Non-College Football Fans look away

as someone whom participated in track and football while in college, I am completely flummoxed about the whole country wide obsession with sports and then the absolute disregard of anything else that seems to matter...oh wait, car racing, and home shopping on television, and increased online betting for the suckers...

I believe Intellectually we've been circling the drain getting closer to the bottom...

that being said...glad to see the underdogs winning and keeping the kids in the game trying harder...

not political just observation...

I have about given up on college football just like I gave up on pro football.?ÿ I realize that money has always been a large player in the sport but it has gotten ridiculous.

If I were made king a LOT of big time schools would not be able to field really good football teams.?ÿ And that includes my team Georgia Tech.?ÿ If it were up to me we would return to (or maybe actually have) STUDENT athletes.?ÿ What I mean is a player would have to be accepted as a student, just like any other student.?ÿ THEN, if they are a good enough athlete, they could be offered a scholarship.

If an athlete entered the "Transfer Portal" they would be required to repay ALL money spent on them before the transfer (tuition, books, meals, housing, etc.).?ÿ Don't even get me started on NIL, we now have HIGH SCHOOL players getting paid big money.?ÿ Kinda defeats the use of the term Amateur.

Off my soap box now.

Andy

The wizards who make the final determinations on who the Final Four will be decided to not punish TCU and left them at #3 despite the loss.?ÿ Had that loss come earlier in the year, they probably would not have been rated so highly.

Nevertheless, #3 TCU will play #2 Michigan in the Fiesta Bowl on December 31 in Glendale, Arizona.?ÿ Just prior to that, #9 Kansas State will play #5 Alabama in the Sugar Bowl in New Orleans, Louisiana.

I understand and appreciate Jitterboogie's comments on "amateur" sports.?ÿ Read a story just a few days ago on several high school athletes who are already making money from the NIL practice.?ÿ NIL stands for name, image and likeness.

If it were up to me we would return to (or maybe actually have) STUDENT athletes.?ÿ What I mean is a player would have to be accepted as a student, just like any other student.?ÿ THEN, if they are a good enough athlete, they could be offered a scholarship.

The unintended consequence of this would be a general degradation of the quality of the education of the student body. Football generates tons of money for the universities which goes into all the facilities, not just the athletic department.?ÿ

Next, there would be a lot of people who would never get a whiff of a college campus if it wasn't for their athletic ability.?ÿ

If you really mean what you say you should be a fan of schools like Harvard, Yale, or the service academies.?ÿ

Right now this so-called four-team college playoff is a joke.?ÿ Last night #11 Utah knocked off #4 USC and ruined the chances of their quarterback to end up with the Heisman Trophy.?ÿ A few minutes ago, #10 Kansas State knocked off #3 TCU

Had the upcoming 12 team playoff system been in effect this year, Utah would have been #3 and Clemson would have been #4, both would have received a first round bye. The real winners would have been TCU, Ohio State, Tennessee and Alabama; they would have gotten a home stadium playoff game with all of $$$ it brings in to the university city.?ÿ ?ÿ

?ÿ

@norman-oklahoma?ÿ You bring up some interesting points.?ÿ Of course, what I opined will never come to pass.?ÿ Money makes the world go around.?ÿ As far as people never getting a whiff of the?ÿ school without a scholarship, I was not proposing the elimination of scholarships, just that those who received them be accepted as a student before the scholarship is awarded.?ÿ One would think that qualifying as a student so one could obtain a scholarship would be extra incentive for learning.?ÿ I have zero problem with providing tutorial help to athletes to help them obtain and retain their scholarships, just that they "play on an even field" (scholastic wise) with those that do not have the physical abilities.

Oh, and I am a fan of the Military Academies, some just more than others.

Andy

Sidetrack: I'm still trying to decode the thread title. Strict interpretation would seem to address fans of non-college football. I suspect it was really meant to alert non-fans of college football to let them skip it.

I fall in the latter category, but out of curiosity had to read enough to interpret it.

(Pulling your chain, HC)

Your reliability is a great trait, Bill93.?ÿ Keep yanking my chain.?ÿ As a reviewer, I am frequently pointing out errors made by others, so it doesn't bother me one bit when I get corrected by someone else.?ÿ It encourages me to be more thoughtful as to whatever I am trying to say.

Screwed up a little message a few days ago where I used 'of' when 'off' was the intended word.?ÿ Spellcheck doesn't help with that.

A friend and colleague was a professor at a prominent Big 10 university at one time. He taught a basic geology class that he refers to as "Rocks for Jocks" which was taught at a very low level. Apparently it is important that star recruits maintain the minimum GPA required to remain eligible for sports.

2 credit class in billiards and snooker

3 credit class in theater appreciation with grade based on attendance only with numerous ways to make up absences

1 credit class in music listening lab handled the same way

Two extreme stories.

A one-time colleague in the seventies who was both a musician and an actuary worked his way through a prestigious private university. One of his jobs was attendant in a late-night on-campus snack bar. Following one of the football team's few wins, a group of players entered the snack bar, stole everything edible, destroyed as much furniture as they could and threatened him before they left.

He often said that the only benefit to society that college sports provided was keeping thugs off the streets for a few years.

My late wife became a hard-core college football fan in her fifties after hating everything about the game for all of her life. She attended a couple of games, saw some amazing athletic ability applied and learned all she could about the game. She was a good judge of recruiting rosters and a very good down and distance play caller and a huge fan of Lincoln Riley football.

When she learned of courses like Football Physics and majors like Recreational Science, she said, "Whatever. Not everybody is a great student and not everybody can play football. What's wrong with universities supporting both?"

Mind you, she was a stickler for grades with our three even in graduate school, but her football players got every consideration.

Just my two sides worth; carry on.

?ÿ

I prefer college football because most any given day, a team playing well together can challenge/beat a team more talented (or with more 5 star recruits).

Glad the committee punched TCU's ticket and Michigan will test to see if they deserve to be there.

Am/was a big fan of amateur athletics.?ÿ Not sure about students on scholarships being able to accept money.?ÿ Maybe they should do away with public supported athletic scholarships ???œ?ÿ

?ÿ

I was half wrong.

There, I said it.

My prognostications went haywire.

USC lost that game, but their quarterback ended up with the Heisman Trophy, anyway.

TCU lost that game, but the selection committe left them at #3 ranking which moved them into the four-team playoff despite that loss.?ÿ Had they lost that game earlier in the year, they probably would have been ranked lower.