Chris Thompson   Chris Thompson on the internet

I watched the NFL draft last night — my first live draft, despite following the game for years. It was the 75th anniversary, and it was more exciting than I anticipated. Although it did last for a long, long time.

Of course, there were some predictable picks. Sam Bradford going first to the St. Louis Rams was about as safe a bet as could be. But there were trades, and surprises, and uncommonly big drops for some uncommonly talented athletes.

One of the biggest was Dez Bryant, the top receiver in the draft, who fell to the mid-twenties — and wasn’t even the first receiver taken. And Jimmy Clausen, who, by many of the so-called experts, was predicted to go within the first 10 picks, fell right out of the entire round.

I suppose it shows just how important character is to NFL teams and coaches now. They don’t want their players to run dogfighting rings; they don’t want their players to cause rifts in the locker room; and they want a quarterback – a leader – who the team and the organisation can believe in, even when things get tough.

But the pick I am happiest about, and the player I am most excited about, is Tim Tebow. Here’s a guy who is regarded by many as the very best college player in the history of the game. He had 80 scholarships out of high school, and had a phenomenal college career — and, what, because he throws the football in a bit of an unconventional way, he’s suddenly going to be a failure?

Sounds like rubbish to me. I said all along he would be a first round pick, and I took pleasure in saying “I told you so!” to my friends who were so adamant he wouldn’t get drafted till much later.

It’s going to be a lot of fun following his career. Something tells me the critics will be eating their words before too long.