Philly hosts NFL Draft extravaganza

You have to give the NFL this: They know how to throw a party.

You might remember that little shindig they put on the first Sunday in February.

Yeah, they don’t call it the Super Bowl for nothing.

These days they are “Super” sizing their premier off-season event as well. Welcome to the NFL Draft on Steroids. Uh, pardon the reference to the banned substance.

What started right here in Philadelphia by NFL founding father Bert Bell at the Ritz Carlton Hotel in 1936 has grown just a bit in the last eight decades.

Bell owned the Eagles and served as the NFL commissioner from 1946-1959. His idea to hold a draft at which teams would select the best college players would forever change the way professional teams – of all sports – operated.

Bell likely would not recognize the extravaganza that is about to unfold on the Ben Franklin Parkway in Philadelphia.

Like just about everything else associated with the NFL, the draft is now an event. Once relegated to New York City, the league recently has embarked on road trips, bringing the draft – and the unending hype associated with it – to the fans. It’s now broadcast in prime time. It’s about glitter and hype and money - just like everything else about the NFL.

The last two years they were in Chicago. This week it’s Philly’s turn. Tonight, stud college players, the cream of the crop in college football, will do their best Rocky imitation and make their way along the most famous steps on the globe.

That’s correct. The NFL has constructed a massive stage on what very well could be the most visible Philadelphia landmark, the very same Art Museum steps traversed by Sylvester Stallone more than four decades ago in the saga of the underdog Philly fighter who gets a shot at the title.

Those who make that walk tonight will not be underdogs. They will all be instant millionaires.

Along the way, they and the NFL will drop millions into the Philadelphia region’s economy. The NFL Draft is expected to add a cool $80 million to the area’s bottom line.

That is not to say everyone thinks this is a great idea, or that the hype has not been non-stop, or that there have not been some pitfalls in getting to this point. Just ask anyone who lives or works in the area of the Art Museum or needs to traverse that section of the city.

League officials and work crews have been here for a month. Streets have been closed for weeks. Severe parking restrictions are now in place.

League officials estimate several hundred thousand people will take part in the NFL Draft Experience. Even if you are not actually going to the Draft, there are tons of things to do.

Brace yourself for every Philly cliché imaginable. The over-under on the number of TV shots of dutiful Pat’s or Geno’s employees grilling up fried onions and sliced beef for our signature delicacy – the humble cheesesteak – is five. We’re taking the over.

And we undoubtedly will be reminded of our reputation as passionate – some would say overly so – fans. We wear that badge proudly. So bring on your stories of booing Santa. We’ve heard it all before.

What is new is the city’s growing reputation for doing big events in a big way.

And why not. If you haven’t noticed, the city lays claim to some serious history. The Liberty Bell calls Philly home. City Hall, with Billy Penn gazing down from his perch atop the structure. Independence Hall, the cradle of liberty. Betsy Ross, and her stitching that became the emblem for the home of the brave and land of the free.

Tonight all of them will take a back seat to themost famous set of steps in the universe.

Welcome to Philadelphia, NFL fans.

You’re not the first to get the Philly treatment. We’ve shut this town down before. We created a massive gridlock when we threw open the doors for a visit by Pope Francis. That was quickly followed by a horde of Democrats here to nominate Hillary Clinton as the first female to top a major party’s ticket for the office of president of the United States.

Somewhere, Bert Bell is smiling. We’re no longer a club fighter with a puncher’s chance.

We are the heavyweight champion of the world, at least when it comes to hosting massive, world-class events. Rocky would be proud of us. Yo, NFL, bring it on.