Smart moves

Read this. It's a heartwarming story. I am glad that many collegiate football players are gifted athletes (otherwise it'd be boring to watch), but when they leave college without a diploma for a short, most likely uneventful stay in the NFL, then what? They don't have a degree to help them get a job. Many former NFL stars wind up selling cars, tending a bar, or building homes.
There are many, many bright young athletes amongst the 100+ NCAA schools, but the American culture has promoted a "get quick fast" philosophy where highly-paid athletes are hero-worshipped, and when they become over-paid crybabies, no one seems to care. And when they leave the NFL, they are instantly no longer worth mention. Unless they kill their wife or something.

Evolution didn't make us brilliant athletes as a species (compared to other animals). It's neat to see a quarterback throw a ball 60 yards to a receiver who catches the ball with arms outstretched while sprinting full speed. But neater yet is the Large Hadron Collider, and the Theory of Relativity, and open-heart surgery, and all the accomplishments of the human mind.

There was a time when collegiate sports were no more than a method to help young people afford college via scholarships. For most sports, like track and field, that is still true. But a few sports, like football and basketball, have become a playground for irresponsibility, and it is a disservice to these young impressionable men and women to tell them it's a good idea to quit school early and play ball.


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