After The Draft Syndrome (ATDS)
Writing profiles and having different opinions from others about a player’s potential for the draft is nerve wracking. It’s not easy having opinions about players in the draft that are different from the norm. Realizing confirmation of those different opinions has given me a disorder that I call “After The Draft Syndrome” or ATDS. The good thing about ATDS is it only affects me after the draft! The bad part about this disorder are the uncontrollable urges. It causes me to interact with strangers on the street who try to keep walking and ignore me as I frantically explain why I think a player their favorite team just drafted will be successful (or not) in the NFL. It causes me to drive around the backs of restaurants, malls and office buildings in the hope that some smoker will be outside sucking on a cigarette and be willing to talk about the draft so I can gain some relief from this frustrating solitude. To my astonishment, I can’t seem to find any of the 40 million people who watched the draft at all. It almost seems like the 40 million people interested in the draft are hiding from me… or could it be my obsessive, overbearing, obnoxious know it all attitude that is putting people off?
I went to the doctor the other day to talk about this new disorder and I was surprised that the doctors in this country do not have much information on my condition. I even started wearing a white ribbon in support of all the draftniks that are going through this syndrome right now. I also went looking for federal funding under the new Health Care Reform Bill but alas, not one politician would take a position and stand up to be counted in the fight for a cure for this terrible disorder. I am surprised because this terrible disorder is running rapid through the 40 million people who watched and were interested in the draft and now have nowhere to turn to overcome this syndrome. I would think that a disorder that affects over 40 million people in this great country would be a part of the new health care reform bill! I’m just saying…
It seems to me that the only cure for this disorder is an agonizing long process. It requires slowly looking at next year’s draft eligible players. As of right now I am looking at last year’s 2009/2010 draft film of the juniors who will become seniors for this year’s 2011 draft. The truth is looking at that film is like having your wife or girlfriend tell you there is a recall on her birth control pills! Who knows what will happen next?! Will the player be injured and out for the year? Will a player be better or worse than he was last year to this year? Will the player I’m watching transfer to another college, get suspended, get arrested or change his number so I can’t find him his senior year on the field? I suspect like those recalled birth control pills, worrying about what may happen is not going to change a thing and looking at this film now is not going to give me a profile. But like the information about the birth control pills it helps knowing ahead of time that bit of information so you can prepare for what may or may not come later.
The worst part of having ATDS is the Tim Tebow problem. Since I am the only one in the entire universe who said that Tim Tebow was the best player in this draft and would be drafted in the first round (from November of 2009) of the 2010 draft… ATDS makes me react to any information on his progress like a bull elephant looking for a she elephant in mating season. The information that Tim’s Jersey is the biggest selling jersey in the NFL proves my point that I stated in his profile. Tim Tebow is a marketing dream come true and if the starting QB for the Broncos gets hurt and cannot play this year Tim will take his place and never come off the field.