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Post by rc on Dec 27, 2023 20:37:06 GMT -6
Texas A&M is playing a fourth string quarterback and they only have 2 of 11 starters on defense. The portal has hurt them badly and maybe a few are thinking of the NFL and not wanting injury. It is a bit of a downer to get a bowl bid and then have your team show up very different than they were during the season. I think the portal rules need some refining. I just heard the TV announcers say 31 of the Aggie players are not at the bowl game.
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Post by Cap'n Cattitude on Dec 29, 2023 10:34:45 GMT -6
I think the portal has created unreasonable expectations that the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence. Especially among those players that are highly recruited. They don’t want to wait to play.
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Post by Outsider on Dec 29, 2023 10:50:24 GMT -6
I think the portal has helped to create an unreasonable sense of entitlement that players don't have to wait to play. Although it can help some get out of bad situations, it was never designed or regulated well enough to protect teams/programs from those who abuse it for self interest above everything else.
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Post by bogeyman on Dec 29, 2023 11:37:18 GMT -6
Tyrin Bradley starred in West Virginia's bowl victory.
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Post by rc on Dec 29, 2023 16:41:43 GMT -6
It seems to me a first thing, if one is going to keep NIL and the portal around, is the player sort of owes it to their university to play for championships and bowl games.
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Post by Outsider on Dec 29, 2023 18:57:04 GMT -6
It seems to me a first thing, if one is going to keep NIL and the portal around, is the player sort of owes it to their university to play for championships and bowl games. That mentality left a long time ago before NIL and the transfer portal. |
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Post by rc on Dec 29, 2023 19:52:23 GMT -6
It seems to me a first thing, if one is going to keep NIL and the portal around, is the player sort of owes it to their university to play for championships and bowl games. That mentality left a long time ago before NIL and the transfer portal. Yep. |
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Post by buckeyecat on Jan 1, 2024 14:54:45 GMT -6
If you are a star football player and a definite NFL draft pick with a big contract coming, you definitely do not want to risk all of that by playing in what is now a meaningless bowl game. This will only get worse with the expansion of the playoff system. Bowl games will become only exhibition games for the big boys.
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Post by Outsider on Jan 1, 2024 15:18:30 GMT -6
If you are a star football player and a definite NFL draft pick with a big contract coming, you definitely do not want to risk all of that by playing in what is now a meaningless bowl game. This will only get worse with the expansion of the playoff system. Bowl games will become only exhibition games for the big boys. That's because being a football player used to be more important than being a "star" at one point in time. Real football players worried about more than a fleeting point in time in the NFL because they knew they would play in the NFL anyway, and if by the wild chance that something actually happened, they played their best for their team every chance they had. They also knew they were bigger men and could still live productive lives knowing they gave all they could and didn't live for fame or contracts. |
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Post by mavsman53 on Jan 1, 2024 15:58:29 GMT -6
Outsider, I understand what you are saying to a point, but I think about guys like Willis McGahee and Jaylon Smith. Both played in bowl games and both had horrific injuries. Yes, they got to play in the NFL, but I would argue their careers were not what they could have been had they chosen not to play. I do respect players like Bo Nix and others that choose to play, but if a player is a lock to be a 1st round pick, I can't fault him for sitting out. Why risk tearing an acl or breaking your leg like Jaylon Smith did?
There are players that opt out for the NFL, but to me that is secondary. The bigger issue for me is the transfer portal and the timing of it. FSU had more guys hit the portal than they did opt out for the NFL. When A&M played, they had 3 scholarship WRs. That is crazy! Not sure how you change it, when classes start in early to mid-January, but something needs to change there.
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Post by rc on Jan 1, 2024 16:32:51 GMT -6
To me it seems that college football is setting itself up for a decline in fan interest. The portal and NIL and the NFL all are factors that can diminish the interest in the massive number of bowl games plus the length of time a player stays at a school is now a question. School loyalty is not as important as the staircase to the NFL. Who can blame the players when the NFL offers opportunities for personal wealth? That is just the world we live in today. The problem is when school loyalty is diminished, fan loyalty can diminish as well. There will still be huge interest in the top handful of teams each year, the ones that get in the national playoffs, but overall, college football is very likely to have a different future than older fans remember.
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Post by Outsider on Jan 1, 2024 17:50:44 GMT -6
Outsider, I understand what you are saying to a point, but I think about guys like Willis McGahee and Jaylon Smith. Both played in bowl games and both had horrific injuries. Yes, they got to play in the NFL, but I would argue their careers were not what they could have been had they chosen not to play. I do respect players like Bo Nix and others that choose to play, but if a player is a lock to be a 1st round pick, I can't fault him for sitting out. Why risk tearing an acl or breaking your leg like Jaylon Smith did? There are players that opt out for the NFL, but to me that is secondary. The bigger issue for me is the transfer portal and the timing of it. FSU had more guys hit the portal than they did opt out for the NFL. When A&M played, they had 3 scholarship WRs. That is crazy! Not sure how you change it, when classes start in early to mid-January, but something needs to change there. Because, even if you get that close, there is more to life than the NFL and you are still choosing yourself over your teammates. I understand what you are saying, but those types of injuries are far and few between. If you are living a life of hedging those types of bets, then I think you need to reevaluate your life a little. You risked those injuries for four + years. You should have been using those four + years to prepare for another life beyond another 3-6 years of continuing to play football, and you should be able to give one more day to your teammates. Yes, the transfer portal has only amplified that problem. It has solidified that the P5 is no longer college athletics and has now officially transitioned into semi-pro. How many teammates got crapped all over because selfish players decided to get theirs, as well as fans that paid hundreds and hundreds of dollars to see a team play that never showed up? Sorry, but yes, there is some fault there. Does it make them an absolutely horrible and disgusting human being? Not necessarily, but it's high time people who make decisions accept those consequences, especially if they want to reap the benefits of it. Both need to change, but neither will because the transition has already taken place. Like RC and I already stated. The attitude changed a long time ago, now it's out in the open and official. We are just finally seeing the regular consequences of it... It means that there is more to being an athlete than talent. |
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Post by Outsider on Jan 1, 2024 17:56:17 GMT -6
To me it seems that college football is setting itself up for a decline in fan interest. The portal and NIL and the NFL all are factors that can diminish the interest in the massive number of bowl games plus the length of time a player stays at a school is now a question. School loyalty is not as important as the staircase to the NFL. Who can blame the players when the NFL offers opportunities for personal wealth? That is just the world we live in today. The problem is when school loyalty is diminished, fan loyalty can diminish as well. There will still be huge interest in the top handful of teams each year, the ones that get in the national playoffs, but overall, college football is very likely to have a different future than older fans remember. Who cares when the team in the big bowl games and the team in the playoffs isn't the same team? That's besides the regular merry-go round that all college teams experience every year. I have lost more and more interest in FBS football, but even FCS has its moments. It's harder and harder to keep up with our own Cats from year to year. |
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