FRIDAY COMMENTARY – IT IS WHAT IT IS
(Listen daily for the Rod Pedersen Commentary on Cat Country 98 FM & Rock 98.5 FM)
DRAFT DAY IS ALWAYS A VERY SPECIAL THING.
WE SAW THAT THURSDAY NIGHT WITH ROUND 1 OF THE NFL DRAFT IN CLEVELAND, OHIO.
PERHAPS YOU’RE NOT THE MOST AVID FOLLOWER OF THE NFL BUT THURSDAY’S EVENTS WERE HARD TO MISS FOR EVEN THE CASUAL CANADIAN, SINCE IT WAS TELEVISED ON MULTIPLE CHANNELS UP HERE INCLUDING THE NFL NETWORK.
IT’S ONLY NATURAL TO DRAW COMPARISONS TO THE CFL DRAFT WHICH WILL BE STAGED IN PRIME TIME NEXT TUESDAY NIGHT.
THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE NFL AND CFL DRAFTS ARE AS DIFFERENT AS THE LEAGUES THEMSELVES. THE NUANCES OF EACH ARE A TOPIC FOR ANOTHER TIME, AND SOMETHING WE’LL LIKELY GET INTO NEXT WEEK.
BUT WHAT WILL GO DOWN ON TUESDAY ISN’T ANY LESS SPECIAL FOR THOSE WHO WILL HEAR THEIR NAMES CALLED THAN THE AMERICAN PLAYERS WE SAW LAST NIGHT. IT’S A CULMINATION OF A LIFETIME OF WORK NO MATTER WHICH SIDE OF THE BORDER YOU WERE BORN.
FOR DECADES WE’VE DISCUSSED HOW THE CFL COULD MAKE THEIRS A SIMILAR PARTY TO THE NFL BUT IT’S BARELY EVER GOTTEN OUT OF THE STARTERS BLOCKS.
APPARENTLY THEY TRIED TO HAVE A SPLASHY EVENT IN CALGARY IN 1993 WITH THE TOP DRAFTEES IN ATTENDANCE BUT IT NEVER CAUGHT ON. I BELIEVE IT WAS IN 1995 IN SASKATOON WHERE I ATTENDED THE DRAFT AT CENTENNIAL AUDITORIUM AND AS A YOUNG REPORTER, I WAS IN AWE OF THE CFL PERSONALITIES CONGREGATED IN THE THEATRE. GENE MAKOWSKY WENT 23RD OVERALL TO THE SASKATCHEWAN ROUGHRIDERS THAT DAY. (I MAY HAVE THE YEARS WRONG, BUT IT WAS A LONG TIME AGO. YOU GET THE IDEA.)
BUT THAT TOO FAILED TO CATCH ON .
WHILE I’M SURE THE CFL WOULD LOVE TO HAVE A LAVISH MADE-FOR-TV EVENT SIMILAR TO THEIR AMERICAN COUSINS, I’M ALSO SURE THAT’S ON THE BACKBURNER NOW AS THE LEAGUE FIGHTS FOR ITS VERY SURVIVAL.
LIKE JUST ABOUT EVERYTHING ELSE RELATED TO SPORTS IN THIS PANDEMIC RIGHT NOW, “IT IS WHAT IT IS”.
FOR NOW, ORDER A PIZZA THIS WEEKEND AND ENJOY THE WALL-TO-WALL COVERAGE OF WHAT’S ANOTHER TREMENDOUS NFL PRODUCT.
THAT’S TODAY’S ROD PEDERSEN COMMENTARY.
(Photo: NFL)
Wisdom rings true in the saying of, “It is what it is.” For those who truly get the meaning in those words it rings freedom.
The weather is good this weekend and there are lots of options ahead. It is what it is; grant serenity to accept the things we cannot change, courage to change the things we can, and wisdom to know the difference.
Life is what people make it.
When people finally get the concept won’t be as wigged out.