I know this is stepping into very dangerous waters but I cannot understand why there is such hype about the NFL draft. For anyone not used to American sports this is a method by which young talent is distributed amongst the NFL teams. The worse the teams get the best new talent in an attempt to make all teams equal. In premier league terms it is like Portsmouth getting a young Cristiano Ronaldo. But of course this is where the comparison collapses. Here we have a free for all where any team can bid for any player and the rich teams usually get the best players and so win the trophies and the likes of Portsmouth have to bankrupt themselves to keep up. In comparison, in the land of the free, the NFL is a cartel that controls everything. You have no choice, no competition - it is ultimate socialist solution - the one with the most need gets the best in an effort make each team equal. Very un-American yet there it is.
Now I am not the first person to point out this contradiction - in deed I believe all major league sports in the States are exempt from anti-trust legislation. Anyway, back to the draft. This would seem to be a case of hype of reality. Non of the players on show has ever played professional sports, of course to an english eye playing college football looks very much like being a professional - especially when compared to local collegiate sports which usually have three men and a dog turn out to watch. They are not professional but rather just gifted amateur students. Yeah right. The only reason why they are in college is to get into the pros. So they have played professional sports it is just not called that and the colleges pocket the millions of dollars - athletes nothing. So back to the draft. What the teams are getting is potential - nothing more. Many of the so called stars of the draft will not make it and someone from the depths of the draft will turn out to be best choice - Joe Montana anyone.
So now we have hours of pointless speculation on TV and on the web about Tim Tebow. No one knows how he will turn out, whether the Denver Broncos have got a new superstar or a dud. The thing to remember in the NFL is that it is a team sport, much more than any other sports. You can have the worlds best quarterback but without a team around him to protect him and receive his pass then he is worth nothing. So ignore the hype and concentrate on the experienced players brought in. However, if you ignore the hype then you start to realise that the NFL is an Autumn and Winter sport not a spring sport - however if you did this then the NFL wouldn't make it's billions of dollars.
My that made me feel better.
Simon Marchini LRPS
Web: http://WWW.simonmarchini.co.uk
Twitter: http://twitter.com/@simonmarchini
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