His memory of the 1991 NFL draft was sitting in his off campus apartment waiting for the phone to ring. A trip to New York City on draft weekend wasn't even a remote thought let alone a reality for a defensive lineman from North Dakota State. But Radio City Music Hall is exactly where Bills Wall of Famer Phil Hansen as he will step to the lectern at the 2012 NFL draft to announce the Bills second round draft choice on April 27th.
"For me it's a great thrill to be going over there," Hansen told Buffalobills.com. "I went through the draft, but I've never been there before. For them to think of me to go out there and announce that is pretty cool."
Hansen was a second-round pick of the Bills 21 years ago in the 1991 NFL draft.
"I know the NFL has kind of changed the way they do things with the draft turning it into a premiere event, but I'll be laughing all the way to New York," said Hansen. "It's just going to be a great, exciting time for me. I'm looking forward to taking it all in."
The former defensive stalwart is planning to arrive in New York a couple of days prior to his big announcement Friday night, and hopes to have his wife Diann with him.
"There are a few events that we'll go to as well as a luncheon with Commissioner Goodell," he said. "There's some evening party as a kickoff before the draft so those will be fun to take in. I'm there for the experience."
An experience he missed out on holed up in his "old apartment" as he called it back in '91.
Hansen just hopes he's as lucky as fellow Wall of Famer Andre Reed was last year when he got to announce Aaron Williams as Buffalo's second-round pick.
"I just hope whoever they pick in the second round please make it a Jim Smith," he said. "I'm really worried they're going to pick a guy with 16 letters in his first name and 20 in his last name."
Either way Hansen felt honored to be asked to represent the team again.
"My experience with the Buffalo Bills for 11 years was great," he said. "I didn't think it could get any better, but to go up on the Wall of Fame last year and to bring my kids there who weren't born at the time to see what I did, that was spectacular. Now this, it's just icing on the cake. I didn't think it could get any better and the Bills seem to find ways to make it better for me."
Announce the Bills 4th round pickEarlier this week the Buffalo Bills announced a new partnership agreement with Delta Sonic Car Wash. The Bills and Delta Sonic are also teaming up to launch the "Announce the Bills 4th Round Draft Pick" contest.
Under this contest, one winner will be selected to receive a trip to New York City to announce the Bills 4th round draft pick at Radio City Music Hall on Saturday, April 28, 2012. The trip includes:
- Roundtrip airfare for two
- Hotel accommodations for two
- Two tickets to the 4th round of the draft
- A professional car detail from Delta Sonic and a Buffalo Bills prize pack
Five runners up will also receive a Delta Sonic prize pack.
Fans can enter now on the Buffalo Bills Official Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/BuffaloBills or the Delta Sonic Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/DeltaSonicCarWash.
The winners will be chosen at random. Participants may enter once per day on both Facebook pages to increase their chances of winning. Season ticket holders who enter will receive an extra entry. The contest will close Tuesday, April 10, 2012 at 5:00 p.m. EST.
