I remember the oatmeal cookies, Nature Valley granola bars and the occasional random cheer from a corner of the Theater at Madison Square Garden.
Other than that, I can’t offer many specific recollections from Day 2 of the 2000 NFL Draft, held 25 years ago today in New York.
Yes, the most famous draft pick in NFL history was made that day with the 199th overall selection — a choice late in the sixth round that had so little fanfare ESPN referred to it as “pick 1-9-8” following Mel Kiper Jr.’s analysis of Tom Brady being chosen by the New England Patriots.
To provide some context for the audience, host Mike Tirico mentioned how Brady would join fellow Michigan quarterbacks Scott Dreisbach, Brian Griese, Elvis Grbac and Todd Collins in the NFL.
So little was expected of the quarterback who infamously ran a 5.25 40-yard dash that Tirico mentioned how Brady would need to battle second-year pro Michael Bishop for the backup spot behind established starter Drew Bledsoe.
But all those memories come solely from a YouTube clip I watched this week.
As for other specifics about Rounds 4-7 of the 2000 draft on that long Sunday afternoon at MSG? I got virtually nothing.
Working my first draft for ESPN, I remember going down to the craft services table every hour or so to grab oatmeal cookies and granola bars — and the battle to keep my workstation free of crumbs. I remember entering draft picks and editing post-draft grades in one of the longest work days of the year.
And I can recall the (maybe) couple of hundred fans who dotted the Theater, all hardcore draftniks and many carrying clipboards and lists of prospects.
The draft 25 years ago bore little resemblance to what we’ll see next week in Green Bay, where hundreds of thousands of fans will gather over three days.
Back then, the draft was two days, with the sellout crowds attending the first three rounds on Saturday … and an almost entirely empty arena hearing names read into a microphone Sunday.
I certainly remember plenty about the excitement of the first round.
How Penn State teammates Courtney Brown and LaVar Arrington were chosen with the first two picks (and how I’d spotted Arrington at Virgil’s BBQ in Times Square the Friday night before).
How the theatre erupted in shock when the Raiders took Florida State kicker Sebastian Janikowski with the 17th pick. And how the Jets fans roared when Chad Pennington became the first QB taken at No. 18.
Up until Wednesday morning, however, I never really connected those memories as being part of “the Brady draft.”
When cllct’s Darren Rovell connected the dots for me in one of our staff meetings, I went on a quest. I had to find my press credential for the 2000 NFL Draft.
I might not be able to remember the moment Brady’s name was called, but I certainly could produce the physical memento that proved I was there.
So, I went to the spot in my office where all my credentials hang, the rope from each lanyard hooked onto the doorknob for a closet.
I poured dozens of credentials into the middle of the floor and slowly began untangling the memories from more than three decades as a journalist.
I found credentials for 15 Super Bowls, two World Cups, six tennis and golf majors, five NBA Finals and a couple baseball All-Star Games.
Then, lumped together, I found three NFL Draft credentials: 2003, 2004 and 2005.
Nowhere in the jumbled mess did I find my pass for one of the most famous drafts in sports history.
Yet.
I’m not giving up the search. The best thing about being a collector is I never throw anything away. So somewhere in my slew of boxes, trunks and binders, that 2000 NFL Draft credential must be hiding.
Perhaps it’s buried under some cookie crumbs and stale granola.
Kevin Jackson is the chief content officer for cllct. He spent 25 years at ESPN and nearly four at FOX Sports.