The NFL Draft served as a reminder of all that sports fans are missing
The enduring popularity of the NFL draft has always left me mystified. For months before the annual spring event, pundits endlessly speculate about where the best football prospects will land. A year ago, the three-night draft reached more than 47.5 million viewers. Some 600,000 people gathered in Nashville to catch it live. All for what? To watch football players put on hats?
But America, it seems, is longing for the kind of shared communal experiences that sports can deliver. A week ago, the WNBA draft — also conducted virtually and broadcast on ESPN — saw its viewership rise 123%. The long-awaited 10-part docuseries about Michael Jordan and the 1997-1998 Chicago Bulls — The Last Dance — debuted on Sunday, April 19; the film averaged 6.1 million viewers, making it the most-viewed ESPN documentary ever.
Story continuesNot that the quirks of the virtual draft weren’t delightful. Social media honed in on interior design rather than the draftees’ sartorial choices. We enjoyed seeing snack spreads and kids of coaches and executives wandering into the typically self-serious draft “war rooms” — aka some spare space in the house with an acceptable backdrop. New York Giants general manager Dave Gettleman put on a mask, inside, for some reason.
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