For the first time since 1963 the NFL Draft left New York City and hit the shores of Lake Michigan. HHSR’s NFL Draft corespondent Mark Hicks, whose “Mark Drafts“ are a staple of The Preseason Podcast of the Year, made the trek from Cleveland to Chicago to attend draft for the very first time. This was prior to the Cavs ousting the Bulls in six games from the NBA Playoffs (as predicted here), so he and his wife were safe. And with that, HHSR wanted to give fans a glimpse of what the draft looked like this year, from Draft Town in Chicago’s Grant Park, to Selection Square at the Auditorium Theater.
This is the 2015 NFL Draft (in pictures): Where disillusioned fans of loser franchises go to feel slightly better about themselves.
It’s hosted monumental events in this nation’s history. The Lincoln funeral procession, an outdoor mass with Pope John Paul II, President Obama’s acceptance speech in 2008— now, the event in which hammered Tampa Bay Bucs fans gathered to learn the future of their franchise would be intrusted to a pick throwing, crab leg smuggling, obscenity shouting, malcontent — who didn’t even show up for the draft himself —can be added to this list. Ulysses would be proud.
Welcome to Grant Park!
It was a beautiful day for an NFL Draft. The smell of an underachieving football team still lingered over downtown Chicago.
The entrance to “Draft Town”. They should’ve just put “Oakland” on there. Same difference.
Team tents were a featured part of Draft Town. With those three teams side by side, it’s surprising there wasn’t more violence here than on the South Side.
Here’s a look at Joe Haden’s locker, ugly new jersey and all! The NFL people even tried spruce it up with an orange Gatorade. That was thoughtful.
Here’s a display of all 49 Super Bowl rings. It’s unknown how many of these rings the NFL bought back from broke ex-players on eBay.
This contraption is used to simulate the Washington Redskins fan experience. Only one fan was allowed to jump off the imaginary bridge at a time.
The Chicago Bears ring of honor. According to Wikipedia, the Bears hold the NFL record for most retired numbers with 14. Last entry: 1988 (probably). Is it weird Jay Cutler is statistically the greatest QB in franchise history, but if his #6 ever came near this list, Bears fans would storm Soldier Field with torches and pitchforks?
Remember those drunken Bucs fans? Dressing like idiots is the only thing that eases the pain.
Sidebar: In all seriousness, Jameis Winston does have the tools to be a fine NFL quarterback. Needless to say, his maturity had better go 0 to 100, real quick.
The Super Bowl MVP trophy in all it’s splendor. By the way, it’s more probable than not Deflate Gate is a complete witch hunt and that Tom Brady is still the greatest quarterback of all-time.
And of course, the greatest prize in all of football was on display. Mark taking this picture is about the closest a Browns fan will ever get to the Lombardi Trophy.
When he’s not going out of his way to prove to you how much of a bad ass he is, Jay Glazer actually has a pretty successful career as an NFL insider. He too was a part of the NFL Draft festivities.
For whatever reason, this photo reminds me of the NFL fan version of this game. Also, was this not the stupidest game in the history of games? If you also had one of these, please comment below!
Auditorium Theatre at Roosevelt University, home Selection Square! It’s the single greatest thing the Roosevelt name has ever been associated with.
The Puppy Bowl on Super Bowl Sunday was a good look for them, but it’s unclear if stray dogs at the draft was sanctioned by Animal Planet.
No more hopping fences and sneaking through the side door for us. HHSR is officially at the NFL Draft!
The stage at Selection Square before the big show. Actually, only two of the top five selections were present. If you’re projected to go in the top five, what else could you possibly have better to do the night of the draft?
Here’s ESPN’s announce team. It’s scientifically impossible to listen to Trent Dilfer analyze a quarterback and not laugh.
Sandwiched in between Jon Gruden and Chris Berman is that one black dude that’s not Tom Jackson.
NFL Netork’s crew, including Michael Irvin, Marshall Faulk and the back of Rich Eisen’s head. Marshall is obviously still fuming about getting “robbed” in Super Bowl XXXVI.
The view of the stage inside the Auditorium Theatre! It’s about that time!
In recent years, the sports media has been marginalized to the point that they’re unable to get even remotely close to the action on game day. Clearly, the draft is no different.
Ahh, Roger Goodell. The spotlight is always on him, isn’t it? For better or for worse…usually for worse. Is it possible for the commissioner to be tested round-the-clock for concussion-like symptoms?
Goodell came and went 32 times, read 32 names and got boo’ed approximately 32 times by the fans. Sometime during the evening, Mark ran into Hall of Famer Charles Haley— thank GOD it wasn’t in a locker room.
It has yet to be determined where the 2016 NFL Draft will be, but determining who’ll be picking in the top 10 shouldn’t be too taxing. It’s basically the same teams every single year.
So long, Chicago! You did the NFL Draft well, as did Mr. & Mrs. Mark Hicks. Thank you for giving us a special glimpse of the 2015 NFL Draft! Your experience had to be better than watching it on TV.