CLEVELAND -- The downpour didn't stop thousands of fans from pouring into downtown Cleveland on Thursday hours before the city's first-ever NFL draft -- and first big public event of any kind in more than a year.
The pandemic, which transformed last year's draft into a virtual event, isn't over yet. (Fans at the event must wear a mask, have their temperature checked and answer a health questionnaire before entering; those in vicinity of the stage have been vaccinated.) But the bustle from FirstEnergy Stadium to the newly erected draft stage set on the bank of Lake Erie was a tangible sign that the COVID-19 era might finally be on the wane.