Lets honestly think of the number of students (because these guys signing to play football are "student-athletes") that go to college each year... Obviously, there are some very intelligent high school seniors out there, but we never hear about them on the national media. They never get ranked as SAT Top150. No one I know that earned a significant scholarship to school for reasons other than athletics got the privilege of signing an intent letter.
Don't get me wrong I follow sports as much as or more than most and I am not saying that academic letters of intent should be implemented into the mainstream. But, I just thought it was interesting that the media throws these 18 year old high school seniors in front of a national audience (for many their first real media exposure) to make one of the most important decisions they will face in their lifetime. Granted, I am sure that most of the decision making is made in the friendly confines of home along with family long before a camera guy says "action". But either way, the decision they make influences so many people and they have to stomach that.
Basically, as I flipped through the channels and watched ESPN U briefly this morning, it made me think of all the scholars and athletes of second tier sports that undoubtedly deserve national attention for their accomplishments. Really I just took a different look at "National signing day" and figured out its not really that "national"...
P.S.: How do the scouts even know if these homies are going to perform well when they get to college?
Obviously, the reasoning for anything comes down to one thing-- money.
ReplyDeleteIf there was a market for people that wanted to watch nerdy high school kids that scored well on their tests signing their letters of intent, there would be a television station that would pick up the program, because Pocket Protector, Inc. and World of Warcraft would be knocking down the doors to advertise during the telecast.
What it boils down to is there are so many crazy college football fans that know every single recruit that their favorite team has coming in that watches stuff like this. Their day is ruined if the #3 WR in the country that is supposed to sign with their team throws a curveball and picks a different school. If people didn't watch it, it wouldn't be on TV. But they do.
So, what are you saying about me Ed? Because I will definitely admit that I am one of these fans. I would call it passion, others would call it something else.
ReplyDeleteJ Sauer, I was not saying that these type of fans are a bad thing because I am certainly one of them. Passion would be the operative word in my opinion...I just explore another side of NSD
ReplyDeleteKKF-- He was talking to me. I wasn't bashing-- I'm halfway one of them, just not so much as I used to be.
ReplyDeleteJust trying to seek truth.
I'm just giving Ed shit because he knows how much I love ND football.
ReplyDeleteManti Te'o is the second coming then J Sauer?
ReplyDelete