Draft Day Experience (part 2)

We asked Tony, whom Steiner had befriended, to hold our place in line while we walked across the street to SI’s photo booth. The photographer took pictures of the five of us together and of us individually (except Ullmann) in front of a white screen. We had no idea if the pictures would get into the magazine (none did), but we were still more excited than Tom Cruise on Oprah. (Pictures of myself, Steiner, Wills, and Jake, would later be posted on si.com.)
After fulfilling a career goal, or at least a form of it, I settled into my comfortable plush velvet seat in the middle level at Radio City Music Hall. Approximately ten minutes prior to noon, the starting time of the draft, Frank Beamer, the head football coach of Virginia Tech, gave a touching speech as Michael Vick, DeAngelo Hall, and Bruce Smith, all VT alumni, stood behind him.
At 12:10, newly appointed NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell announced, “The 2007 NFL draft is now open. The Oakland Raiders are now on the clock.” The Raiders, to the surprise of no one, chose 6’6” 265 pound quarterback JaMarcus Russell. Fittingly, Russell walked up to the stage in a jet-black suit and accepted a Raider jersey with the crowd’s support. There were no real surprises through the first eight picks, which took nearly two hours. As expected, phenom wide out Calvin Johnson went second to Detroit, the team’s fourth wide receiver drafted in the first round in the past five years. At 2:04, the Dolphins’ pick arrived and the team’s fans came alive.
“BRADY QUINN! BRADY QUINN!” the Fish fans chanted as if their lives depended on it. Jets followers sat silently in prayer, wondering, hoping, and praying that Miami would not be handed the next Marino in the form of Quinn.
“With the ninth pick in the 2007 NFL Draft, the Miami Dolphins select Ted Ginn, Jr.” Dolphin fans wished they had paper bags to hide their dismay. It was pure bliss.
As entertaining as the Dolphin fans were, and they were quite comical, they were no match compared to Brady Quinn’s reaction. The former Notre Dame star clearly said, “That’s surprising.” It was very surprising, and a surprise to the delight of Jets, Patriots, and Bills fans across the nation, especially if Quinn does become the next star quarterback. The draft peaked for Ullmann when the 49ers made their selection at pick 11. San Francisco took middle linebacker Patrick Willis from the University of Mississippi, pleasing Ullmann, who feels his team may have picked up the next Ray Lewis.
At 2:38, Wills turned to me and said, “Brady Quinn woke up this morning, put on his $4,000 three piece suit, and thought to himself ‘I am the man.’ In the last two and a half hours he’s probably lost $20 million bucks. I love it.” Me too.
Three minutes later pandemonium broke out. I was in line to buy Peanut M&Ms when I suddenly heard a gasp from the balcony. “What happened?” I asked a Falcons fan. “The Jets made a trade for Carolina’s pick. They’re on the clock right now.” My eyes widened like an owl’s as I ran down into a throng of Jets fans, hoping to get a face shot on ESPN.