NFL Draft 07: Fan Central

Photos by David Kindervater

I just got back from NFL Draft Fan Central (presented by Burger King) which is across the street on 51st Street between 6th and 7th Avenues. It’s a beautiful spring day here in midtown Manhattan. When I left Buffalo early this morning (and I emphasize early), it was raining and about 40º. I reluctantly brought a jacket with me, but as it turns out I certainly didn’t need it. It feels like it’s about 65º here.

Anyway, NFL Draft Fan Central is based on the same interactive environment typically seen at NFL Experience events during Super Bowl week.

• “Let it Fly,” “Goal to Go,” and “Red Zone” were among the physical activities — you know, throwing a ball through a target, running across a big inflated “field” and more. It’s pretty standard fare for fan fun.
• ESPN was giving away their 2007 Draft Preview Guide. I love this guide and I’m always the first one to buy it when it hits newsstands in early March. Now they’re giving away thousands of leftover copies because they’re kind of obsolete after today.
• The impressive Sprint NFL Access Tour trailer demonstrated how to use their NFL Mobile technology and showed a short movie that impressively revealed just how physical this game can be. There was also a mock studio for fans to see what it feels like to be a part of NFL Network. Nice tour. And earlier today, my Sprint exec Dave Mellin hooked me up with their NFL Mobile access on the Sprint Mobile Broadband Network to keep me updated with every pick and much more great NFL content. I love this thing.
• Hummer was registering fans to win one of their vehicles. I love the way the H3 looks. Heck, I love the way the H2 and the original look, too. But with the price of gas and the price of one of these vehicles, I’m not in the market anytime soon. I’d love to stomp around in one of these little monsters.
• Sirius Satellite Radio — specifically Sirius NFL Radio — was offering subscriptions and equipment. Their portable Stiletto is a hot item.
• And then there was the Mainstage where the commentary was kind of — I need to be careful here because I’m certainly not a perfect public speaker myself — umm, sophomoric? Sorry, that’s just my impression. I see it at other events, too. It seems when some people are on a big stage (literally and figuratively) and they are speaking to a large group of people, they feel the need to not only yell instead of talk (even though they have a microphone), but their intelligence level also seems to drop (assuming it was higher at one point to begin with). It’s kind of embarrassing to watch.

Players from the Jets and Giants, and the Burger King himself, were scheduled to make appearances. I really wanted to have my picture taken with the King, but alas, he was nowhere to be found when I was there. It’s a nice event that is open until 6 p.m. and it’s a little something extra to help fans enjoy the Draft and the NFL. (Note: As I was crossing the street, I saw an Adidas van with a Reggie Bush ad on the side. I was nearly run over by a cab getting this photo so I hope you really like it.)