In the past decade or so, the NFL Draft has become a full-fledged spectacle.

Hardcore football fans have gained enough knowledge, thanks to a boatload of publications and the 24-hour news cycle, on each and every prospect set to enter the league each April. It's gotten so bad that Detroit Lions 2009 seventh-round pick Zack Follett has already become sort of a cult hero to Lions fans even though most know he'll only play on two circumstances: special teams, or if every other linebacker on the roster contracts swine flu.

The weekend of the two-day draft (traditionally, the first three rounds took place on Saturday, with the remaining four taking place that Sunday) is just as big, as guys get together with friends to take everything in. Bars offer specials to get gridiron heads off the couch. Teams even host draft-day parties, complete with autograph signings, snacks and a viewing party. The Lions even sold Matt Stafford jerseys the day of the draft this past April.

For the past few years, my boys and I have gotten together to analyze and scrutinize every pick; to debate the ESPN and NFL Network talking heads, and to generally enjoy a spring day where football, technically in its off-season, towers above all. There's even some hi jinx involved. In 2007, my best friend Matt, who's admittedly a sensitive guy, got upset and left my apartment after some good-natured ribbing. To top it off, he took a half-eaten pizza he had brought over with him. Talk about taking your ball and going home. I never thought I'd see anybody take such ownership over a Hot-N-Ready.

That may change next April, as NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell Thursday notified teams that the draft would be spread over three days in 2010, running Thursday, April 22, through Saturday, April 24. The first round will start in prime time at 7:30 p.m. ET.

"We continue to look for ways to make the draft more accessible to more fans," Goodell said in a statement. "Moving the first round to prime time on Thursday night will make the first round of the draft available to fans on what is typically the most-watched night of television."

ESPN and the NFL Network will continue to televise the entire show.

The second and third rounds will start at 6:30 p.m. ET on April 23.

Rounds 4 through 7 will be on April 24, starting at 10 a.m. ET.

According to published reports,

From 1988 to 1994, the NFL held its draft on Sunday-Monday two-day blocks. From 1995 to 2009, the league made it a Saturday-Sunday event.

That change may spell the end of my NFL Draft watching.

As subtle as it may seem, that's a big change. Whenever the draft comes along, the day of the event, something inside my head says to me, "Have another Summer Shandy. The stores just put them on the shelves TODAY. It's a Saturday, have some fun." I can't have that much fun on a Thursday night. I'll take a Thursday and Friday off for the first two days of the Big Dance, but not for the draft. I don't have that many vacation days, anyway.

Another killer for me is the NBA Playoffs begin around the time of the draft. For the puck heads, the NHL post-season is already in full swing by late April. So I'd have to ask myself, "watch Kobe and KD (Kevin Durant) go shot for shot in a playoff game, or listen to Mel Kiper Jr?" That's not that difficult a decision. You could always utilize the multiple TV approach, but come weeknights in mid-April, my mind is on the Lakers and the road they have to take to the title.

I know the NFL is banking on its immense popularity to draw people in on Thursdays, but that night is huge for the networks. That time of year signals the end of seasons of shows such as Law & Order (my Mom and girlfriend could watch marathons of this for days. Get them a bedpan and they wouldn't even get off the couch), Grey's Anatomy and 30 Rock. As big as the NFL has become, it doesn't have a stranglehold on the mainstream. Plus, you can get away with bogarting the remote on a Saturday afternoon, but on a Thursday? In primetime? Significant others aren't having it.

But NFL officials aren't idiots. It's a money move: for the league AND its network. Thursday and Friday will add two prime nights to the TV schedule (Thursday more so than Friday. Last I checked, Surviving Suburbia wasn't "Must-see TV."), bumping the NFL Network on the key nights, allowing them to seal advertising revenues at a significantly higher rate and result in a push from people wanting to add NFL Network to their cable package.

The bottom line is vital to NFL execs. But what about the fans? Nobody I know is gonna hold a draft-day party for the 4th-7th rounds. I know those are the rounds where most of the gems are hidden, but I'm not gonna waste a traditionally good day (weather-wise) listening to Adam Schefter over-analyze some left tackle from Idaho.

I can see Friday-Sunday. That would lead fans to believe the NFL had them in mind, giving them a reason to rush home at the end of the workweek, call their buddies, whip up some seven-layer dip and watch the first round. But why Thursday?

Wouldn't the league stand to generate more revenue if they did Friday-Sunday if for no other reason than watching the draft would give people a reason to sit at home on a Friday night? Not to mention all the money it would generate for bars. People work Friday mornings, so most are not getting wasted on a Thursday night. But a Friday is a totally different story, especially since that would lead into when people are used to sleeping in and watching the draft, anyway.

I'm not a fan of the change, and in some ways, it brings out a certain arrogance from the league.

So my viewing of the draft will probably diminish thanks to this bad idea.

Now, putting the Super Bowl on in prime time on a Saturday...