Detroit hosts delirious NFL Draft tailgate as kaleidoscope of fans descend
Detroit — Football game? Who needs a football game?
Hundreds of thousands of football fanatics descended on Detroit Thursday to attend the NFL Draft, transforming downtown into a raucous festival celebrating all things football.
It was a special occasion: the first time in the 104-year history of the National Football League that its draft was held in Detroit.
“Football and Detroit, what’s better than that?” asked Vincent Paul of Livonia. “We’re crazy about sports and crazy about the Lions.”
Driving was an ordeal and parking a fantasy. Entire streets were cordoned off and turned into tailgates. The crush of people was so thick that pedestrians were allowed to walk in only one direction on some streets. Even Ric Flair, the flamboyant pro wrestler, was in the house but, sadly, his feathered robe was not.
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And that was just what was happening outside the event. It looked like bedlam, slightly organized. The NFL reported a single-day attendance record of 275,000 fans while police officials estimated the turnout at 400,000.
Take a sports-obsessed city, add the No. 1 sport in America and stir. If you love football, you were in the right place.
“What would we do if we didn’t have football?” asked Wallace Watts of Seattle, aka Captain Seahawk, a superfan of the Seattle Seahawks. “What if we didn’t have that excitement in our life?”
What, indeed, Captain Seahawk?
Visitors wearing a kaleidoscope of colors representing seemingly every NFL team roamed from the draft theater in Campus Martius to an entertainment zone at Hart Plaza to a players’ red carpet at the Fox Theatre.
At bars, fans of Detroit drank with ones from Cincinnati and Chicago. Lions and Bengals and Bears, oh my! Based on the garb of others, it looked like a Lions’ gameday in Detroit, if they were being played by 31 teams.
Fans of one team razzed those from another, but their hearts weren’t in it. The overall mood was giddy. Even archrival Green Bay Packers fans were welcomed in Detroit.
“We’ve had a blast,” said Marc Rangel of Kansas City, who wore a black-and-yellow-striped shirt with a Pittsburgh Steelers sombrero. “It’s exciting to be here.”
Marking a city and football
The sprawling spectacle represented the marketing of a city and a sport. Detroit wanted the country to see how it has changed since its bankruptcy in 2013. The NFL won’t allow the offseason to weaken its hold on fans’ attention.
Based on interviews with the hordes of people milling about, there’s little chance of the latter happening.
Some visitors said they came to see what happens to their favorite college players. Which may explain why the ears of former Michigan quarterback J.J. McCarthy’s were burning. Other visitors came to learn how their favorite pro team will bulk up for next season.
Chicago Bears fans were especially ravenous because their team had the first pick.
“It’s a great draft to go to if you’re a Bears fan,” said Bears fan Bosco Ramirez of Visalia, California. “We have two Top 10 picks.”
Undoubtedly, absences were up in schools and workplaces of football precincts around the country. Many of the young and old truants visiting Detroit belonged to the same family.
Fans of the Detroit Lions accounted for many of the visitors, naturally, but they had plenty of company. Their Honolulu blue jerseys mingled with ones that were royal blue (Dallas Cowboys), navy blue (Tennessee Titans) and powder blue (Los Angeles Chargers).
During the first day of a three-day celebration, Detroit and its pigskin heart tossed footballs and cornhole bean bags while others waited in long lines at restaurants and food trucks. Some die-hards arrived as early as 5 a.m. to snatch prime viewing spots for the draft.
Jacob Sanchez of Plymouth was a bit tardy, not arriving until 7:30 a.m., but that was still good enough to grab a good spot for the 8 p.m. event.
“The draft only comes around once in a lifetime, twice if you’re lucky,” Sanchez said.
Thanks to his family in the Upper Peninsula, he’s a Cheesehead, which is one of the nicknames for Packers fans that isn't allowed in a family newspaper. The evidence of his fandom was a plastic wedge of cheese lying on his head.
Detroit police, bolstered by other cities, were out in big numbers, with officers in cars, on foot and on horseback. They were busily issuing orange parking tickets to cars parked next to no-parking signs. The entire department was working the next three days, said police Chief James White.
Besides parking, the driving headache extended beyond the city limits. Four hours before the draft’s start, hundreds of cars were stuck on Interstate 94 and the Lodge Freeway. Two fender-benders were tended by the Michigan State Police as the several-mile drive took 45 minutes.
Traffic also slowed along I-94 near Cecil Avenue but that wasn’t due to heavy traffic. It had to do with the new D-E-T-R-O-I-T sign that was erected to greet visitors to the draft. Motorists slowed down to take photos of the new creation.
The whole shebang started with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell welcoming everyone while accompanied by Eminem and Lions stars current (quarterback Jared Goff, receiver Amon St. Brown and defensive end Aidan Hutchison) and past (receiver Calvin Johnson and running back Barry Sanders).
"You know, the great thing is everybody does it a little differently. And we want to make sure it reflects on the community that we're in," Goodell told ESPN shortly before the opening.
He told city officials to do their thing, Detroit-style, showcasing all the things that make the city special.
“I think these fans are a big part of it,” said the commish. “I've heard we're close to 150,000 already outside, waiting to get in. So they're gonna be part of this. And I think that's the great thing about the draft."
Draft footprint fits capacity
Detroit's NFL Draft footprint hit maximum capacity around 6:30 p.m. Thursday, prompting officials to shut off entry for the rest of the evening and causing some fans to try to go around police.
Workers who left the imprint and tried to get back in were denied entry. They stood at the gate near Fort Street and Lafayette, arguing with police to get back in.
As more crowds arrived, people started using the exits as entrances, hopping over fences and trying to bypass police. Police succeeded in blocking them, yelling "This is an exit. Turn around." Police said later there were no incidents or arrests associated with shutting off the entrances.
By 6:45 p.m., the NFL One Pass app said the draft area was closed and would not reopen for the rest of the evening. The app advised fans to visit Grand Circus Park or go to other Draft Day in the D viewing parties.
“We’ve just been waiting here for 20 minutes, and the police told us to be patient and wait for people to leave to get back in, but now we’re hearing they closed it off,” said Justin Williams, 47. “This is very disappointing.”
Some people began to migrate toward the bars, which were already packed.
Businesses see early benefits
The deluge of visitors was music to the ears of Detroit shopkeepers and restaurateurs. Frank’s Deli inside the Buhl Building near the entrance to the draft was doing a steady business, said owner Danny Zaghir.
The New York-style deli had doubled up its supply of food, extended its hours to 11 p.m. and put out a chalkboard sign to entice passersby to come inside.
“We’re relying on people coming for the draft, and they haven’t disappointed,” Zaghir said.
Most of his regular customers stayed home to avoid the draft crush but they were replaced by new faces and then some, he said.
Food trucks on Woodward Avenue seconded that emotion. BRO-rritos and Tacos was already on its way to the most profitable several days of the year, said owner Orlando Washington. He said he doubted would ever see anything like it again.
“It’s just phenomenal. It’s like we’re nonstop already. We probably haven’t seen the worst yet — or the best,” Washington said with a laugh.
Hometown rapper gives a shoutout
Big Sean, a Detroit rapper whose real name is Sean Anderson, opened the NFL Draft Theater about 90 minutes before the draft began with his song “Paradise,” saying “Detroit is the greatest city on the planet.” He wore a black Lions Hutchinson jersey and jeans.
“I see everyone repping real hard, but you gotta understand Dan Campbell went from an 0-16 season to the NFC championship. That in itself deserves respect,” Big Sean said to the crowd, who cheered for the beloved coach.
Campbell played on the Lions team that went 0-16 in 2008-09.
“I know a lot people’s lives are gonna change tonight … to work so hard only to see the pursuit of happiness come true," Big Sean said. "We appreciate you and let’s celebrate.”
Big Sean proceeded to perform 30 minutes of his biggest hits.
He subtly commented that the crowd may not be his biggest fans but he hoped everyone had a good time.
Some in the theater area were screaming, cheering for his performance, while most of the crowd stood still keeping their spots for the 8 p.m. first pick moment.
“He was as great as he usually is, always reppin' the city proudly. But you can tell a lot of the crowd isn’t from here and isn’t here for a concert, which is why we came,” said Liz Londo, from Taylor.
McCarthy gets a draft diss
Jared Soriano of Farmington, Minnesota, might be just 9 years old, but he’s already an old pro at this football business. He’s been watching the sport as a toddler and has amassed a near-encyclopedic knowledge of it. He also plays wide receiver for his football team.
He’s a fan of the Minnesota Vikings, which can be attributed to his youth, and was totally geeked to see who his favorite team selected Thursday night.
“I’ve kind of been bragging about it,” Soriano said.
One thing he isn’t geeked about is McCarthy, the Michigan quarterback. He was praying the Vikings wouldn't select him, he said uncharitably.
“(It would be) a dumb decision,” he said.
Alas, with the 10th pick of the 2024 NFL Draft, the Minnesota Vikings selected (Don't look, Jared) the crown prince of Ann Arbor: J.J. McCarthy.
'Dramatic change for the better'
At Hart Plaza before the draft began, guests packed into the NFL Experience, a festival of food and games all connected to the sport of the hour. Some fans waited in line to take selfies with the Vince Lombardi Trophy, which is given to the winner of the Super Bowl. Others waited for a look at replicas of Super Bowl rings for every year since it began in 1967.
Fans could test their skills in throwing, jumping and running the 40-yard dash. They posed for pictures with mannequins dressed in new football uniforms.
They could also take their own mock draft photos on stage, shop for swag and sample food and drinks from places like Brome modern eatery, M Cantina and La Mara cuisine.
Vikings fan Tabb Lonergan made the eight-hour drive down to Detroit from Gwinn, a small town in the Upper Peninsula. He lived in Metro Detroit for about 10 years but moved back to the UP in 2015.
"I'm amazed at how much they've done to improve the downtown area even from the time that I lived down here," Lonergan said. "In the last eight years, there's just been a dramatic change for the better."
Trying on the Lions for size
In Corktown, a sea of Honolulu blue traveled into the city’s oldest neighborhood, where businesses were set up under tents. The Police Athletic League hosted a series of kid-friendly events.
Friends Max Polston and Truman McCormick, both 13 from Grand Haven, traveled with their parents for the festivities. They said they enjoyed the PAL activities most so far.
“We got to try on the Lions new helmets and uniforms. And try on a full football player uniform,” Polston said.
He pronounced the uniform heavy.
He was hoping to see big-name college players but doesn’t want to see McCarthy too early. That’s because he wants the quarterback to be available later in the draft so the Lions can pick him.
“I want him for us,” Polston said.
Alas, the saintly QB was gone by the time the Lions got on the clock.
Staff Writer Kalea Hall contributed.