Indulge me for a moment.
This weekend is the NFL Draft… an annual rite of passage for hundreds—if not thousands—of pro football hopefuls.
ESPN has made it easier than even to follow each–agonizingly slow—selection. The draft is live on ESPN through the final pick around 7:30 p.m. Saturday. It’s being—for the first time ever–streamed live for free, and is even available on mobile devices (and, if that’s not enough, media sites like USAToday and others are posting every pick pretty much as they happen).
I am a huge football fan, but I won’t be watching. I won’t be checking my iPhone for the latest pick. I won’t be looking at the alerts I have set up to tell me who has been tapped.
I’m not protesting, not demonstrating my dismay at the endless, gushing stories about this pick or that. I’m just crazy nervous.
My son, my little boy, the youngest O’Neill, Dann, is waiting for a call from one of the teams. He’s a 6’8â€, 326-pound offensive tackle who played for Western Michigan University, made 1st Team All-Mid-American Conference (the same 1st Team All-MAC that the No. 1 pick of this year’s draft, tackle Eric Fisher from Central Michigan, made), played in the East West Shrine Game, and is expected to go sometime tomorrow in the 6th or 7th round (and maybe the 5th), or to be tapped as a free agent after the draft.
And Dann’s asked me to be part of his own media blackout because he’s even more nervous than I am. So, no TV. No mobile video. Sigh.
Tomorrow, starting at noon when Rounds 4-7 begin, we’ll be at the golf course. No TVs. No video on our iPhones. We’re just golfing, and waiting for THE CALL.
A quick note, my club doesn’t allow mobile phones on the course (and even bans them from most of the clubhouse), a ban not that unusual at golf clubs, and one I usually adhere to… because, hey, it’s sooo nice to be out of pocket occasionally.
But Saturday, well, we’ll both be breaking that rule. Both our phones will have their ringers at their highest volumes, and, when the call comes in telling Dann where he’s playing, we’ll probably break a couple more rules that generally dictate decorum at the Muskegon Country Club. Not that anyone there will mind.
So, if you want a really good look at the options for watching the NFL Draft—without a TV—check out this story at Mashable.
And, do me a favor, keep your fingers crossed for that O’Neill kid from Western Michigan (and, his best buddy, WMU QB Alex Carder).
