Combine Changes

The NFL is apparently going to introduce a "Combine Fan Fest" that will be open to the general public for four days during the Scouting Combine in March.

A couple of things jumped out to me in that announcement. The lesser of the two is "Scouting Combine in March." The Scouting Combine has routinely been a February-thing on the league's calendar. It's going to be later this year, running from February 28 to March 6. So, that gives the players a few more days to train for the combine-specific drills. Fine. The greater of the two is the fan stuff. Not so fine.

The NFL Scouting Combine was a secretive thing for the first three decades of it's existence. It's become a much more open event in the last decade. NFL Network has turned it into a nearly round-the-clock event with it's broadcasts and re-broadcasts. It's only a matter of time before camera's start appearing in the interview rooms. The increased coverage and undressing of the combine is inevitable and not surprising. More is always better. Right? The NFL has allowed a limited number of fans to buy tickets to watch some drills inside the stadium since 2012. This "Combine Fan Fest" is simply the next step. The league is obviously hoping that it will be the great hit that similar fests have been at the Super Bowl, Pro Bowl, NFL Draft, and Hall of Fame inductions. The problem here is that the Scouting Combine isn't, and was never intended to be, the same sort of event as the others. The Scouting Combine is a messed-up job interview. The most important aspects of it are intensely personal and very much private. The players are poked, prodded, and observed as if they are livestock at an auction. It's not a fun time for the players and the NFL wants to make that time more public. Great.

Too often the league seems to forget the purpose of some things when they have money on the mind. And they always have money on the mind. That clouds their judgement. The Scouting Combine was never meant to be a spectator event and they shouldn't force it into one. It's part of the player evaluation process. It's personal and private for the teams. It's definitely personal and private for the players. The NFL should leave it that way.