Thursday April 28 2011- Day 115

I wake up early and call Miguel..I want to be sure he hasnt gone down for breakfast already. He says no so I hurry and throw some clothes on and knock on his door. We head down together and when we get to the lobby Jermaine and Rah are already having breakfast. We come and sit at their table and get breakfast off the breakfast bar. We sit around trying to decide what we are going to do before the draft. Jermaine wants to get started at 9 am. Miguel wants to sleep in til around 12 or 1. Rah wants to compromise. Miguel and I go back upstairs. I tell him I'm going to lay down for awhile and when he wakes up to call me so we can plan. I doze off and sleep til around 2:45 pm when I wake up and call Miguel. He's still asleep as well. He says Jermaine called him around 11 to tell him they were headed into Woodside to walk around. I tell him ok. I suggest we get up and get ready so I can go pick up the money he wired to me and then head into the city. I want to hang out around Times Square. He wants to go to the Ripley's Believe It or Not Museum and I want to go to the Madam Toussant Wax Museum which I know are both in Times Square. We get dressed and ready and take the shuttle over to Woodside. When we get there are friends are still there. Miguel and I rush to the western union office to get the money which sends us to a second western union office. We finally get the money and by now it is pouring down rain. I dont have an umbrella with me so we stop in a shop real quick so I can buy one. By the time we walk the block back to the subway the rain stops. We hop on the subway and ride back to Times Square-42nd Street station. Jermaine, Rah and Lanod all walk off as Miguel and I go into a shop to grab a late lunch. We eat and they come back..we spot Ripleys & Madam Toussant next door to each other but the time is getting late and we need to get over to Radio City Music Hall to get our tickets. We walk the few blocks over and notice once again a very long line filled with NY fans. This time I am even more decked out in Denver Broncos gear but so is Jermaine. Miguel has on Redskins shirt and Lanod has on a Dolphins hat. We get a loud round of booing and jeering but as with the night before I just laugh. We get in line and wait. As we are waiting Roger Goodell comes through to sign autographs, take photos and talk with fans. I get an autograph. Verizon is coming through with free goodies to give away as well as taking photos and the NFL Network has towels to give away. As I'm waiting NFL Network comes through to ask if I mind being interviewed for Madden '12. I tell them no problem and a few minutes later I get interviewed. After this someone from NFL Network asks if Miguel and I would like to hit the red carpet. We both say yes and he pulls us out of line. He tells us that we will have to get back in line for tickets but we should be ok since we already have our armbands. We get around to the red carpet and as we approach a cop tells us we must go back and find the person who got us. We rush back but Miguel and I get separated. I get to the guy and he gives me an arm band so I can go back to the red carpet area. By now my camera has died which sucks so as I step onto the platform in front of the red carpet area I will have to take pictures with my cellphone. My cellphone cant lock fast enough for me to get great pictures but I manage to get a few good ones of players arriving. Miguel calls and I tell him I'm on the red carpet taking pictures. He tells me he's already in the hall so I will be on my own. As time for the draft approaches I rush off the platform and head back to the line to get a ticket. I get into the hall and call Miguel again but now I cant reach him. I head to the area where my seat is and I'm handed a gift bag before heading into the sitting area. I get my seat and try to get a picture of the platforms for NFL Network and ESPN but the bright lights dont allow my camera to get a clear picture. The program begins and I sit and attentively wait for the draft to begin. Roger Goodell is booed when he hits the stage. Everytime the cameras turn towards my area the cameraman for ESPN gives a motion for the crowd to get loud. He tries to get us to move in close but the Hall staff keeps moving us back. I make friends with 2 guys who sit behind me and we talk through the whole draft. I put on the small radio they give us so I can listen to commentary from both NFL Network & ESPN between picks. We move back & forth trying to give the cameraman the loud rowdy crowd noise and cheering he wants. One of my new buddies Dimitri actually gets on tv which we both laugh about. He is texting me through the draft and I tell him how things are going and send him the occasional photo that I post on facebook as well. When the draft is finished I separate from Dimitri and Steve and meet back up with my friends in the concession area. It is now close to 12 so we need to find some food and head back to the hotel. We call the hotel to find out what time the airport shuttle stops running and they tell us 12:45. It is 12:37 by this point and there is no way we can get to Woodside station in 8 mins so we call our gypsy cab driver again who tells us 20 mins. Meanwhile we get some food from Burger King and wait. I have been standing now for almost 2 days straight so my feet are killing me. I know we have to hurry and get back to the hotel since Miguel and I are catching a 5:30 train back to DC in the morning. Our cab arrives and we get back to the hotel quickly. I hit my room and immediately start packing. I eat quickly as I pack and by now it is past 2 am so I crawl in bed so I can catch a couple of hours of sleep before morning.