DRAFT DAY(S) TRADITIONS

[Hawk Sista]

So, now that this is like a week long deal, it is harder to have a tradition to watch the draft. Still, I always watch (or try to if I don't have a work obligation). I'm interested in hearing if all ya'll have any draft day traditions or superstitions.

Do you wear something special? Do you need to eat certain foods? Do you need your dog in his Kenny Easley jersey on your lap with a special craft beer in your left hand? Kiper or Mayock? Solo or with friends? Do tell.

I watch it, mostly alone, flipping back and forth between channels with my i-Pad in my lap so I can look up who the hell we just drafted. I usually wear a Seahawk T-shirt (or sweats, a hat or something) and I do get nervous. Even though we do not have a first round pick, I am interested in how it all goes so I plan on watching the whole thing. We are having a friend (Vikings' fan) over for dinner this year on Thursday night and I'm gonna fix Salmon a la Tom Douglas.

[RiverDog]

I'm not all that much of a draftnik, but this season, I'll probably utilize the flag pole I installed just prior to the Super Bowl and hoist my #12 for the duration of the draft. I'm working swing, or 2nd, shift right now so I won't be able to listen to it live.

[NorthHawk]

I, too watch it alone, mostly because others don't have much interest or get bored by it.
I also watch with my iPad and as well I have a couple of magazines with other information that might shed some light or perspective on players.

One thing's all most for sure, I will be surprised by many if not all of our selections.
That's become the real tradition.
If I were a cartoon character I would be walking around the house with a ? hovering over my head.

[NorthHawk]

As a side note, the NFL is trying to speed up the draft a little.
Compensatory picks will only have 4 minutes between them - the explanation was they can't be traded so teams should be able to make the selections quicker.
The 7th round will also be changed to only 4 minutes between selections.

[c_hawkbob]

My only real tradition besides reading everything I can about each of our choices, is tracking the guys on my 3 deep to see how close to the right round I was for each.

[Hawk Sista]

One thing's all most for sure, I will be surprised by many if not all of our selections.
That's become the real tradition.
If I were a cartoon character I would be walking around the house with a ? hovering over my head.

EXACTLY this! I kind of look forward to the surprise, kind of like Christmas.

On another side note, our boys Pete and John have done a great job in previous drafts, obviously. And obviously, the 2012 draft class yielded RW and a merry band of starters (even pro-bowlers and all-pros). Still, we were given "F" grades and head-scratches from most if not all of the pundits all of those years (not Pain Train, though - he knew ). All of those same pundits have apologized and re-graded us. Because of the specific success of the 2010 - 21012 drafts (star QB in the 3rd, best corner in the game in the 5th, wonderful safeties and linebackers in later rounds and you know the story) my observations the past few years is that I think the pendulum has swung. It has swung so far the other way, IMHO, that John and Pete could take my dead grandpa in the 2nd round and be lauded for it. It is too soon to call the 2013 and 2014 draft classes busts, but it is not far fetched to say we need this class (and the previous two) to have some impact/core type finds or I fear our stay atop the mountaintop will be short-lived.

[Hawk Sista]

My only real tradition besides reading everything I can about each of our choices, is tracking the guys on my 3 deep to see how close to the right round I was for each.

Did you win last year, Bob?

[SalmonBB]

For the past 7 or so years, the NFL Draft has been one of the biggest days of the year for me and my wife. We went to NYC one year with friends, and that started a tradition for us. Every year since, we have held NFL Draft parties. For the first few years, we made them 3 day drink-fests, and often held a "Beer Run" in conjunction with it, with runners and cheerleaders wearing their NFL teams' colors. Since I stopped drinking, it hasn't quite been the same, but my family and I still look forward to it and have continued the party tradition until this year ... when we'll just watch it as a family.

I appreciated the comment about having a "?" hanging over our heads on most picks ... I have no idea who most of these players coming out of college are, but I do like hoping for a couple that I do know from the limited research I do. This year, I like Eric Kendricks from UCLA, and Danny Shelton from UW (doubt we'll trade up to get Shelton, but I'd be stoked if we did), and always hoping that the Seahawks take a Va Tech Hokie somewhere in the draft (my wife is a Hokie), or a Cougar (Go Cougs!). I also like looking up information and videos about the players we do pick after we have selected them. I appreciate the evaluations by Mayock and Gruden - guys who have earned my respect. As far as Kiper goes, I usually pay more attention to the nachos in front of me than to anything that he says.

Looking forward to the draft this year!

GO SEAHAWKS!!!

[Zorn76]

14 straight draft with the same crew of Oak/SF fans, the latter who are looking at a considerable amount of positions that need addressing.

Man, what a difference a year makes for the 49ers, lol.

Meanwhile, we used our 1st rounder (+ Unger) well by acquiring JG, IMO. We do well in later rounds.

Our team is right in the thick of it. Hopefully fill a few holes effectively and get some much needed depth for injuries that always seem to come.