Geno Smith cast a rather pathetic and forlorn figure last Thursday, or as pathetic and forlorn as one can look on the verge of becoming a millionaire.
Smith, a quarterback from West Virginia, sat in the holding room for prospective NFL draft choices, waiting for his name to be called, signifying that a team had selected him. Smith’s wait during Thursday’s first round was in vain, as 31 of the league’s 32 teams passed on him, with the New York Jets, who had two picks, let him go twice. Smith was sullen and crestfallen afterwards and had every right to be. He had been assured that he not only would go in the first round, but might be the first quarterback taken in the draft, perhaps within the first 10 selections. That’s not only rarified air, but also a place where the guaranteed money can run in the tens of millions of dollars.
Smith has a legitimate bone to pick with any general manager who told him that he would be taken by that GM’s team. And if Smith’s agent sold him the same bill of goods, well, he should probably be looking for new representation. But it says here that Smith also has a right to be upset with the media, who, more than any other entity, created the narrative that Geno Smith would be rolling in the dough.
Hate to sound like the old guy in his slippers and robe yelling at the kids to get off his lawn, but I, for one, am becoming increasingly uncomfortable, bordering on angry with the new sports media, in which supposition and storyline creation are supplanting actual coverage of events. Now, here’s the moment where we all should take a step back and call the NFL draft for what it is: an overhyped moment that has taken on a significance far beyond what it deserves.
Once upon a time, the draft was held in a New York hotel room, far away from microphones and cameras, mainly because most casual observers of football would largely have no idea who the draftees were. But as the NFL continued its meteoric rise in popularity, many of the ancillary events related to league operations saw their visibility rise, and nothing drove that home more than the draft. Now, the prospective draftees arrive in gaudy suits and walk the red carpet heading into Radio City Music Hall, the home of the Rockettes. Just to recap: There is no activity on this evening or the two subsequent days that the draft has bloated into. No touchdowns, no fumbles, no nothing.
Time was when writers and broadcasters waited until something actually happened before they attempted to analyze it. But the lead-up to the draft found reporters and so-called analysts trying to create buzz by suggesting that there was actual movement in a player’s draft position, despite the fact that no picks were actually made before Thursday.
Geno Smith eventually got taken in the second round by the Jets, but Smith and the public got taken by the media, and he and we deserve apologies.
Update: Geno Smith confirmed Tuesday that he fired his agents. ESPN story here.