(Once in an occasional series. I was a sports writer at a major daily for 15 years, so I had to concern myself with non-soccer matters. Now, as an independent journalist, I focus on soccer and get to select my occasions to open my bag of “give a crap” for the “lesser sports.” Hee-hee.)
Soccer rocks! Other sports? Not so much
Yesterday was national signing day in college sports – the only time middle-aged white people can use office computers to Google sinewy teenagers and not get a call from HR about a "potentially fireable offense." With apologies to all my SB Nation brethren who necessarily consumed themselves with this headless horseman of a glory chase, it really is a silly day.
I understand that people have passion for their schools. Yea, team! I get that and don’t have a problem with it.
Past that, attaching so much life-hope to high school seniors leaves me feeling the same way I feel after scarfing bad tacos – a little queasy in the tummy. Can't we wait until these kids hit campus before we start lavishing them with a further sense of entitlement ? And that’s not to mention all the unseemly stuff that goes on as coaches feverishly pursue these 17- and 18-year olds.
If you think bad things aren't happening out there along Recruiting Road, then dear sweet God please do yourself and the rest of us a favor and don’t leave the house today, you poor creature. You could hurt yourself!
Everyone thinks their school never takes a nip from the bottle of naughty. Everyone else’s college does the naughty. Of course, the math doesn’t really add up there now, does it?
I know there is recruiting in college soccer. And I’m sure the occasional rule is bent, twisted and every now and then outright compound fractured. But generally, people aren’t all in a Pants On The Ground tizzy about it. The stakes aren’t nearly as high, so the risk-reward factor calculates out to far less cheating – and less hulabaloo and absurdity about Signing Day.
There’s really so much wrong with the whole whacked out process, I just don’t know where to start. So I’ll just sum up: Today is one of the days I’m happy about dwelling in my safe little soccer world.
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