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Football, said George Will, combines the two worst elements of American life: violence and committee meetings. But there's no violence in the football draft -- save for the butterscotch dress shirt of draftee Charles Rogers -- which means that ESPN gamely televised, for 16 1/2 hours last weekend, what was, in essence, a committee meeting. Indeed, the draft's official name is the "NFL selection meeting," and with all the paper reams, fax machines and greaseboards in evidence, it was, at best, one part Broncos, 10 parts Kinko's.
And yet, more than 20 million viewers tuned in to the 2003 NFL draft, demonstrating, once again, the clinical codependency of America and football. Six minutes into the telecast, analyst Dennis Green said, "This is America: We got great football players," a phrase that ought to be minted on our coins. Behind the ESPN set, in the distance, was a spotlit flag, so that Mel Kiper Jr. looked, if you squinted, like a pompadoured Patton.
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And yet, more than 20 million viewers tuned in to the 2003 NFL draft, demonstrating, once again, the clinical codependency of America and football. Six minutes into the telecast, analyst Dennis Green said, "This is America: We got great football players," a phrase that ought to be minted on our coins. Behind the ESPN set, in the distance, was a spotlit flag, so that Mel Kiper Jr. looked, if you squinted, like a pompadoured Patton.
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