Rahm Emanuel isn't one to be shy about aggressively pursuing what he wants, and if the Chicago mayor has it his way, his city will be hosting the NFL draft in the not too distant future.
Emanuel pitched the idea of a Chicago Super Bowl to NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell last summer, and in an interview with the Chicago Tribune published Saturday, he said that wants to bring the draft to Chicago.
"I would say that there are two things in pro football I would love to see in Chicago, either one of them or both: the NFL draft and the Super Bowl," Emanuel said. "They have different advantages given that we have neither one so they would be great attractions for the city to bring national attention.
"We'll work on both."
Emanuel was asked during the interview if he had engaged the NFL in talks about bringing the draft to Chicago.
"Do I strike you as a quiet person?" Emanuel responded. "That's all I'll say."
In other words, you can bet he has picked up the phone and made that call, and probably more than once.
Whether the NFL would be interested in taking Emanuel up on the draft offer is another story. This year's draft will be held at its usual home, Radio City Music Hall in New York City, May 8-10, but, last May, the league said that moving the draft to other cities in future years was among the alternatives it had been exploring.
It would seem that Chicago would be a fine fit to host the draft should be the NFL decide to take its biggest offseason show on the road.
So, if Emanuel doesn't get his way on this one, things could get a bit fishy.
