I suppose this is the simple and obvious reality all sports fans must come to grips with. Either accept it and move on as a sports fan or reject it and give up being a fan.
For generations, participating in sports was a vehicle for learning sacrifice, discipline, commitment, hard work and teamwork. As society in general has become increasingly narcissistic (undeniable), that has simply changed and is no longer the case and it's really just a matter if you are on board with the current model. Many are. Many are not. These value were, obviously, eroded long ago at the professional level. For many, college sports was seen as the last bastion for these values. Pro sports was corrupted, but you still had college athletes competing for the love of the sport and the aforementioned values. After all, almost no college athlete was going to play professionally, so these values served as the motivation for their effort and participation. But, unfortunately, everything trickles down.
It is now commonly accepted, even applauded, that a member of a sports team should cast off sacrifice, discipline and commitment in pursuit of personal goals. After all, who can fault someone for doing what's best for themselves? Don't we all make decisions in other areas of life in our own best interest? Why shouldn't they? Yes, sports in the past was built on the principle of a group of people setting aside personal goals as the primary objective in favor of the pursuit of team goals. That simply is no longer the case. And it's generally approved, accepted and encouraged.
Hard work is also largely discouraged. If you can't get what you want by working for it, just go somewhere else where it will come easier.
One can argue and blame the NCAA for having harsh rules or blame coaches for making lots of money. But those arguments really do a poor job of explaining the shifting landscape. The NCAA had rules for decades and coaches made a lot more money than the players for a very long time. If the above values were intact, these factors alone could not possibly have caused the seismic shift we've seen.
Many, obviously, don't care about the values referenced above and are enthusiastically supportive of the current situation. Others futilely cling to the notion that these values in sports still matter, or at least should matter. This alone explains the philosophical divide among fans as we look at the contemporary issues of NIL, the transfer portal and opting out.
There's no argument these values are of greatly diminished importance, or no importance at all, in college sports today. It's simply a matter of whether you embrace or reject it.
For generations, participating in sports was a vehicle for learning sacrifice, discipline, commitment, hard work and teamwork. As society in general has become increasingly narcissistic (undeniable), that has simply changed and is no longer the case and it's really just a matter if you are on board with the current model. Many are. Many are not. These value were, obviously, eroded long ago at the professional level. For many, college sports was seen as the last bastion for these values. Pro sports was corrupted, but you still had college athletes competing for the love of the sport and the aforementioned values. After all, almost no college athlete was going to play professionally, so these values served as the motivation for their effort and participation. But, unfortunately, everything trickles down.
It is now commonly accepted, even applauded, that a member of a sports team should cast off sacrifice, discipline and commitment in pursuit of personal goals. After all, who can fault someone for doing what's best for themselves? Don't we all make decisions in other areas of life in our own best interest? Why shouldn't they? Yes, sports in the past was built on the principle of a group of people setting aside personal goals as the primary objective in favor of the pursuit of team goals. That simply is no longer the case. And it's generally approved, accepted and encouraged.
Hard work is also largely discouraged. If you can't get what you want by working for it, just go somewhere else where it will come easier.
One can argue and blame the NCAA for having harsh rules or blame coaches for making lots of money. But those arguments really do a poor job of explaining the shifting landscape. The NCAA had rules for decades and coaches made a lot more money than the players for a very long time. If the above values were intact, these factors alone could not possibly have caused the seismic shift we've seen.
Many, obviously, don't care about the values referenced above and are enthusiastically supportive of the current situation. Others futilely cling to the notion that these values in sports still matter, or at least should matter. This alone explains the philosophical divide among fans as we look at the contemporary issues of NIL, the transfer portal and opting out.
There's no argument these values are of greatly diminished importance, or no importance at all, in college sports today. It's simply a matter of whether you embrace or reject it.
