NFL Draft First Step In Return To Normality
The 2021 NFL Draft was a harbinger for ‘brighter days’ ahead in the post pandemic world.
The NFL’s flagship event hosted 160,000 fans over three days in Cleveland, Ohio. It was a cause for optimism with regard to fans attending NFL games next season.
“We hit 160,000 across the three days,” Peter O’Reilly, the NFL’s NFL executive vice president of club business and league events, said Tuesday.
“We hit some rough weather on Thursday night, but the crowd experience built. It’s a testament to Browns fans and Cleveland overall. Of course the numbers are less than if we were fully beyond the pandemic, but to put it in context, it’s more than in Year 1 [2015, when the draft was moved from New York] in Grant Park in Chicago.â€
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“This was certainly a hybrid draft as we transition out the other side of the pandemic. Last year was about representing where we all were, which was literally in our basements. This was pointing to brighter days and how you can do things together outdoors in a safe way.”
“We are in a very different place from last year,” O’Reilly noted, “and it was one where people are so eager to be out and together. And we needed to do that while working with the CDC and local health officials to strike that right balance with fans in attendance, and do it safely. And so many of those fans … were vaccinated, and they were proud to be vaccinated and thrilled to be back out at an event like that.â€
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“We took the striking of that balance really seriously as we rolled out our plan and executed.”
With vaccinations underway, and the NFL season starting in the Autumn, the draft hailed a return to normality and celebration for Americans.
