Editor’s Note: It has been great to correspond with this absolutely fun rock band from Dayton, Ohio. The 1984 Draft obtained some notoriety not only for their mix of scintillating rhythms but for their bigger than life guitar riffs while incorporating some storytelling of Midwestern life in Dayton. They caught a significant break for having documentary footage on them for the NFL Network’s documentary “The 1984 NFL Draft” back in 2014, along with being featured in a Sports Illustrated article. The 1984 Draft are anxiously anticipating the release of their album entitled “Makes Good Choices”. On that note, the band talks about Nebraska football and they wanted to make their college and NFL picks exclusively with Madness To Creation. In the meantime, fans can check out The 1984 Draft at Facebook at www.facebook.com/The1984Draft
“Revealing Our College Football and NFL Predictions” by The 1984 Draft
At an early age I was inducted into a life long obsession with college football. Both my parents are from Nebraska. My Dad attended the University of Nebraska Lincoln. My dad was in school there during Nebraska’s glory days with Bob Devaney and back to back National Championships 1970 and 1971.
In Kindergarten, I experienced the 1st repercussions of being a life long Husker fan. My Kindergarten teacher pulled my mother aside to ask “Why won’t Joseph put the Oklahoma piece in the state puzzle? Also, he keeps telling me he won’t because Barry Switzer is the devil.” My mom immediately knew what was up. That past year I had heard my Grandparents call Barry Switzer the devil during the yearly Oklahoma vs. Nebraska rivalry. I was a die-hard husker fan at 5 and there was no way I was going to put my arch rival’s piece in the puzzle.
I struggled through the 80’s as Tom Osborne’s teams seemed to always come up one two-point conversion, one field goal wide right, or one loss to Colorado, Oklahoma, or some team from Florida short of a National title. The 90’s were my years as Tommy Frazier, Brook Berringer, Lawrence Philipps, Ahman Green, Scott Frost, Grant Wistrom, Trev Alberts, and Mike Brown finally brought my Huskers back to prominence and 3 national titles in my lifetime. The 90’s were a sweet time to be Husker fan though I would never fathom the mediocrity they would become.
I am still angry over the Frank Solich firing (though he does coach at my Alma Mater, Ohio University, so that is cool). The Bill Callahan experiment was a joke. I though Coach Pelini deserved at least one more year to get over the hump. The Coach Riley experiment showed promise but the Huskers just couldn’t execute. Their attitude mirrored the ho hum attitude of the coach. I am excited for Coach Frost’s return and see great promise in the upcoming season.
Unfortunately for me, I was not blessed with the body or athletic ability to play football. My dreams of running out through the tunnel were squashed by my lack of size, strength, and unwillingness to be hit repeatedly, though my older brother did try to train me by doing so. I discovered music in my teens, started my first band when I was 15 and the rest was history. Little did I know that some day a choice of band name would intertwine me into some of the largest media sources sports has to offer.
I was looking to put together a full-time band for my solo project. I spent a lot of time bouncing around names from Girls Soccer, to Scouts Honor before I finally settled on the 1984 NFL Draft (The NFL was eventually dropped to avoid any sort of legal litigation). I had come across the fact that the only NFL draft to have two Nebraska Cornhuskers drafted number 1 and 2 was the 1984 NFL Draft. I knew then I had my band name. I am forever indebted to Irving Fryer, Dean Steinkuehler, and the CFL (for stealing Steve Young and Mike Rozier) for being the first two picks. Shortly after the name came along I added Justin Satinover to the mix on drums, with Eli Alban following a couple years later, and then the final piece in Chip Heck 2 years ago.
I never thought the name would help us gain much traction. I thought it sounded cool and I liked the fact it would allow me to talk about Husker football. I definitely didn’t expect a call from Sports Illustrated on a Friday afternoon at work to set in motion some of the coolest experiences in my musical career.
I received a call from a writer at Sports Illustrated. Of course, I thought it was a joke but I went ahead and called the number back. The writer had been doing research ahead of the draft and was trying to find a YouTube video of each draft. When he got to 1984 he only found us. He reached out, we chatted briefly. He sent me a few questions and within an hour an article featuring our band was on Sports Illustrated.com.
https://www.si.com/node/397727
At that moment, I thought I had reached the pinnacle. Our little band from Dayton, OH was in the largest sports publication in the world. We made it. End of Story, so I thought.
Fast forward to 2014, once again sitting at work, I receive an email. This time it is from someone who says he is a senior producer at NFL Films. Of course, I think it is someone messing with me. A quick google search unveils to me that Greg Frith is an executive producer at NFL films and that yes this is his email address. I call the number on the email and speak to Greg. Next thing I know, an NFL films crew is at our drummer’s house in East Dayton, Ohio filming us. I told Greg that day that it felt like Oprah doing an interview. We had won the band lottery and were probably the only people interviewed by NFL films with an old toilet and a boxer in the background just off camera. The crew followed us to a show at Blind Bob’s in Dayton, OH later that night, handed us NFL jerseys representing members of the 1984 draft, and we played our songs about football (what would become the Bo Jackson Up the Middle EP). Month’s later we would be featured in “Caught in The Draft – 1984” on the NFL Network.
http://nflfilms.nfl.com/2014/04/21/caught-in-the-draft-1984-premieres-wednesday-night/
At the end of the day our band is a lot like the 1984 Draft. There are no hall of famers from that draft. Just a bunch of guys who have worked extremely hard for years, had a few moments of glory, and have done it all for the love of the game.
Being musicians doesn’t really qualify us as sports writers but we wanted to share with you our picks for the upcoming football season:
Joe Anderl – Vocals / Guitar
College Football Playoffs
- Georgia
- Clemson
- Washington
- Nebraska
College Football Championship Game
Georgia vs. Nebraska
College Football Champion
Georgia
As a die-hard Nebraska fan, I must believe there will be a miraculous improvement in Lincoln this year. I am drinking a keg full of the Scott Frost Kool Aid and calling that they will shock the nation with winning the big 10 though I think they will drop 1 game during the regular season. Their strength of schedule this year will carry them to the playoffs. I think Jake Fromme gets redemption this year and leads Georgia to the title. The Nebraska / Georgia battle will continue into 2019 where I truly believe the Huskers bring glory back to Lincoln.
Pro Football Playoff.
AFC East – Patriots
AFC West – Raiders
AFC North – Browns
AFC South – Jaguars
NFC East – Eagles
NFC West – Rams
NFC North – Packers
NFC South – Falcons
Super Bowl – Jaguars vs. Rams
Winner – Jaguars
The Browns will pull the greatest turnaround in Pro Football History and go from 0-16 to the playoffs. The Jaguars will get redemption over last year’s loss to the Patriots. Rex Burkhead from the Patriots will have a breakout year and make the pro bowl. Rams continue their upward trend and win the NFC.
Justin Satinover – Drums / Vocals
My picks are a little less comprehensive as Joe’s but for the Super Bowl: Chargers vs. Falcons
College final four: Oklahoma, Alabama, USC, Nebraska
Alabama and Sabin take it all (again) because they are perennial winners at this point.
Eli Alban – Guitar
I pick the NFL players and Players Union to win the hearts and minds of fans over the Trump Administrations constant criticism of players expressing their first amendment right to protest and raise awareness of police brutality against minorities in the US. I also think the Bears will win 8 games and just miss the wild card.
Charles “Chip” Heck
I like the Buckeyes, the Bengals, and the Browns. They are supposed to be good right?
You can find the 1984 Draft hanging with their families in Dayton, OH, at The Miami Valley Huskers group on game day, or texting each other about the merits of the 1980’s Los Angeles Dodgers. You can also find them on the following social media:
Social Media:
www.the1984draft.com
www.facebook.com/the1984draft
www.poptek.com
