Shut out of credentials: NFL combine

A storyline? Really? There are hundreds of story lines. Have you ever had a pro beat?

 

The clicks say they do.

What is this unifying national story this year?

 

I suppose you're referring to Manti Te'o, but we're talking about a week-long event.

 

Pretend? There is no pretending. The Combine is huge. For many teams and their fans it is the first thing where stuff is actually happening to their team since the regular season ended.

 

It's huge among a certain segment of fans.

 

I've realized a surprising number of NFL "fans" do not even know what the Combine is.
That being said, I'm a draft junkie and will be covering the Combine next week for the fourth straight year. When I tell some folks I'm going to Indianapolis for a few days and tell them why, I'm shocked by each person who has no idea what I'm talking about.

 

Adding to my previous comment, because the NFL does credential some draft blog sites like Draft Bible and the folks at Bleacher Report - even before they got reputable - it is odd that small newspapers with an actual tie-in to a player won't get credentialed.
I know of media outlets in Springfield, MO and Pine Bluff, AR that did not get their credential requests approved because of "tremendous demand."
I guess, though, that's when you farm it out and find a stringer if your outlet doesn't receive a credential. Still get the story, and probably save a few bucks in the process.

 

My comment wasn't necessarily about whether the people there are working or not. In general, the people there are working. But I do have a problem with the guys from some of the draft websites that proclaim themselves as experts and get in the way when it comes to certain things. The questions about "Have you talked to this team or have you talked to that team?" and things like that get annoying because the fact is most every player there will talk to most every team there by the time the week is over.

 

Wow ... you really are clueless.

Our combine stories get huge numbers. As Cubblebum and Captain Obvious have said, people eat this stuff up. Football fans are obsessed with the draft, in case you haven't been paying attention. And combine stories are essentially draft stories.

We write about people and report good stories, not simply "shuttle drill times." There are a ton of compelling stories at the Combine.

I've noticed you don't seem to understand much about good journalism.

p.s. -- Football Scribe, couldn't agree more about the self-professed experts. Most of them are just fans getting info from other self-professed experts. Who got it from other self-professed experts.

 

You misread what I posted. It's big among a certain segment of fan.

 

This was definitely not the case at the RCA Dome. There were always tons of non-credentialed people in the hallway between the media room and where they would work out for the scouts, coaches and GMs.

It wouldn't surprise me at all if the security was tighter in the new building, because it could not have been more lax at the RCA Dome.

It might be too late at this point, but if you still want to cover it, I would call the NFL's PR office and explain that you were requesting a credential because there are several players from your readership area who were invited. I'd be very surprised if they turned you down.

 

Go to Under Armour and buy one of their official clown suits and you can walk right in.