My Draft Journey January 2006 - Today

January 1, 2006 seems like forever ago. I sat in my usual place for away games, huddled next to the television at the kitchen bar, and watched backup running back Labrandon Toefield run for over 100 yards for the first time since his college days. I watched the geriatric wonder, Jimmy Smith, catch 4 passes for 52 yards just to get his 1,000 yards for the season.

I watched the Tennessee Titans most pitiful display since the move to Nashville. This was definitely a team that had packed it up weeks before. A team that was ready to go home.

That’s the day I started thinking about the draft. That’s the day I started wandering aimlessly around the Internet gauging fans opinions from New York to Oakland and most places in between. That’s the day I got this evil affliction, draft fever.

It was a fun stroll… for a while. Vince Young’s team beat Matt Leinart’s in the Rose Bowl. The echoes start. “How will this affect the draft?” The Houston Texans hired a new coach. There it is again, “How will this affect the draft?” The Saints signed a quarterback. It’s getting louder. “How will this affect the draft?” Cutler wowed the scouts at the combine. I don’t think I can take it anymore. “HOW WILL THIS AFFECT THE DRAFT??”

Yes, I’ve seen quite a bit over the past 4 months and my sanity and overall intelligence is no better for it. I’ve read that the Broncos have been packaging picks and trades for over a year to get Leinart. I’ve read that Vince Young will be the first overall pick… or the tenth. I’ve read that the Jets want to trade up. I’ve read that Reggie Bush hates the idea of going to Houston. I’ve read that general managers never tell full truths until a couple of weeks after Easter.

There are insiders and outsiders, experts and dimwits, homers and haters, but one thing is certain. No one knows what is going to happen on the 29th of April. No amount of reading, research or Ouija board usage is going to change that fact.

Yet here I am, scouring mocks and inhaling forum posts like Jeff Gillooly in a batting cage with a pocket full of tokens.

So why? Why on earth would any rational individual spend so much time and effort trying to find a smidgeon of truth on something as utterly futile as this? When I think back to that bleak, painful January night, watching that pitiful excuse for a game in Jacksonville the answer becomes clear. The future.

 

Haha! See if the store will give you a refund. If not, ask it what the lotto numbers are for next week. I'll buy the ticket and we'll split the winnings.