NFL Draft 2010 night resembled the Oscars

The performers arrived on the red carpet with the hopes of being rewarded for their efforts, the selecting bodies did their best to keep the results under wraps until the moment arrived, and some of the biggest surprises came near the end of the televised event. No, it wasn’t the Emmys or the Oscars or any other entertainment awards show; it was the NFL Draft 2010, moved to prime time and turned into a spectacle for all to see. The only thing missing were the acceptance speeches and Billy Crystal hosting.

Welcome to the new NFL. Even as the league demonstrated its ruthless desire to come out on the right side of the public relations equation this week by temporarily kicking out one of its most accomplished stars for merely having been accused of a crime, the league further demonstrated Thursday night that appearances rule the day, as the first round of the draft became the kind of “Must See TV” that NBC only wishes it could get its programming hands on these days. Broadcasted on ESPN and the league’s own NFL Network (yet another way of controlling the PR battle, but that’s another conversation), the 2010 draft included the rare instance of the team with the first pick not negotiating a contract with the designated player in advance; while football insiders had little doubt that the Rams would pick Sam Bradford, much of the audience likely thought there was some actual suspense as to who would go first. Then the eleventh, twelfth, and thirteen picks were all traded for combinations of other picks, along with one team going so nuts with first round trades that none of the commentators seemed sure of just what was going on, which was only trumped by the fact that Tim Tebow unexpectedly won the award for best picture got drafted in the first round by a team which no one had any reason to believe would take him.

Two of the favorites (at the quarterback position) got snubbed; one entity apparently decided it wants one more go round with an old star; and yet the entire “awards ceremony” was structured such that those who were upset at not winning don’t have to wait until next year to get another chance; instead they’ll get their shot tomorrow night.