Jameis Winston's home draft party included a red carpet
Jameis Winston wanted to have a full NFL draft experience but wanted to spend his big day with his family and friends at home. So, he combined the two.
Every No. 1 overall draft pick since Ohio State defensive tackle Dan Wilkinson in 1994 had attended the draft in person. So it's not like there was much of a blueprint on how Winston (the top pick to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers) should handle his hometown draft experience. So the Florida State quarterback started out the festivities by rolling out the red carpet. Literally.
Warchant.com covered the party, held at the house of a family friend in Bessemer, Ala., as did other outlets who took note of the red carpet set up for the day.
“@melissaykim: At Jameis Winston's Draft Day party - posing on the red carpet #JameisDraft2015 pic.twitter.com/hBCbPJ1fwf” // #FamousJameis
— AQ Beckham, Jr. (@Allen_Quincy) April 30, 2015
Jameis posing with little brother Jonah on the red carpet. #JameisDraft2015 @wiat42 pic.twitter.com/ox2KpOPscd
— Melissa Y. Kim (@melissaykim) April 30, 2015
People are likely to get mad about this because it's 2015 and people get mad about everything. But it's pretty cool, Winston doing up draft night on a smaller scale with his family and friends. He wasn't at the draft in Chicago, but it's a huge day in his life and he brought some of the spectacle home to Alabama. Good for him.
"As long as the people are enjoying it, I'm good," Winston's father Antonor told Warchant.com. "That's why Jameis stayed home. For his family and for his friends."
The main reason Winston said he wanted to have a draft party at home was to be with his grandmother Myrtle, who has diabetes and can't travel. She was there with him on Thursday.
In hours before NFL draft, Jameis Winston enjoys down-home party with close friends, family. https://t.co/j2lKBFhOn8 pic.twitter.com/D3xWOlOvCb
— Warchant.com (@Warchant) April 30, 2015
Warchant.com said there were about 100 family members at friends at the gathering. Fried fish, hamburgers and hot dogs, French fries, baked beans and coleslaw were served, Warchant said. It was a casual affair it seemed, red carpet excluded.
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Frank Schwab is the editor of Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at shutdowncorner@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @YahooSchwab