4 ms·

I doubt football will end anytime soon, but it should. Especially thinking about universities -- to me, college football is not much more than a tragic exploit

by bo1024 15y ago

I doubt football will end anytime soon, but it should. Especially thinking about universities -- to me, college football is not much more than a tragic exploitation system. Kids are recruited from age 14 and get promised the moon by coaches/staff, spend 5 years getting banged up (concussions etc) for life, and most wind up scraping through with a useless degree if they graduate at all. A tiny percentage go pro and the rest are left out to dry with few career prospects having missed out on their education. Most pros don't make that much during their career and don't have great quality of life after it's over (run out of money, lack of marketable skills, head damage). The big media companies love it, and heads of universities like the "school spirit" and brand appeal (even though most schools lose money on football). But for the players involved, it's basically a scam. Even though they're getting a free education. You might make similar arguments for other college sports (not sure how I feel about that having been part of one), but for football I think it's the most clear-cut.

jwallaceparker 15y ago
>> But for the players involved, it's basically a scam. Even though they're getting a free education. Sure, universities make money off college football, but let's not call this a "tragic exploitation system." The players aren't forced to play. They 'love' football. That's why they're playing. The far majority of college players (in all sports) know that they're not going to be playing professionally. But yet they still play. Because it's their dream to play.
- bo1024 15y ago
  The fact that they volunteer doesn't stop it from being a scam or an exploitation. Especially when you consider that they're being talked into it at 16, 17 years old and their parents often don't have all the facts. It can be your dream to play, but in many cases it's about trading 5 years of "living the dream" for a reduced quality of life, for the rest of their lives. Job prospects, marketable skills, physical and even mental health. The current system offers kids the chance to live their dream, yeah, but in doing so it runs them through the mill and tosses them out the other side. Not true in all cases or for all sports, but true in football far too often.
  - jwallaceparker 15y ago
    How are they "talked into it"? Football is by far the most dangerous sport but players know the risks before they go in. I played high school football 15 years ago and the big issue back then was paralysis. The first day of every season we were shown an extensive video about paralysis and the best way to avoid making risky tackles. It was a scary video to watch. But players know the risks.
    - scelerat 15y ago
      I also played in high school and every year the training season began with an all-league screening of a version of this video, Heads Up: http://www.nata.org/Heads-Up http://www.nata.org/Heads-Up I truly enjoyed football and the friends I made playing it. I've played many other sports and IMO there's no other team sport like it: no room for ego, a lot of pain and a lot of perseverance and discipline required. But I got my bell rung a lot and I was just a "skill" player. Several times I walked back to the huddle after getting hit on an across-the-middle route, not really sure where I was. Injuries happened all the time. It's a fast and violent game.
    - narag 15y ago
      But players know the risks. I use to feel retrospective fear whenever I think about the things I did when I was that age... even knowing the risks. American football is totally unknown to me, but in my country there's that bullfighting thing. People that likes it doesn't seem to realise that it will disappear anyway in less than fifty years, probably much less. So I've found the article very interesting because the similarity.
    - wglb 15y ago
      Part of the point made by some of the ex-players that are contemplating suing the league is that the risks have been concealed from them, systematically.
jm4 15y ago
I don't think it's as dismal as you make it look. My brother just accepted a football scholarship at a highly academically rated BCS school. I think there are 66 BCS schools and each one gives out about 20-24 scholarships each year. It's a huge opportunity to get a free education, play a sport he loves and make lifelong relationships with his teammates. A football locker room at the highest levels is about as exclusive a club as there is. I don't know how much tuition is or the other things the scholarship includes, but I wouldn't be surprised if it approaches $200k. He can be a fool, get beat up and leave without a degree or he can take advantage of an opportunity many people only dream of. The coaches aren't telling him what classes to take. He can take whatever he wants. He can choose a useless program, a great program or anything in between. He can choose to meet the minimum requirements to stay on the team and keep his scholarship or he can choose to excel academically. On the field, he can choose to hide a concussion or take some time off. He won't lose his scholarship over it. Most players feel pressure to play through injuries, and although it can come from peers and coaches, they often place most of it upon themselves. They are incredibly competitive and don't want to be sidelined for anything. My point is all the choices are his to make. The same applies to other players. There are few victims in this who aren't victims of their own decisions. If a kid washes out of some dumbass cake walk program for kids who don't give a shit about school, sustains injuries in a sport he would play with or without a scholarship and has zero career prospects is that the fault of the system? I don't think so. There are ways to twist it around to make it look like a scam, and it's true there are plenty of things wrong with college football, specifically the BCS. It's a feeder system for the NFL, a bunch of people make piles of money and the kids don't make anything. It may be all of those things, but it is also an opportunity for the lucky recipient of a football scholarship to change his life, either for good or bad.
- Zimahl 15y ago
  Sorry to be a Debbie Downer but much of what you say is completely inaccurate, some of it factually, the rest logistically. First, scholarships aren't guaranteed. They are only for 1 year and renewed at the team's discretion. A team can cut you if you get permanently injured. They typically don't because that would look bad to future recruits but if you can't continue with school they aren't going to keep you on scholarship. They can move you to a medical scholarship but that happens less often than you'd think. Second, I don't think you realize the amount of time it takes to play a college sport. There's a reason a lot of athletes take something like General Studies, and it's not because they are all 'dumb jocks'. The college and university will be accommodating but the fact is that there's a lot of practice time (4+ hours a day) and travel. The football season is longer than most, even longer if the team is good (bowl games). Any hard science that has a lab or field work is probably out. I just don't think you are realistically looking at what your brother is getting himself into and your expectations seem way off. He'd have to be one of those rare individuals to get a high-end degree and play a scholarship sport. Choosing to be a scholarship athlete is choosing to work on a sport instead of working on a degree of 'substance'.

by bo1024 15y ago

jwallaceparker 15y ago

>> But for the players involved, it's basically a scam. Even though they're getting a free education. Sure, universities make money off college football, but let's not call this a "tragic exploitation system." The players aren't forced to play. They 'love' football. That's why they're playing. The far majority of college players (in all sports) know that they're not going to be playing professionally. But yet they still play. Because it's their dream to play.

bo1024 15y ago
The fact that they volunteer doesn't stop it from being a scam or an exploitation. Especially when you consider that they're being talked into it at 16, 17 years old and their parents often don't have all the facts. It can be your dream to play, but in many cases it's about trading 5 years of "living the dream" for a reduced quality of life, for the rest of their lives. Job prospects, marketable skills, physical and even mental health. The current system offers kids the chance to live their dream, yeah, but in doing so it runs them through the mill and tosses them out the other side. Not true in all cases or for all sports, but true in football far too often.
- jwallaceparker 15y ago
  How are they "talked into it"? Football is by far the most dangerous sport but players know the risks before they go in. I played high school football 15 years ago and the big issue back then was paralysis. The first day of every season we were shown an extensive video about paralysis and the best way to avoid making risky tackles. It was a scary video to watch. But players know the risks.
  - scelerat 15y ago
    I also played in high school and every year the training season began with an all-league screening of a version of this video, Heads Up: http://www.nata.org/Heads-Up http://www.nata.org/Heads-Up I truly enjoyed football and the friends I made playing it. I've played many other sports and IMO there's no other team sport like it: no room for ego, a lot of pain and a lot of perseverance and discipline required. But I got my bell rung a lot and I was just a "skill" player. Several times I walked back to the huddle after getting hit on an across-the-middle route, not really sure where I was. Injuries happened all the time. It's a fast and violent game.
  - narag 15y ago
    But players know the risks. I use to feel retrospective fear whenever I think about the things I did when I was that age... even knowing the risks. American football is totally unknown to me, but in my country there's that bullfighting thing. People that likes it doesn't seem to realise that it will disappear anyway in less than fifty years, probably much less. So I've found the article very interesting because the similarity.
  - wglb 15y ago
    Part of the point made by some of the ex-players that are contemplating suing the league is that the risks have been concealed from them, systematically.

jm4 15y ago

I don't think it's as dismal as you make it look. My brother just accepted a football scholarship at a highly academically rated BCS school. I think there are 66 BCS schools and each one gives out about 20-24 scholarships each year. It's a huge opportunity to get a free education, play a sport he loves and make lifelong relationships with his teammates. A football locker room at the highest levels is about as exclusive a club as there is. I don't know how much tuition is or the other things the scholarship includes, but I wouldn't be surprised if it approaches $200k. He can be a fool, get beat up and leave without a degree or he can take advantage of an opportunity many people only dream of. The coaches aren't telling him what classes to take. He can take whatever he wants. He can choose a useless program, a great program or anything in between. He can choose to meet the minimum requirements to stay on the team and keep his scholarship or he can choose to excel academically. On the field, he can choose to hide a concussion or take some time off. He won't lose his scholarship over it. Most players feel pressure to play through injuries, and although it can come from peers and coaches, they often place most of it upon themselves. They are incredibly competitive and don't want to be sidelined for anything. My point is all the choices are his to make. The same applies to other players. There are few victims in this who aren't victims of their own decisions. If a kid washes out of some dumbass cake walk program for kids who don't give a shit about school, sustains injuries in a sport he would play with or without a scholarship and has zero career prospects is that the fault of the system? I don't think so. There are ways to twist it around to make it look like a scam, and it's true there are plenty of things wrong with college football, specifically the BCS. It's a feeder system for the NFL, a bunch of people make piles of money and the kids don't make anything. It may be all of those things, but it is also an opportunity for the lucky recipient of a football scholarship to change his life, either for good or bad.

Zimahl 15y ago
Sorry to be a Debbie Downer but much of what you say is completely inaccurate, some of it factually, the rest logistically. First, scholarships aren't guaranteed. They are only for 1 year and renewed at the team's discretion. A team can cut you if you get permanently injured. They typically don't because that would look bad to future recruits but if you can't continue with school they aren't going to keep you on scholarship. They can move you to a medical scholarship but that happens less often than you'd think. Second, I don't think you realize the amount of time it takes to play a college sport. There's a reason a lot of athletes take something like General Studies, and it's not because they are all 'dumb jocks'. The college and university will be accommodating but the fact is that there's a lot of practice time (4+ hours a day) and travel. The football season is longer than most, even longer if the team is good (bowl games). Any hard science that has a lab or field work is probably out. I just don't think you are realistically looking at what your brother is getting himself into and your expectations seem way off. He'd have to be one of those rare individuals to get a high-end degree and play a scholarship sport. Choosing to be a scholarship athlete is choosing to work on a sport instead of working on a degree of 'substance'.