May 01, 2017
One of the highlights of the NFL Draft in Philly this past weekend was former Cowboy Drew Pearson channeling his inner Vince McMahon while trolling the crowd full of booing Eagles fans and simultaneously announcing Dallas’ second-round pick.
Pearson was interviewed by Mike Florio on PFT Live, and believe it or not, Roger Goodell actually encouraged Pearson to go full-on troll before he took the stage:
“I’m thinking he might say, ‘Oh, no, don’t say anything like that, that might get them too fired up, might cause a riot out there in that crowd.’ But to my surprise, he encouraged me to say that and to get the crowd even more riled up,” Pearson said of his conversation with Goodell.
Sound on! 🔊🔊🔊
— NFL (@NFL) April 29, 2017
Because this is EPIC. #NFLDraft pic.twitter.com/cUIMfl7ikD
Goodell, of course, was booed early and often by the Philly fans, which he handled pretty well (the commish was probably just happy not to be in New England). The NFL gets a lot wrong, but embracing the best elements of professional wrestling made the draft much more entertaining.
Pearson also told Florio that the NFL provided him a strong security presence from the moment he went back to the green room all the way to the hotel he was staying at.
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