The Demise of College Football

stevedallas

stevedallas

500+ Posts
I watched (the the 152nd time or so) the 1969 Game of the Century.

What struck me was the teamwork....and how they played for the love of the game.

And I recalled Freddie.....you could not keep him from the Cotton Bowl (even though he could not play but stood...STOOD the whole game on the sideline.)

Nowadays, the Prima Donas won't even play in bowl games. Screw the team and fans who hope they play.

Between NIL and players who opt out of playing, College Football is simply not as fun. There is no school loyalty.

Maybe it is the Army in me, where we have each others' backs. Maybe it is the pride of UT in me. I wanted to go to UT since I was 10 and graduated proudly in 1982.

Or maybe I just hold on to ideals long gone.

Or maybe I am still the Texas kid who idolized Steve Worster and James Street.

Regardless, College Football will never be what it was.
 
Agreed….blame it on—-Money and Lawyers….

There are some nuggets out there.Check out Carson Steele, Ball State—the modern version of Worster. Squats over 600 pounds and has speed and balance. In the Portal now.
 
50 plus years ago the Alamo Bowl and other bowls didn't even exist, only the best teams even made bowl games, so comparing eras is just not an apples to apples comparison. I wouldnt risk my entire financial future on a meaningless thing if there was no upside and only potential downside risk, how can we possibly ask these kids who have literally millions on the line to take the risk of injury in a basically meaningless game. Its not somehow less than what was its just very different than what was, and maybe just maybe a little more realistic than what was.
 
There is a wide array of aspects that are ruining the game for me. The one aspect that I weigh the heaviest is the NFL not having a big farm system for players right out of high school. Many players today, with their lack of a good public education, are not qualified to attend a university.
 
Gylcomer said:
There is a wide array of aspects that are ruining the game for me. The one aspect that I weigh the heaviest is the NFL not having a big farm system for players right out of high school. Many players today, with their lack of a good public education, are not qualified to attend a university.
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There are a lot of high school students who aren't qualified to attend high school.
I get to teach some of them.
 
FW- When you get on the freeways to go to work you are risking your whole future.When you get up in the morning you do not know what will happen to you. Maybe these kids should just stay in bed all day and not take any chances in life. I am tired of excuses for these prima donnas. I loved the game,teammates,school when I played. Granted I wasnt good enough for the NFL. What about firemen,police officers,military,and countless other professions? Maybe we all should stay home in bed.However if we did there would be no NIL,Foundation or NFL. People took risks to establish them.
 
FWHORN said:
50 plus years ago the Alamo Bowl and other bowls didn't even exist, only the best teams even made bowl games, so comparing eras is just not an apples to apples comparison. I wouldnt risk my entire financial future on a meaningless thing if there was no upside and only potential downside risk, how can we possibly ask these kids who have literally millions on the line to take the risk of injury in a basically meaningless game. Its not somehow less than what was its just very different than what was, and maybe just maybe a little more realistic than what was.
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True but if you turn off a large enough chunk of the fan base, college football isn't as profitable or popular. We're headed down that path right now, Thelma
 
Well I’ve hit a patch in life that I’m not sure about things. I’ve enjoyed college football this season. The regular season is awesome. A 12 team playoff will not be. Nil, no. Opt-outs, no. Portal, no. It’s important for me to be in attendance. I’m not sure how much longer I’ll be there. Mercenaries don’t excite me. I’ll cheer Worthy, but he can’t ever be one of my favorites. To be that guy, you’ve gotta be all in. Bowl games mean something. So do rivals, even the lesser profile ones. I’ll take a guy who plays for the school over who plays for the cash. I don’t need more casual fans or casual players.

College football is personal. It’s becoming less so. How much less will it get?
 
It’ll be the free agency via the portal and paying players via NIL that change college ball, and not for the better.

We’ve already seen players for Texas quit the team after a B12 tittle wasn’t possible. Soon players will quit for higher payouts at rival schools.

Eventually I think the amount of money comes down, as big boosters get disappointed with what their big payouts do - look at ATM. Rich Aggies paid high dollar for a 5-7 team? Could have paid nothing and gotten that. Till then, the large amounts of money being paid to players and free agency makes for a drastically different situation than before.
 
It's a different world than I grew up in. I don't care for lots of the "New World", but like it or not, here we are. If someone asked my son to risk a potential/certain multi million $ payday for a chance to put a 2nd rate trophy in somebody's trophy case, I really doubt I'd tell him to opt for the trophy case & I seriously doubt anybody here would either (if we're being honest). We don't live in a perfect world &, truth is we never did. We are in a period of change in college sports. 25-50 yrs from now people will be nostalgic for the "good ole days", you know, back in 2022 when things were how they should have been. I for 1 wil l never throw mud at the young people who represent my university on the field/court/track/pool/etc. They are doing the best they can with the tools & rules they have. Those tools & rules have changed from when I was a young man. I don't think it's right to judge a 2022 college athlete by 1972 tools & rules. Just MHO...take it & $7.50 & you might be able to buy a cup of coffee.
 
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Now high school kids are skipping their senior seasons in the name of safety. After seeing the look on Quinn Ewers face in the TCU game and the complete lack of emotion from him all year I think skipping a year of high school is a signal. A sign of a lack of passion for the game.

When I was in high school I didn't want to miss a play much less a game and if I were told I had to miss a season I would have been devastated. I couldn't imagine skipping my senior year of anything voluntarily.

I have come to grips with college players leaving early for the NFL, but I still don't understand skipping out on the team you're currently on.
 
stevedallas said:
I watched (the the 152nd time or so) the 1969 Game of the Century.

What struck me was the teamwork....and how they played for the love of the game.

And I recalled Freddie.....you could not keep him from the Cotton Bowl (even though he could not play but stood...STOOD the whole game on the sideline.)

Nowadays, the Prima Donas won't even play in bowl games. Screw the team and fans who hope they play.

Between NIL and players who opt out of playing, College Football is simply not as fun. There is no school loyalty.

Maybe it is the Army in me, where we have each others' backs. Maybe it is the pride of UT in me. I wanted to go to UT since I was 10 and graduated proudly in 1982.

Or maybe I just hold on to ideals long gone.

Or maybe I am still the Texas kid who idolized Steve Worster and James Street.

Regardless, College Football will never be what it was.
Click to expand...
Yes, Steve.
I will still watch, but it is quite a mess.
Can't say that I like any of the changes....except perhaps the upcoming playoff expansion....maybe.
(I do hope it forces them to close the gap between postseason and end of regular season, to name just one potential benefit).

Worth saying again, though....I am no fan of the rest of this business.
 
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