What happened was I took a look at Monday’s New York Times and read Greg Bishop’s inspiring report on Dwight Lowery, the cornerback from San Jose State the Jets drafted on Sunday.

Dwight Lowery – Photo: Michael Conroy/AP

It’s easy to get numbed by the sheer numbers of football players and stats and opinions that roll over past as you watch the draft. Running backs and quarterbacks and linebackers merge one into the other. And, of course, the analysts are paid to pass judgment in a matter of minutes.

Bishop’s story brought back the underlying human story – the real story – of NFL football. Dwight Lowery’s mom is a single mom. More and more, that’s the story of young athletes, young Americans. Just 18 with a kid, Tracy Rivers ended up working two sometimes three jobs. Lowery’s younger sister, Aujanae, was born with a defective heart.

Lowery was the best of brothers, making sure he was there for Aujanae when his mom had to go off and work. And all the while working hard at football at Cabrillo College, and becoming good enough to attract the notice of Dick Tomey at San Jose. Thanks to his mom Lowery has a deepseated understanding of, and commitment to hard work.

Dwight Lowery makes the tackle – Photo: Marcio Jose Sanchez/AP

Bishop spoke to Tomey:

I’m not sure I’ve ever been around a player who meant so much,” Tomey said in a telephone interview. “From the minute he stepped on the field for us, he changed the attitude. He brought a sense of purpose that was lacking.

Lowery, it turns out, had a habit of writing notes to his Mom while she was out working. One of those she kept said: “Watch out for me in the 2008 draft.”

In the same issue of the Times, you can find Mike Ogle’s piece, “Giants See Potential and Take a Chance.” It’s the story of Mario Manningham – the Michigan wide receiver the New York Giants took with their last pick of the third round. A lot of teams, while appreciating Manningham’s talents decided to pass, considering his Manningham’s past a potential problem.

Last April Manningham was detained, though not convicted, of possession of Vicodin and has admitted smoking pot.

“The past is the past,” Manningham said after the Giants picked him.

Mario Manningham – Photo: Tony Ding/AP

The Giants know something about the difference between the past and the present, and the past and the future. They won a similar gamble last year when they took the running back Ahmad Bradshaw from Marshall. If you remember, Bradshaw had left Virginia after being caught drinking under the age and resisting arrest. Bradshaw’s past turned into a sparkling present when his determined running helped the G-men to the Super Bowl.

Ahmad Bradshaw

So this year New Yorkers – green and blue – will have a chance to closely watch the human drama that is football. A humble workingclass hero hoping to find his way into the Jets secondary; and a flawed human who hopes to be on the receiving end of an Eli Manning bomb. This is the kind of football New Yorkers love.

Football for the underdog.

For every fortunate guy or gal relaxing up in the luxury boxes, there are a thousand of us sitting in the cold and rain and snow. We have a bit of Dwight Lowery in us and if truth be told, we have a bit of Mario Manningham in us.

So I thank both Greg Bishop and Mike Ogle for reminding me about what’s important.

And for one day, I don’t care about the paper ratings. I’m rooting for two different guys who have made it to the NFL, to play the game I love. The real winners today! And I am hoping with all my heart that both the Jets and the Giants made the right choice.

So the time for mock drafts has come and gone. Rip’em up. Jake Long did indeed get picked by the Dolphins.

Kudos to Don Banks for giving the Rams Chris Long, the 272 lb DE from Virginia. Several folks who had him going first to Miami made the quick switch. But some had Glenn Dorsey headed to St. Louis. Long is a great player and made 79 tackles last year.

At #3 the Atlanta Falcons decided to put Michael Vick behind them and take a gamble that QB Matt Ryan (6’ 4 ¾, 228 lbs.) is the man to lead them back to respectability. Prisco and Judge over at CBS Sportsline had the pick right.

Jets fans were clearly bummed to watch the explosive Arkansas RB Darren McFadden end up going #4 to the Oakland Raiders, desperately hoping he’d slip to #6. Runner-up to the Heisman, McFadden is a bit more than 6’ 1” and 211.

The Chiefs were glad to get Glenn Dorsey, DT from LSU at #5, possibly hoping which his impressive mix of power and agility he can stop a Darren McFadden run.

The New York crowd which spent much of the 10 minutes before their chanting Ver-non Gholston got their wishes. The 6’ 3” 266 lb DE from Ohio State has also played LB.

The question for the Patriots was with the loss of Samuel, Wilson would they go for defense. There was also the possibility the Patriots were looking to trade down. When it came their turn, they dealt the pick plus a 5th round pick to the New Orleans Saints who took Sedrick Ellis, the DT from USC. In return they pick #10 and gain a 3rd round pick.

The Ravens caught the trade fever and gave their #8 pick to Jacksonville who jumped up from 26 to snag Derrick Harvey the 6’4” DE from Florida hoping to juice up their pass rush. It was an expensive gamble for the Jaguars who gave up 2 3rd round picks and a 4th round pick.

Keith Rivers, the durable and reliable OLB from USC went #9 to the Bengals. The Patriots at #10 took Jerod Mayo the ILB from Tennessee. Those of you who can still think back to some of the mock drafts, might remember Bob Glauber of Newsday thinking that Mayo could have slipped down to #31 to the Giants. One of the great things about Mayo is that he is extremely versatile and can play several positions.

Well let’s jump ahead to the Redskins. Mock-drafters had a host of ideas about who would be available by at #21 and who the Skins would take. Well the Skins pulled off a trade with the Falcons who took Sam Baker, the OT from USC. That didn’t work out all that well for the mock-drafters.

The Music Hall was jumping when it was announced that the Packers had traded the 30th pick to the Jets and New Yorkers were picking back-to-back. The Jets took tight end Dustin Keller from Purdue.

So what about the Super Bowl champs at #31. They did what many mock-drafters thought they did – they went to replace Gibril Wilson with Kenny Phillips, the safety from Miami. He’s 6’2” and 212.

Check your local paper and fill in the gaps.

For all the fun and the speculation of mock-drafts, there’s nothing like the unpredictability of trades and the gambling that is the real deal. Next time, we’ll do some analysis of how the teams did. At least, how they did on paper.

Because don’t forget, a few weeks into last season people were saying that Eli Manning was an over-rated bust and the Giants gave up much too much to draft him. Sometimes it just takes some time to fully learn the pro game and become the kind of player the scouts predicted.

Who is this year’s Eli Manning?