Quarterbacks, wide receivers, touchdowns and championships: these are a few of a footballers favorite things. Every year since 1936, thousands to millions of football fans get together to watch the player selection meeting; better known to everyone as the NFL Draft. This year, the NFL decided to host the Draft at its original starting place which happens to be Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Not only did Philadelphia host the Draft, I got the amazing opportunity to take part in it by being a volunteer.
A month ago, CBS posted an ad saying that they needed volunteers for the 2017 NFL Draft. Growing up with a sports fanatic father and with a love of sports myself, I decided to go for it and sign up for the experience and to take part in one of ESPN's most celebrated televised events. Before anyone knew it April 27th was here and I was ready to start my volunteer shifts. I didn’t know what to expect of the event since I had only experience football by watching many games on television; not to mention going to a few Eagles games myself being from Philadelphia and all and growing up a die-hard Eagles fans. Also from going to the University of Arizona, I had been to many college football games and knew that this event would be the future for many college football players hoping to make it into the NFL. But on April 27th I was going to experience an event like no other.
On my first day of volunteering, it was hot on that spring day and my allergies were killing me. But I didn’t allow that to stop me from enjoying and helping out at the draft. My first shift was volunteering at Fan Access where we helped people locate different activities and where they picked up their tickets. It was interesting directing people to different stations and seeing how many football fans there were that came out for the draft. Seeing everything from Eagles to Steelers to Patriots to even Bengals. Pretty much every jersey from every team was seen and worn by a different fan throughout the draft. My next shift was volunteering at the Virtual Reality Station where fans got to experience playing in a football game like a real football player. My last shift for my first day was probably my favorite in which I got to work the VIP area. This was an area for context winner, past coaches, NFL staff, etc. When I worked this shift, it was during the live broadcasting of the first round of Draft. I helped wristband guests and passed out gift bags during the broadcast. Not only that but I also got to be close to the stage where they were filming the Draft. Hearing the excitement roar throughout the crowd about which college players were being picked by different teams made the experience more exciting. Once they started selecting for the Eagles, half of Philadelphia started chanting the Eagles theme song and screaming with applause every time we received a new player. One by one seeing a different team get a new player brought excitement to a different fan of a different team hoping and praying for what these players might bring to their home team. At the end of my first day of volunteering, I earned a new appreciation for football that I never thought I would experience in my life.
My second day was much easier and yet more intense due to the crowd increase but that didn’t stop me from having a good time. I first started off volunteering at the autograph station but then got bumped to different stations until I ended up at the Locker Room station where they showcased a different jersey from a famous player from a different team. There I got to see, show and take pictures of fans with the different jerseys such as Carson Wentz of the Eagles and Tom Brady of the New England Patriots. Some people I saw got excited to see some of their favorite players while others stayed devoted to their teams and refused to take a picture with no other than their hometown jerseys. It was quite interesting yet funny to see how people react when it comes to being a fan especially when it comes to football. During my break, I went to go see Brian Westbrook of the Eagles do a live radio interview about his experience in the NFL which was pretty cool. Later, I volunteered as a photographer at the station where they held Vince Lombardi’s Trophy. There, I saw hundreds of people lined up to take a picture with the giant yet glowing trophy while taking their photos. Last, I again volunteered at VIP where I wristband more guests expect with a bigger crowd than the previous night.
On the last day, I volunteered at the College Football Hall of Fame where they showcased different mannequins with different football jerseys of different colleges. I helped scan people’s phones for a code that would help them get points for their NFL Draft app. By that point I was so exhausted that I could hardly stand up.
Overall, the NFL draft was attended by a total of 250,000 people which was one of the largest turnouts for an event in Philadelphia. The second being the Pope’s visit to Philadelphia in the fall of 2015. Having the opportunity to volunteer for an event like this was groundbreaking, exciting, exhausting, and rewarding all at the same time. In the end of all of this, I not only have gained a new understanding of how important football is to those who need it for their future but I have gained a new excitement for this sport and the upcoming season in which I will get to see these selected players make their lifelong dream come true. And that is to play football and win the Super Bowl.
