Sonny Weaver Jr., played by Kevin Costner in the new film "Draft Day," has the job most sports fans would covet in today's employment market.
Weaver is the general manager of the NFL's Cleveland Browns and faces a difficult decision on whom he should select in the upcoming NFL Draft. He also must follow in his late father's footsteps while attempting to steer a broken franchise in the right direction.
With major doubters around him both in the city of Cleveland and in the league itself, Weaver must decide between right and wrong both in the game of football and in life.
Does Weaver draft the sure-fire, No. 1 franchise quarterback who "knows how to win?" Or, does he select the hard-nosed, hard-hitting middle linebacker from Ohio State, Vontae Mack, who is forced to provide for his two nephews after his sister dies of cancer?
While it was extremely exciting to see another sports movie, it seemed as if many of the other audience members were either leaving or dozing off in their seats.
Sports films are usually a popular genre, and Costner particularly shines in them. So why were people not interested?
"Draft Day" is not your average, cut-and-dried movie by any means. If you're not caught up on your football terminology or lack interest in the game at all, I would not recommend the movie.
However, for its target audience, the movie provided insight into what the job of general manager of a major sports franchise might actually be like.
Costner is riveting in the role of Sonny Weaver Jr., but the portrayal of the job market itself- the cutthroat atmosphere in the NFL -- is what enticed me into the theater. The numerous cameos of actual NFL insiders such as Chris Berman and Deion Sanders did not hurt the movie's appeal, either.
"Draft Day" gets as close as most of us are going to get to the hectic events of one of the better days in professional football.
David Heim can be reached at david.heim@student.shu.edu.
