CHICAGO — No doubt, the NFL is in the midst of a turbulent time. A growing body of science has documented the alarming health consequences of football’s hardest hits, while incidents of domestic violence have given the league a public black eye.
Yet the NFL’s popularity shows no signs of waning — and certainly not here in Chicago, host of this year’s draft.
The mere fact that the NFL chose Chicago to host its 2015 draft, uprooting the proceedings from New York for the first time in 51 years, was cause for a temporary civic re-branding. What many are calling the “City of Big Shoulder Pads” has embraced the festivities, turning its Grant Park into Draft Town for the duration, with flag-football games for children, autograph sessions, a beer garden and a Super Bowl museum featuring the Vince Lombardi Trophy.