NFL Draft the best time of the season

The NFL draft is here. Finally.

After four months of evaluation, speculation, prognostication and every other type of -ation there is, the best day of the season is finally here.

Or, one of the days is finally here. Today’s primetime show is just the first round, a format the NFL moved to two years ago. Friday will play host to the second and third rounds with the rest of the draft coming on Saturday.

TV times aside, for a fan of a losing franchise this day has always been one of the highlights of the season. My team, the Detroit Lions (Yes, there is a fan of the Detroit Lions), has almost always picked near the top of the draft after horrendous regular seasons.

I’ve cheered as they’ve selected good players, bad players and players I’ve never heard of. I’ve justified to myself that nearly every class will bring in the next Hall of Fame Lion, hoping for all us hopeless fans that one of these athletic studs would turn the fate of our franchise around.

For years that turnaround was blocked by the GM who shall not be named, but it never dampened the hopes of the season to come, even if I knew the Lions were always more than one pick away from the playoffs.

Now, after a 10-win season and a trip  to the playoffs, I legitimately feel that the Lions are just a few picks from the Super Bowl and I’m in a whole new place entering this weekend. Now I’m waiting to see if we get a player that will push them over the edge, the missing puzzle piece that will bring Detroit its first football championship since 1957.

That’s the wonderful thing about the draft for me. It has something for everyone. For fans like me who have been trained to be disappointed, it’s a time to pick up our spirits. For fans who expect nothing but greatness it’s a time to puff out their chests. There’s optimism everywhere and dreams that every team will be in the Super Bowl.

Of course for football fans here in Kalispell, the intrigue is even higher for this year’s draft. Flathead High grad and record-setting Arizona State quarterback Brock Osweiler will be waiting anxiously to hear his name called in the next few days. 

While opinions differ about where and when he may be selected, I’m sure there will be more than a few anxious Kalispell residents waiting to hear his name too over the next few days.

I know this not because I’ll be one of them, but because I’ll be waiting for a different name to be called for the most of the same reasons. Michigan State wide receiver Keshawn Martin grew up in Inkster, Mich., a few blocks away from me and we went to the same high school and college. Even though I’ve never been on the same field as him, I’ve watched him for years, pulling for his success every step of the way.

Just as many people here in town will be rooting for Brock, I’ll be rooting for Keshawn, no matter where he lands, just so I can proudly say someone from Inkster plays in the league.

Today or tomorrow, someone from Kalispell will be in the NFL. Get ready everyone, the NFL draft is here. Finally.

Joseph Terry is a sports reporter at The Daily Inter Lake. He can be reached by email at jterry@dailyinterlake.com.