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EDMONTON - With TSN televising the CFL Draft for the second year in a row, all eyes might not exactly be on the action. But at least now they can be.
Televising the proceedings not only helps fans keep track of who’s going where, but the athletes themselves.
A couple of current Eskimos recall the day they were drafted in the CFL Draft’s “pre-TV” era.
“I was at home with family and friends, following the draft over the Internet,” linebacker Tim St. Pierre told www.esks.com. “About 15 minutes before I was selected we lost our Internet connection, so we actually found out I had been picked when I started getting text messages from other friends.”
St. Pierre was told he was taken in the third round, 19th overall, by the Eskimos. That was in 2008, the last time the draft was held “in the dark.”
Although technology has made following the draft online a more reliable venture today, earlier in the decade things weren’t exactly up to speed.
“My roommate and I took the day off from classes and watched the draft online,” recalled Eskimos wide receiver Andrew Nowacki, who attended Murray State before being drafted in the third round, 26th overall, in 2004. “It wasn’t broadcasted in real time, so I got a call from coach (Dan) McKinnon; he was the first to tell me the good news.”
At least St. Pierre and Nowacki had a pretty good idea of what they were missing online. Going back to the beginning of the millennium, the draft came as more of a surprise to Eskimos slotback Kamau Peterson.
“I didn’t even know the draft order,” said the first-round selection, who was taken sixth overall by the Calgary Stampeders in 2001. “My strength coach notified me at our morning workout that I’d been drafted by Calgary.”
gerry.moddejonge@sunmedia.ca
