0in 0in 8pt; font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">
----------------------------------------------------------</div>
<div style="direction: ltr; line-height: 1.284; margin: 0in 0in 8pt; font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">
<br>
Some of you may remember when the word “draft” referred to<br>
a movement of cold air through a warm room from an outside<br>
source. Others will remember the Draft as that device<br>
controlling compulsory military service. Some will think<br>
“Draft lottery” the device designed to make the military<br>
draft fair, although the young may think of the NBA Draft<br>
Lottery. Others will think “draft” beer.</div>
<div style="direction: ltr; line-height: 1.284; margin: 0in 0in 8pt; font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">
<br>
In the last two decades, the average sports fan knows that<br>
the term refers to only one thing, the NFL Player Draft,<br>
which is about to descend on Sportsworld after months of<br>
NFL and ESPN driven anticipation.</div>
<div style="direction: ltr; line-height: 1.284; margin: 0in 0in 8pt; font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">
<br>
Of all the insignificant events in the world of sport, this<br>
is clearly the most overhyped and irrelevant of all. What<br>
started as a means of distributing football talent evenly<br>
across professional football has turned into a multi-day<br>
meat market with associated activities that occupy nearly<br>
the entire NFL and Julian calendar.</div>
<div style="direction: ltr; line-height: 1.284; margin: 0in 0in 8pt; font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">
<br>
The Draft began in 1936 after Bert Bell suggested a draft<br>
of college players as a way to help insure parity among NFL<br>
franchises. The goal was not achieved, as a handful of<br>
teams dominated the top of league standings over the next<br>
decade. In addition, the Draft was not considered all that<br>
important among college players, and many high draft picks<br>
did not find football an attractive means of making a<br>
living.</div>
<div style="direction: ltr; line-height: 1.284; margin: 0in 0in 8pt; font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">
<br>
In the postwar period the NFL increased in popularity and<br>
player salaries increased under the pressure of competition<br>
from rival leagues. Then in the late 1960s, with the<br>
creation of the American Football League (AFL) and the<br>
resulting competition for football talent, the Draft took<br>
on greater significance. In the AFL/NFL wars, the Draft was<br>
manipulated as the AFL tried to get ahead in the<br>
competition for players by holding a secret draft before<br>
the NFL held its Draft. At one point, Al Davis signed Fred<br>
Biletnikoff to an Oakland Raiders contract before drafting<br>
him.</div>
<div style="direction: ltr; line-height: 1.284; margin: 0in 0in 8pt; font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">
<br>
The merger of the two leagues ended the competition for<br>
players, which increased the significance of the Draft in player acquisition. Scouting increased, and scouting of<br>
African American players increased under the lead of the<br>
AFL.</div>
<div style="direction: ltr; line-height: 1.284; margin: 0in 0in 8pt; font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">
<br>
As with most things NFL, it is television that drives the<br>
machine forward. The coming of ESPN in the early 80s and<br>
the brilliance of Commissioner Pete Rozelle both pushed the<br>
expanding popularity of the NFL. At some point, the<br>
producers at ESPN, always looking for a way to fill the<br>
programming schedule, discovered the NFL Draft. In fact.<br>
fans discovered it first, started attending it, and dressed<br>
in team gear and costume for it.</div>
<div style="direction: ltr; line-height: 1.284; margin: 0in 0in 8pt; font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">
<br>
If fans were this interested in the NFL Draft, then clearly<br>
it needed to be put on television. My guess is that no one<br>
anticipated the madness that followed. The Draft became an<br>
event, then became the event, and shortly the NFL marketers<br>
jumped on the bandwagon. The Draft made the NFL a yearlong<br>
topic of conversation among fans. Soon, there would be no<br>
off-season for the NFL.</div>
<div style="direction: ltr; line-height: 1.284; margin: 0in 0in 8pt; font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">
<br>
At ESPN, the Draft grew in importance and became a central<br>
part of their NFL Programming. Analysts began appearing on<br>
the network, first one, then two, and then a parade of<br>
them. Mel Kiper became a household name, certainly better<br>
known among fans than the vice-president of the United<br>
States.</div>
<div style="direction: ltr; line-height: 1.284; margin: 0in 0in 8pt; font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">
The Mock Draft was created to predict who would be<br>
drafted by which team and in which round. Mock Drafts are<br>
now as numerous as gators and cockroaches in Florida. The<br>
first Mock Draft now appears the day after the real NFL<br>
Draft, as it’s never too soon to look to the next season.</div>
<div style="direction: ltr; line-height: 1.284; margin: 0in 0in 8pt; font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">
<br>
Sports Talk radio also played its part, and it soon became<br>
apparent to hosts of these shows that football fans never<br>
got tired of talking about football. Furthermore, NFL fans<br>
were all experts ready to argue with other fan experts and<br>
actual experts. These fans all knew they knew more than the<br>
coaches and general managers of their favorite teams. Any<br>
sports talk radio host knows that his three-hour slot will<br>
never go quiet because football never goes away.</div>
<div style="direction: ltr; line-height: 1.284; margin: 0in 0in 8pt; font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">
<br>
Those responsible for drafting players need all the<br>
information they can get, and thus the NFL Combine was<br>
born. Here, players who hope to be drafted and join the NFL<br>
are brought together to display their talents and their<br>
bodies. The players are weighed, measured, and tested in<br>
multiple ways to create a warehouse of metrics to help the scouts and directors of player personnel make their draft<br>
day decisions. Started in the 1980s, by combining a number<br>
of scouting services, it became a permanent fixture in<br>
Indianapolis in 1987.</div>
<div style="direction: ltr; line-height: 1.284; margin: 0in 0in 8pt; font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">
<br>
Inevitably, this event too has been turned into television<br>
programming. The creation of the NFL Network led to<br>
offering live telecasts from the Combine in 2004 and was<br>
important in establishing the new Network. ESPN came to the<br>
Combine late, not offering significant live coverage until<br>
the late teens.</div>
<div style="direction: ltr; line-height: 1.284; margin: 0in 0in 8pt; font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">
<br>
It is a spectacle that has some dark echoes of the past.<br>
The meat market, the objectification of the body, attention<br>
to such minor details as percentage of body fat, have at<br>
times, led me to wonder if the entire show should be at the<br>
waterfront in Charleston.</div>
<div style="direction: ltr; line-height: 1.284; margin: 0in 0in 8pt; font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">
<br>
But of course, it will not be, despite the latest draft day<br>
development, namely the competition among cities to host<br>
the Draft. Cities now bid on the event, with this year’s<br>
Draft to be held in the glitz capital of the United State,<br>
Las Vegas. Sponsors lineup to buy time on the broadcast of<br>
the Draft that now runs seven rounds spread over three<br>
days. In a city that was taboo for the NFL only a decade<br>
ago, this year’s draft will saturate the Vegas landscape. The Circus Circus Hotel and Casino is now joined by a third<br>
and much more important Circus.</div>
<div style="direction: ltr; line-height: 1.284; margin: 0in 0in 8pt; font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">
<br>
The beauty of it all is that at least half of those drafted<br>
in the first-round will not make a significant contribution<br>
to the team that burned their first-round pick on them.<br>
Despite this failure rate, over the next year two things<br>
will happen: Teams will trade with each other to accumulate<br>
early round Draft picks, and fans and the media will wear<br>
us out with their endless discussions of the upcoming<br>
Draft.</div>
<div style="direction: ltr; line-height: 1.284; margin: 0in 0in 8pt; font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">
>From Mel Kiper, ESPN, and the NFL Network, Oh lord deliver<br>
us!</div>
<div style="direction: ltr; line-height: 1.284; margin: 0in 0in 8pt; font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">
<br>
On Sport and Society this is Dick Crepeau reminding you<br>
that you don’t have to be a good sport to be a bad loser.<br>
<br>
</div>
<div style="direction: ltr; line-height: 1.284; margin: 0in 0in 8pt; font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">
Copyright 2025 by Richard C. Crepeau</div>
<div style="direction: ltr; font-family: Calibri, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">
<br>
</div>
</body>
</html>