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The world of football has changed.

The Spin Meister

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Nov 27, 2012
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An altered state
Posted this in a different thread but it is worth discussin.

College football is so much different. First up, the players. Used to be kids played multiple sports, played where coaches wanted them to, and dreamed of playing for the local/regional power. Now they concentrate on one sport, one position, play it all year. Attend camps, hire trainers, get dad jobs as coaches. The entire high school regime is about maximizing chances to get to the NFL.

Because of that they pick the mega powers that win natties. They know not only the head coach but which school has the best position coach that will get him to the NFL. There are recruiting gurus that find every player and rate them so it’s nearly impossible to find a hidden gem. And kids care far less about where dad played and go where the odds are best. And dad supports that because millions of dollars are on the line.

So the machine schools dominate and it’s very difficult to break through. And NIL and Portal is making it worse. Now kids get big bucks so they can play anywhere and help out mom and dad if needed. And the entire family can afford to travel to games now so no need to stay close to home.

Add in the playoff madness that only a very few schools can say they make it almost every year. Kids love that attention and added publicity it gets them. For a five star kid, that playoff competition can make a third rounder into a first rounder. From a half million dollar bonus to three years and a huge bonus. Huge.

Perhaps the 12 team playoffs will help. But for it to change things some teams in the 8-10 range will have to go on a run and at least make the finals. And winning one and fading away won’t do it. A school will have to win several title to join The Club……like Clemson did.

Its a different world, a different game, and different sport. And a massive business.

Even the tv coverage is so different. In the old days teams played regional rivalries usually on regional tv. Think Pitt, WVU, Syracuse, Maryland. So that helped keep recruiting regional neighbors argued with neighbors. Now every team gets national coverage every weekend. Doesn’t matter where you play the hometown can still watch.

The game has changed. The world has changed. Period.
 
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The money being thrown around college football is killing it's innocence. The transfer portal is nothing but glorified NFL free agency and I don't care for the NIL. Stupid me, I thought 18 year olds went to college to get an education to help themselves live a good life. I'm coming not to recognize the game I grew up loving.
 
The money being thrown around college football is killing it's innocence. The transfer portal is nothing but glorified NFL free agency and I don't care for the NIL. Stupid me, I thought 18 year olds went to college to get an education to help themselves live a good life. I'm coming not to recognize the game I grew up loving.
Most of the top recruits out of high school go to college to get an education and they already have a major when they arrive. The major is pre-NFL. Money more than anything else has killed the game you remember.
 
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The money being thrown around college football is killing it's innocence. The transfer portal is nothing but glorified NFL free agency and I don't care for the NIL. Stupid me, I thought 18 year olds went to college to get an education to help themselves live a good life. I'm coming not to recognize the game I grew up loving.
I don't have a problem with players being paid. I don't like the way it is being done. I don't think NIL should have any impact on a player attending a school either out of high school or via the portal. It should be reserved for those who can get sponsors on their own and those are actually seeing their name and likeness used without compensation. E g. if EA Sports wants to put a player on the cover they should pay. If Penn State wants to issue a players number as the jersey for that year they pay. We should not have to form collectives to try to outbid others or make sure everyone gets theirs. That favors schools in larger metros or states and also those with wealthier alumni.
 
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Nah, the best regular season in sports will be destroyed. Sad. The idea that there are 12 teams that can win the national championship is idiotic.
See every other sport
Honestly, the idea that the importance of the regular season is diminished is false. Sure, it may be diminished for those that will always make the playoff but there's a ton of games that will have much more importance moving forward whether that's battling for a low seed, or seeding or the G5 teams actually having a realistic shot that isn't just a fluke.
We'll play way more meaningful games. Now, we're forced to worry about a tiebreaker between teams that have little to nothing to play for other than pride.
You don't have to like all changes but a larger playoff is a huge win--especially for our program.
 
The game we grew up watching is gone and never coming back. College football will die before it ever changes back to what we watched in the 70s-80s-90s.
(Full disclosure: I started watching with my Dad in the 60s. The good OLD days.)
Yep, it'll never be like it was. Like so many things.
 
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Nah, the best regular season in sports will be destroyed. Sad. The idea that there are 12 teams that can win the national championship is idiotic.
Should be eight teams. A) Hate the big four getting a bye week. B)10-12 have almost no chance of winning. Games between top three and 10-12 are rarely even close games.

Only good thing about 12 is a team tnat had early season injuries….or develops a new star And goes on a late run should be rewarded. But that could be done with eight.
 
Should be eight teams. A) Hate the big four getting a bye week. B)10-12 have almost no chance of winning. Games between top three and 10-12 are rarely even close games.

Only good thing about 12 is a team tnat had early season injuries….or develops a new star And goes on a late run should be rewarded. But that could be done with eight.
Agreed, I personally have less interest in sports than I ever had in my life. I can give a list why but it comes down to its importance in my life.

I’ve seen changes in all aspects of the game that I don’t enjoy so I opted out other than watching Penn state on tv. None of these proposed changes will make it a better or more interesting viewing experience to me. And I’m starting to dislike sports fans more and more.

People get to cranked up over it imo.
 
Another impactful change that I failed to mention in the OP was social media and how it changed everything. It’s a major impact in recruiting as kids recruit one another. They meet at various camps and become friends for life through social media. Makes them all want to play together in college.

Plus, they become superstars with national followings. That adds to more pressure from fans to join the big boys. Fans all showering them with love and telling them how much they love certain schools and certain coaches.

And the kids know they can monetize their media feeds so attending schools with massive fan bases means more fame and money. In this modern world, that fame is huge.
 
Another impactful change that I failed to mention in the OP was social media and how it changed everything. It’s a major impact in recruiting as kids recruit one another. They meet at various camps and become friends for life through social media. Makes them all want to play together in college.

Plus, they become superstars with national followings. That adds to more pressure from fans to join the big boys. Fans all showering them with love and telling them how much they love certain schools and certain coaches.

And the kids know they can monetize their media feeds so attending schools with massive fan bases means more fame and money. In this modern world, that fame is huge.
This is a good call out--I think it also makes kids less concerned about staying close to home
 
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You’re just realizing this now? With the 12 team playoff, stick a fork in what we knew college football to be. It’s over. Sad.
Yes, this is true. Once Pandora’s box (derivative revenue stream) was opened to adding an extra game and well received (and often advocated for) by the primary football revenue stream (fans via paid attendance) the end of the “cultural tool” as we knew college football to be was signaled. Now with “expanding” the playoff field derivative revenue streams (NIL, gambling, “white out” experiences, etc.) will continue to increase YoY with no end in sight, until ultimately, the sport consumes itself. All of this will happen under the mantra of “its job creation for so many”. Coaches will continually be overpaid to introduce “innovative” coaching philosophies while being rewarded for “metrics” and “statistics” instead of results. Player safety will eventually turn the sport into flag football (all because we won’t teach the fundamentals of football which actually protect against injury from poor tackling technique). All the while, the bookies and “legalized” gambling machines will be laughing all the way to the bank while the “consumers” will eventually stoop to wagering their mortgage for “one more fix”. It’s unfortunate, but the next generation will call it the “new normal”, while throwing their hands up in the air and saying “what can we do about it” while catching an Uber to their “smart home”.

“Uncommon valor was not a common virtue.”
-Admiral Chester Nimitz
 
A 12 game regular season followed by conference championships, with is 13 games for some teams, followed by a 12 team playoff is ridiculous, as is players constantly shuffling around from school to school. Or let me qualify that. It's ridiculous if you want to keep any pretense that this has anything to do with academics. They should just be honest and no longer make these guys be students.

Cal and Stanford are in the ACC. Oregon and Washington are in the same conference as Rutgers and Maryland. West Virginia is in the same conference as Arizona and Utah. There is a 20 hour per week limit on how much time into their sport and probably not a single school in the entire country obeys the rule. The Emperor has no clothes.
 
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The money being thrown around college football is killing it's innocence. The transfer portal is nothing but glorified NFL free agency and I don't care for the NIL. Stupid me, I thought 18 year olds went to college to get an education to help themselves live a good life. I'm coming not to recognize the game I grew up loving.
Get an education???? Prime's son the QB, don't know his name is using the bye week to go to Texas for training, what about school? Curious if Prime checks class attendance.
 
Get an education???? Prime's son the QB, don't know his name is using the bye week to go to Texas for training, what about school? Curious if Prime checks class attendance.
Lots of these kids are in school just for football. Which has always been true. Even here.
 
Get an education???? Prime's son the QB, don't know his name is using the bye week to go to Texas for training, what about school? Curious if Prime checks class attendance.
Another brick in the dumbing down of America.
 
I don't have a problem with players being paid. I don't like the way it is being done. I don't think NIL should have any impact on a player attending a school either out of high school or via the portal. It should be reserved for those who can get sponsors on their own and those are actually seeing their name and likeness used without compensation. E g. if EA Sports wants to put a player on the cover they should pay. If Penn State wants to issue a players number as the jersey for that year they pay. We should not have to form collectives to try to outbid others or make sure everyone gets theirs. That favors schools in larger metros or states and also those with wealthier alumni.
NIL stands for name, image and likeness…number does not fall into that. Penn State shouldn’t have to pay for someone using a number. And are people showing up to games these days with #26 jerseys because of Cam Wallace or because they bought it when Barkley played here?
 
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