2021 NFL Draft: Attending the first round of the draft in Cleveland

Attending any NFL Draft is a once in a lifetime experience, but to be at the 2021 NFL Draft in a city that I’ve been to time and time again on top of the circumstances of the last season was a surreal experience that was truly unforgettable.

Growing up in Ohio, I’ve had the 2021 NFL Draft marked on my calendar since Cleveland was selected as the location. The draft has often been referred to as the Cleveland Browns’ Super Bowl, so it has become somewhat of a holiday in the state of Ohio, at least for football fans, and that showed at the draft. In a year where nothing felt normal, the NFL and the city of Cleveland put on an incredible event that almost felt normal.

I had the opportunity to attend the first round of the draft this season and it instantly became a top moment, if not the top moment, of my life in terms of sporting events. I’ve worked two Super Bowls, an NCAA Tournament, but to see my favorite sporting event go down in my favorite city is something that will most likely be unmatched. For those who just watched on television, listened on the radio or just checked for draft picks after the fact, the city of Cleveland was on full display throughout the draft process.

Driving into the city the first thing any fan would notice was the street lamps donned with every team’s colors and logos all the way down East 9th street heading towards FirstEnergy Stadium. From there, everywhere you turned was either a draft ad, an NFL logo banner or something with Trevor Lawrence.

Once at the stadium and into the fenced-in, ticketed area the full impact of a league-wide event was clear. Lining one side of the street was every team’s helmet and the other side was the uniforms. Perfect photo opportunities. The stadium had transformed into the NFL Experience, complete with opportunities to attempt a field goal on the field towards the Dawg Pound or just sit in the stands and watch the draft on the videoboards.

The Great Lakes Science Center’s grass areas transformed into the platform for NFL Network and ESPN and, although muddy, fans clamored to get on camera in the background while chanting for Kurt Warner to eat his sandwich when off-camera.

The stage that was built on the lakefront was impressive as was the organization throughout to make sure people could safely social distance while enjoying the 2021 NFL Draft. The icing on the cake was the live band that played between picks and kept the crows entertained throughout the night, making time between picks seem like a breeze. While the setup was awesome, two things from the night stood out from the rest.

The first is for the NFL fans. Over the course of the night I kept a mental tally of all the teams we saw. Going through the divisions to double-check, we spotted a jersey, shirt, hat, etc. of 27 of the 32 teams in the league. Obviously, the majority of attire was in Orange and Brown, but nearly every team in the league was represented just in the small area that we stood to watch the picks be announced. The only teams that we didn’t spot, which doesn’t mean they weren’t there, were the Rams, Cardinals, Chiefs, Panthers and Falcons.

The second is for Cleveland. There are so many aspects of Cleveland that are great, but one that is near and dear is the Terminal Tower. The ability to incorporate that building was very well done. With each pick, the Terminal Tower was lit up in that team’s colors changing with the backdrop to the stage. The city of Cleveland even turned their most famous landmark black and gold when the Pittsburgh Steelers were on the clock to which the Steeler fans around us were very impressed by the impartiality.

Being a huge fan of the NFL Draft, the city of Cleveland and the NFL did a tremendous job transforming the area around the stadium into the 2021 NFL Draft Experience and incorporating so many different aspects that make the city great. Past locations had bigger things to work around. The Nashville strip, the Rocky steps. Cleveland has football and just like the landmarks in those cities, it was on full display.