IT’S DRAFT WEEKEND, WHERE’S THE DDC HYPE?

New York – It seems as though something is missing this year. As sports fans, most of the things that we use to mark the beginning of spring Opening Day, the Masters, The Final Four have all came and went as expected. This weekend the NFL takes center stage with its NFL Draft, but the weekend doesn’t seem complete and that is because for the third straight year, the NFLDDC will not be competed on draft day. At least for the last couple of years, by this time, the hype machine was in full effect and fans knew what to look forward to. This year, however, for unexplained reasons, all we know is that the DDC has been moved back to Memorial Day weekend and that it will be held in St. Louis. Why has there not been more hype this year? Many theories abound. Many Nolan/Ostrander fans seem uninterested, they’ve been spoiled much like Piston fans over the last couple of years. Roush/Stachowiak fans have had their heart broken too many times and some think that many have not recovered from a late par five last year that looked to be a turning point until Ostrander closed the door with the most clutch birdie putt in DDC history. Others think that current events might play a larger role. Did President Obama suggesting that the DDC should spread the wealth around by allowing anyone who wants to participate and just sharing “The Birdie” as if it were a tee ball trophy damper some of the excitement this year? Is the lack of corporate sponsorship from AIG affecting this years’ event? Some even go so far as to say that with Ostrander and Stachowiak’s Detroit Lions holding the first pick in the draft more focus is on the future of that franchise. Regardless of the reason, expect the buildup to start soon, expect one of the greatest DDC’s yet, and expect the fact that the Lions and the Rams hold the first two picks in the actual draft to be a good omen for Roush and Stachowiak.