What would it take for you to completely walk away from college football?

[Big JC]

For me, I think it would be players becoming employees and/or union involvement. We are close to the former and if it does come to fruition, the latter won't be far behind.

Thankfully, I have enough other interests that my Fall Saturdays would be full and very enjoyable.

 

[18IsTheMan]

If it stays as it currently is, my interest will wane completely in a few years I imagine.

I just don't have it in me delude myself into thinking the current sport is college football, even if it is marketed as such.

 

[Big JC]

If it stays as it currently is, my interest will wane completely in a few years I imagine.

I just don't have it in me delude myself into thinking the current sport is college football, even if it is marketed as such.

I've already made the transition to "laundry fan", I doubt I'll be very interested in another 5 years. I'll follow the results but I really think I'll be spending more time in the boat and the field in the Fall pretty soon.

 

[Bubba Fett]

Pretty close now. Definitely is less important to me.

 

[18IsTheMan]

I've already made the transition to "laundry fan", I doubt I'll be very interested in another 5 years. I'll follow the results but I really think I'll be spending more time in the boat and the field in the Fall pretty soon.

I've got kids, so that takes my the better part of my Saturdays as it is. I already simply don't have the time to prioritize watching the games like I used to As it is, I mostly maintain interest because of what college football used to be, or what I hope it would be. The current changes are only serving to extinguish the embers of my interest.

 

[80and90gcock]

I am getting closer every day.

 

[gamecock stock]

My interest is already greatly diminished. I really don't see that changing.

I used to work for a man, now deceased, who was as big a Gamecock fan as any I knew. He even once took me to a Carolina basketball game. He went to all the football games and some baseball games. I'm glad that this state of college athletics happened after he died. I know that he would not have been happy to see what's happening.

 

[Evilchicken]

For me, I think it would be players becoming employees and/or union involvement. We are close to the former and if it does come to fruition, the latter won't be far behind.

Thankfully, I have enough other interests that my Fall Saturdays would be full and very enjoyable.

Stop trolling for attention. What a dumb thread

 

[VZVZ]

There really isn’t much of anything that would make me walk away. Saturdays in the fall will always tug me into the tradition and pageantry even if my team isn’t doing well.

i just worked out a new brisket queso recipe for tailgate next fall.

It is possible I will sit home for rivalry weekend next year. It takes too much out of me. I feel spent whether it is the Gamecocks v Clemson or my other big rivalry that is coming back soon, A&M v texas.

 

[Uscg1984]

Completely walk away? I'm not sure that would ever happen. I'll always be more interested in college football than, say, the NHL or soccer. But if we're talking about not planning my fall Saturdays around it, I'm basically already there, although I did catch most of our games this year and most of the "big" college games.

But life isn't static. Ten years ago, I only dreamt of hunting elk. Now, I can actually do it and I plan to do it as much as I can while I'm still young enough, even if that means I have to miss some college football. My wife and I are a couple of years away from being "empty nesters" and a few years beyond that lies retirement. Believe me, we won't schedule European river cruises or cross-country RV trips around college football games. College football will always be there, but it won't define my fall Saturdays.

 

[Deleted11512]

For me, I think it would be players becoming employees and/or union involvement. We are close to the former and if it does come to fruition, the latter won't be far behind.

Thankfully, I have enough other interests that my Fall Saturdays would be full and very enjoyable.

That would be better than what is happening now. At least they’d be able to control it. This is unadulterated chaos.

 

[gsgp69]

This portal has to include 2yr committed, stop the yearly moving . No commitment just money. I'm not playing as much as I want I'm transferring. How about working hard to make a better opportunity. It's like we don't know the players year to year. Getting tougher

 

[Slim Chickens Gamecock]

Getting close

 

[BftCocks09]

Stop trolling for attention. What a dumb thread

I don’t agree with a lot of what he posts a lot of times, but what about this thread is dumb? It’s a legitimate question.

 

[Forkcock]

What would it take? Hell, it's happening right before our eyes. I give myself a few more years of this. I'm about to be 61. It saddens me to see what has become of college athletics. Sportsmanship has been gone for decades. Now these kids sit out bowl games and transfer for "mo money". They can do what they want but they're going to kill the very thing that they need. If I want to watch rich spoiled athletes, I'll watch the NBA (which I don't).

 

[ToddFlanders]

That would be better than what is happening now. At least they’d be able to control it. This is unadulterated chaos.

For sure. The employee model will at least provide structure and would probably make the whole system better than ever before.

the schools don’t want it because it will be a hassle to figure out. But the second they are employees, you can make those contracts say whatever you want (including restrictive covenants and buyout clauses). You can also let them unionize so that blanket rules (including caps on salary), can be negotiated across the sport.

 

[Atlanta_Cock]

For me, I think it would be players becoming employees and/or union involvement. We are close to the former and if it does come to fruition, the latter won't be far behind.

Thankfully, I have enough other interests that my Fall Saturdays would be full and very enjoyable.

I basically already have.

 

[Yard_Pimps]

Nothing. I would never walk away. However I’m not one to dwell in the past. Things change and there really isn’t much we can do. Might as well roll with it.

 

[Harvard Gamecock]

To completely walk away and too never look back, not even a casual glance ?
Death

 

[Carolina Doc]

I'm already at the point where I don't know who is who. I watch most of the USC games, but don't really watch any others. I couldn't tell you who plays where for Kentucky or Ole Miss, let alone NCST or UVA. So most of college football is in my rearview mirror. It will probably be a matter of time before USC is as well. And I find that prospect heartbreaking.

 

[Blues man]

I don't see me giving up on football. What I will do more of and do a bit now is step away from the off the field noise. It serves me well not to follow recruiting and such. I find it not that difficult to care what a 17 year old kid decides to do for the next year. It has been tough trying to ignore the comings and goings of players but there is room for me to get better at it. So for the most part I pull for the 11 guys on the field who decided to play for my favorite university telling myself nothing else matters. That is the working formula for me.

 

[18IsTheMan]

there really isn’t much we can do.

That's what they are counting on fans thinking.

So far, they haven't been wrong.

 

[FootballLVR]

It would take being a fan of a .500 team historically but hoping that next year something will change.

 

[Deleted11512]

This portal has to include 2yr committed, stop the yearly moving . No commitment just money. I'm not playing as much as I want I'm transferring. How about working hard to make a better opportunity. It's like we don't know the players year to year. Getting tougher

There is no yearly moving. You can only move once as an undergrad. You can move again as a grad transfer, which I agree with 100%. I think to a degree the market will correct itself. You're going to see these 1-2 year eligibility guys get devalued, especially at places like USC. We should only take those guys if we have highly talented freshmen behind them. For example, it would make sense to add Rocket and another 1 yr guy if we have Hill, Fuller, and Braswell (3 4* guys) behind them. Other than that, we should really only target fresh/soph in the portal. That way we get 2-4 years with them before they can transfer again as graduates.

I also think one thing that has compounded the issue is the extra covid year. That's going to week A LOT of these transfers out when that goes away.

 

[Thunderstick]

Stop trolling for attention. What a dumb thread

And yet you've jumped right in.

 

[Thunderstick]

... So most of college football is in my rearview mirror. It will probably be a matter of time before USC is as well. And I find that prospect heartbreaking.

My depth of interest in Carolina football is following the path of my greatly depreciated arc of Carolina basketball.

 

[18IsTheMan]

There is no yearly moving. You can only move once as an undergrad. You can move again as a grad transfer, which I agree with 100%. I think to a degree the market will correct itself. You're going to see these 1-2 year eligibility guys get devalued, especially at places like USC. We should only take those guys if we have highly talented freshmen behind them. For example, it would make sense to add Rocket and another 1 yr guy if we have Hill, Fuller, and Braswell (3 4* guys) behind them. Other than that, we should really only target fresh/soph in the portal. That way we get 2-4 years with them before they can transfer again as graduates.

I also think one thing that has compounded the issue is the extra covid year. That's going to week A LOT of these transfers out when that goes away.

Good grief, we've still got 2 more seasons to deal with that covid year. Some normalcy will return in 2026 in that respect.

 

[Swifty]

Ain't none of y'all postin' on a rather low traffic board in the middle of the week goin' nowhere. Reminds me of " If so-and-so gets elected, I'm moving to Canada BS." We'll all still be here looking for info and bitching about this play call and that portal entry. The times they are a changin' folks. Just buckle up and pull for the laundry, 'cause the minute we DO win something, we'll all sure be sporting the t-shirts for it.

 

[Deleted11512]

Ain't none of y'all postin' on a rather low traffic board in the middle of the week goin' nowhere. Reminds me of " If so-and-so gets elected, I'm moving to Canada BS." We'll all still be here looking for info and bitching about this play call and that portal entry. The times they are a changin' folks. Just buckle up and pull for the laundry, 'cause the minute we DO win something, we'll all sure be sporting the t-shirts for it.

 

[18IsTheMan]

Ain't none of y'all postin' on a rather low traffic board in the middle of the week goin' nowhere. Reminds me of " If so-and-so gets elected, I'm moving to Canada BS." We'll all still be here looking for info and bitching about this play call and that portal entry. The times they are a changin' folks. Just buckle up and pull for the laundry, 'cause the minute we DO win something, we'll all sure be sporting the t-shirts for it.

Meh, the pattern is already there me, so that disproves your point entirely. I already don't watch nearly as much as I used to. I only watched 2 full games this year and caught parts of 4 or 5 others. I missed several entirely.

Some of that, as noted above is merely a factor of other life priorities with family and kids and such. College football now competes for my time and it is making it's case less and less compelling.

I spend time on this forum while I'm at work at my computer is up. I don't spend much time on here in the evenings or on weekends.

 

[VidaliaGamecock]

For me, I think it would be players becoming employees and/or union involvement. We are close to the former and if it does come to fruition, the latter won't be far behind.

Thankfully, I have enough other interests that my Fall Saturdays would be full and very enjoyable.

I am pretty much there. I started watching the NFL. Not as exciting, but the finance of it makes more sense. College football is dead IMHO.

 

[ScWildthing61]

I already have started to walk away from college football, you pretty much know who's gonna win it every year(the same 2 or 3 teams). 20-25 years ago, there used to be more variety with not just more title contenders, but also the style each team played from Florida's fun n' gun, Florida State's fast break, Texas Tech's air raid, Tennessee's I-formation, to Nebraska's option, Air Force's wishbone and so on and that's just offense. On Defense you had your 4-3 teams your 3--4 teams, then you had teams like Mississippi St. that would start blitzing you soon as you got off the bus! All these contrasting styles made for some fun games and a time when college football was great.

Now we have almost every team running the same stuff on offense and defense meaning the more talented teams will win out at a higher frequency than they used to leading to some rather anticlimactic games.

Then look at the coaches we had 25 years ago, Steve Spurrier, Bobby Bowden, Tom Osborne, Joe Paterno, Lloyd Carr, Bill Snyder, you had coaches ranging from "boring" to entertaining, all the coaches now seem cookie cutter to me.

 

[18IsTheMan]

I already have started to walk away from college football, you pretty much know who's gonna win it every year(the same 2 or 3 teams). 20-25 years ago, there used to be more variety with not just more title contenders, but also the style each team played from Florida's fun n' gun, Florida State's fast break, Texas Tech's air raid, Tennessee's I-formation, to Nebraska's option, Air Force's wishbone and so on and that's just offense. On Defense you had your 4-3 teams your 3--4 teams, then you had teams like Mississippi St. that would start blitzing you soon as you got off the bus! All these contrasting styles made for some fun games and a time when college football was great.

Now we have almost every team running the same stuff on offense and defense meaning the more talented teams will win out at a higher frequency than they used to leading to some rather anticlimactic games.

Then look at the coaches we had 25 years ago, Steve Spurrier, Bobby Bowden, Tom Osborne, Joe Paterno, Lloyd Carr, Bill Snyder, you had coaches ranging from "boring" to entertaining, all the coaches now seem cookie cutter to me.

Whoa, whoa, whoa...are you saying the CFP, NIL and portal haven't increased parity but have actually decreased it???????

 

[ScWildthing61]

Whoa, whoa, whoa...are you saying the CFP, NIL and portal haven't increased parity but have actually decreased it???????

cfp definitely has decreased parity, and the other two well, who's got the most money?

 

[18IsTheMan]

cfp definitely has decreased parity, and the other two well, who's got the most money?

It seems they are in the business of selling us lies, and fans have mostly been buyers.

CFP will increase parity!

Expanded CFP will increase parity!

NIL and the portal will increase parity and reinforce the student athlete principle!

Clock rule changes will shorten the game!

 

[Deleted11512]

It seems they are in the business of selling us lies, and fans have mostly been buyers.

CFP will increase parity!

Expanded CFP will increase parity!

NIL and the portal will increase parity and reinforce the student athlete principle!

Clock rule changes will shorten the game!

I think we're seeing parity unfold. There's no clear cut 1-2 best teams in the country. Or ever 4 best teams. I could see any of the top 12 winning a 12 team tournament. We've never been able to say that. It's been 10 years since FSU was relevant. 20 years since TX was relevant. I don't know of anyone that ever claims NIL and portal was going to reinforce the student athlete principle. Most people correctly said it was going to destroy it.

 

[18IsTheMan]

I think we're seeing parity unfold. There's no clear cut 1-2 best teams in the country. Or ever 4 best teams. I could see any of the top 12 winning a 12 team tournament. We've never been able to say that. It's been 10 years since FSU was relevant. 20 years since TX was relevant. I don't know of anyone that ever claims NIL and portal was going to reinforce the student athlete principle. Most people correctly said it was going to destroy it.

Parity is the not the return of traditional powers to power. The game has always undergone ebbs and flows among a select few teams rotating in and out of power. You could take the top 10 and plug it into almost any year of college football and nobody would blink: UGA, Michigan, Bama, OSU, Texas, FSU, PSU. Ironically, go back 30 year, who were the top 3 teams? FSU, Bama, Michigan. In 1983 the top 10 had Oklahoma (12 this year), Texas, PSU, FSU, Ohio State. There are always some outliers mixed in like you have Mizzou and Washington this year. 1973? Ohio State, So Cal, Texas, Michigan, Bama, PSU.

Are you noticing a trend?

 

[will110]

To completely walk away from college football? I don't know that I would ever do that. It would take a lot more than just unionizing or employing players. I did turn off the NBA and NFL after a lot of the political drama several years ago, but neither of those leagues were ever a priority like college football has been for me.

I can see college football's importance in my life being reduced; heck, that's already happened compared to where I was ten years ago. Now that I have kids (2 toddlers) and a wife and a fulltime job, college football isn't the top priority that it used to be. That's not because of football, that's because of my life changes. I'm hoping my kids become fans early on and I can share my fandom with them. If that happens, I see myself becoming more interested in the future, not less.

 

[Big JC]

For sure. The employee model will at least provide structure and would probably make the whole system better than ever before.

the schools don’t want it because it will be a hassle to figure out. But the second they are employees, you can make those contracts say whatever you want (including restrictive covenants and buyout clauses). You can also let them unionize so that blanket rules (including caps on salary), can be negotiated across the sport.

Would an employee have to be a student? No other employee of the university or athletic association is required to be a student. If they are employees of the football program, "college" football is officially dead. The new league would be a lower level professional sports league, nothing more. I wouldn't have any interest in that.

I don't know how the school names could be attached to these professional sports teams.

 

[Gamecock72]

I am not even remotely close to walking away from CFB. I still love it now as much as I ever have.