That might be a statue of Rocky at the top of the art museum steps at the NFL Draft in Philadelphia, but that was a real-life, flesh-and-blood Apollo Creed holding a microphone down on the red carpet.
Give the NFL credit for possibly the most creative use of the host city and the iconic venue for Thursday’s first round. It was unclear whether Sylvester Stallone, the namesake of the Rocky series that inspired the statue, was ever considered to do the red-carpet honors. But, as an NFL Network spokesman explained to SI.com on Sunday, they did pull Carl Weathers, who played Rocky’s nemesis-turned-ally-turned-tragic-victim-turned-inspiration-turned-father-of-future-champ.
(There, kids, now you know the plot of the first four “Rocky” installments, and the last sequel.)
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Weathers teamed with reporter and studio host Melissa Stark to interview players, their families and their coaches for the NFL Network’s pre-draft coverage. He handled the duties like the seasoned actor he is, and clearly enjoyed it, sharing his adventures on Twitter.
Gonna be a great day with Melissa, Kay and Nate on Red Carpet of #NFLDraft2017. #BeLove pic.twitter.com/BZkn9VUtow
— Carl Weathers (@TheCarlWeathers) April 27, 2017
SI.com noted that red-carpet duties last year were performed by GameDay analyst Michael Irvin, who is notably under investigation for a sexual assault and did not appear on the draft coverage Thursday.
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The 69-year-old Weathers (yes, seriously, although he looks a good 15-20 years younger) has more than just the “Rocky” ties to the draft. He played linebacker for parts of two seasons for the Oakland Raiders in 1970-71, and parts of three more in the CFL from 1971-73. In college, he played for Don Coryell at San Diego State.
So Weathers clearly knows his way around football and a microphone. And it appeared to be a better gig than the one he held in the TV comedy Arrested Development five years ago — as Tobias Funke’s down-on-his-luck acting coach, in a hilarious parody of himself.
There was no word on whether Weathers planned to prepare stew for the green room.