The Bucs taking RB Cadillac Williams was the easy part...the draft contest winner made 10 other correct predictions
Recently a lady in Las Vegas, a grandmother and obviously a veteran lever-puller, won a $1 million jackpot for the second time in less than a year on the same slot machine. Experts put the odds of such an occurrence in the one-in-a-trillion range.
That's amazing…amazingly lucky.
Then there's Chris Brown.
A year ago, Buccaneers.com wrote about Mr. Brown, a Tampa Bay Buccaneers fan from San Rafael, California. The occasion: Announcing the winner of "Pick10," the 2004 Buccaneers.com draft contest. At the time, we called him "the real draft expert" and jokingly suggested that Mel Kiper step aside.
Maybe that's not such a joke.
It may not be a trillion-to-one shot, but then again this double-jackpot required a little more skill than pulling a slot machine arm.
That's right: Chris Brown is the winner of the 2005 Buccaneers.com draft contest, "20 Questions."
Last year, Brown's acumen in the Pick10 contest netted him two tickets to the Buccaneers game of his choice and a signed Super Bowl coffee table book. This year, he'll be headed back to Tampa, and with more friends, as the prize is four tickets to the game of his choice.
It only makes sense that Brown's prize should be bigger this year, because it took more to win the Twenty Questions. A year ago, Brown correctly predicted eight of 11 selections – the first 10 in the first round and the Bucs' selection at number 15. This time around, he was asked to make predictions on 20 different topics, ranging from the number of offensive linemen to go in the first round to the position played by Mr. Irrelevant.
Brown won the contest by getting 11 of the 20 right. Among his accurate predictions was the Bucs' selection of Auburn running back Cadillac Williams, the status of cornerback Adam Jones as the player taken right after Tampa Bay's first pick and the emergence of Oklahoma as the school with the most draftees.
Brown also correctly predicted the number of picks the Bucs would eventually make after trades (12), the spot at which the first defensive player would be taken (6th pick), the second running back drafted (Cedric Benson), the first defensive lineman drafted (DeMarcus Ware), the third quarterback drafted (Jason Campbell), the position with the most first-round picks (wide receiver), the round in which the first kicker would be drafted (second) and the first team to draft a tight end (Pittsburgh).
Brown also prevailed against a much bigger field of entrants this year. After beating out a field of just over 1,000 contestants last year, Brown came in first among approximately 1,800 this year. The contest allowed Buccaneers.com visitors to enter simply by using pulldown lists at the end of each of the 20 questions.
Brown did so better than anybody else, and he now has two decision to make. One, which game does he wish to attend with his hard-won tickets? And, two, to whom should he send his resume at ESPN?
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For those who entered, here are the 20 questions followed by their correct answers:
- Who will the Buccaneers draft with their first overall pick? (RB Carnell Williams)
- The Buccaneers start the 2005 draft with 12 picks. Given the possibility of trades, how many picks will they eventually make in the draft? (12)
- Who will be the second running back selected? (Cedric Benson)
- At which pick will the first defensive player be drafted? (6)
- Which team will be the first to trade down? (Houston)
- Which team will be the first to trade up? (New Orleans)
- Which player will go one pick before the Bucs' pick? (Cedric Benson)
- Which player will go one pick after the Bucs' pick? (Adam Jones)
- To the nearest 10-minute mark, how long will the first round take to complete (in hours and minutes)? (5:50)
- Who will be the first defensive lineman drafted? (DeMarcus Ware)
- Who will be the third quarterback drafted? (Jason Campbell)
- Which position will have the most players drafted in the first round? (Wide receiver)
- How many offensive linemen will be drafted in the first round? (4)
- In what round will the first placekicker be drafted? (2)
- What position will "Mr. Irrelevant" play? (Tight end)
- What position will the Bucs draft in the second round? (Linebacker)
- What position will the Bucs draft in the third round? (Tight end)
- Which university will have the most players drafted overall (Oklahoma)
- Which team will be the first to draft a tight end? (Pittsburgh)
- Finally, and most importantly, what color suit will the first player to be drafted be wearing when he appears on stage after his selection? (Gray)
