This is it. The last bastion for the hardcore NFL fan. The NFL Draft.

Think about it. The casual football fan has sabotaged practically everything else in the NFL. Opening day is now a Thursday night game preceded by a one-hour rock concert. The league recently awarded NBC the Sunday night television package with a “flexible” schedule, meaning the league can change start times on a short notice so as to create more appetizing match-ups to the casual fan. A couple of years ago. playoff game start times were moved back to assure more viewers in prime time.

And the Super Bowl, well, that was a lost cause a long time ago, where the game takes third billing behind the commercials and the halftime show.

All that’s left for the NFL lifer is the draft. It is a spring oasis for the football junkie and it is the only thing about the game that hasn’t been soured by the league’s entertainment division.

Yet.

Given the buzz that the draft generates, the weeks of hype leading up to the fourth weekend in April, the cult of personality that surrounds Mel Kiper and the other so-called draft experts, it’s only a matter of time before the NFL Draft becomes the “NFL Draft Extravaganza.”

Brace yourselves. We’re on the verge of Paul Tagliabue introducing Usher and Kelly Clarkson for some between picks entertainment and Suzy Kolber asking Ashton Kutcher for his first round predictions.

Want some draft analysis? Switch to the NFL Network.

If, in fact, the league does decide to turn the draft into yet another entertainment vehicle for the masses, I say they go all out.

I mean, if you really want to draw the casual and non-fans in, liven things up a little.

What do they do now? Teams consult with their draft war room on the phone, write their selection on a card, then hand it to the commissioner. It’s not exactly compelling television.

Rather than having the teams make their selections in a predetermined order, add some suspense. Set up an obstacle course and make each team’s top choice from the previous draft run it. Best time wins the top pick, second best wins the No. 2 pick, and so forth.

Let’s add even more tension to the proceedings. If the teams really want value for their pick, make them earn it. Rather than have them hand in their selection on a card, set up a dart board with a bunch of names on it. Whatever they hit, they git.

Chris Berman: “Well, next up we have the Arizona Cardinals. Let’s send it down to Ed Werder for their selection.”

Werder: “Thanks Chris. And this year, the Cardinals have brought in British pub darts champion Nigel Jones in hopes of getting the blue chip quarterback they’ve been searching for. Jones is lining up the board now. Here’s his throw, and, oh, that’s a tough break! The dart landed on Army quarterback Zac Dahman. On the plus side, they should do well in the obstacle course next year.”

And why stop there? Why not have each of the draftees, once they’re selected, choose between answering a difficult question or performing one of those staples of the old Nickelodeon game shows, a “Physical Challenge”? Include plenty of green slime and the pre-teens will be hooked. If the player answers the question wrong (they have to put all that intense studying to some use, don’t they?) or fails the physical challenge, his selection is null and void and he can’t be picked again until the next round.

Now that I think about it, the NFL is really missing out on something here. Just turn it into a game show. Heck, you’ve already got Chris Berman, a wannabe game show host, replete with the ego and the loud blazers. All he needs is Kiper’s hair.

I’m telling you, it’s going to happen in our lifetime. And yeah, when it does, it’s going to stink being a hardcore football fan. But it could be worse.

FOX could buy the broadcast rights to the draft, get Ryan, Simon, Randy and Paula involved, build a reality series around it and draw it out over 18 weeks.