NFL Combine 2009: How Homoerotic Can You Get?

by Jon Azpiri | February 23, 2009 at 11:45 am

443 views | 2 Recommendations | 0 comments

The 2009 NFL combine is a chance for NFL scouts and coaches to asssess this year's class of rookies. The entire event is broadcast on the NFL network and is mostly watched by hardcore football fans.

According to the the folks at Outsports, however, the NFL combine appeals to an entirely different demographic: men and women looking for a little male eye candy.

It’s one of the few times you get to see these guys sans helmet. And the commentary is often quite homoerotic as the announcers wax enthusiastically about a guy’s “pipes” (biceps), butt, chest and pretty much every other body part. I heard Jamie Dukes yesterday gush about one tight end candidate: “Look at his butt, and I mean that in the literal sense.” Dukes knows his butts — I was literally looking at the player’s butt and it was a fine one at that.

Outsports isn't the only one to have noticed coaches' and media's obsession with the male form at the NFL combine. Last year, Yahoo's Michael Silver noted that during the combine prospects are paraded around in their underwear to be assessed by football execs.

"They say I’ve got a big butt, which is good for an offensive lineman,” said ex-Texas-El Paso tackle Oniel Cousins. “I don’t care if they want to (talk about my butt), as long as they don’t touch me in that way.”

Before I elaborate on Cousins’ theme – that the combine is the NFL’s answer to Broadway musicals, Barbra Streisand concerts and Fashion Week in South Beach – I want to be clear that this is no way an attack on lifestyle choices. There is nothing inherently negative about men checking out other men.

But from my vantage point, the way it goes down at the combine is a little creepy. And I am not alone.

“This is absolutely normal to me, but a lot of people on the outside think we’re crazy,” 49ers general manager Scot McCloughan says. “I’ll mention someone’s abs or ass or hips or thighs, and they’ll say, ‘What the hell are you talking about?’