Athletic Narcissism Trending Up
You know what National Signing Day is, right? No? I am surprised.
National Signing Day is the first Wednesday in February, and the first day of a period that lasts until April 1 in which some high school athletes (football, soccer, and water polo) can sing a letter of intent to their future college.
According to Steven Petrella of Land of 10, most players have already made their decision, and quietly confirm their commitment. Some blue chip football players, however, have multiple elite program opportunities, and keep coaches and boosters anxiously awaiting their decision all the way up to signing day. Then the madness ensues.
This year, ESPN scheduled a full day of live programming on ESPN2 and ESPNU to cover 12 elite high school football players' college announcements. Many of these announcements open like this: a packed high school gym with an athlete surrounded by parents, coaches, an adoring community, and tons of college paraphernalia. The microphone is then turned over to the 18 year old, an announcement is made, and varying degrees of emotion are released.
Some of these signings go over the top, and become incredibly narcissistic. J.R. Gamble of The Shadow League has seen bulldog puppies in University of Georgia gear, and players sky diving as a part signings. Sometimes a parent is totally unaware of the eventual decision, and clearly unhappy with their talented offspring's choice (please see clip below).
I love college football, and am very interested in recruiting news, but these spectacles kill me. And it is the adults, not the athletes, that have gotten us into this level of nonsense. Parents, coaches, sports network executives, and many others fuel the fire of this masturbatory madness.
Signing day is only the beginning of an athletic career that will hopefully be a springboard to something greater than four years on the gridiron. It marks the start of a pursuit that will require hard-charging effort over many adult years. These signing events have become self-absorbed celebrations of a job well done, but the serious endeavor still lies in the future.
What about signing, scanning, and emailing your letter of intent -- day complete? Wouldn't that work? You could hug some supporters, go to dinner with family, get a good night's sleep, and get back to pursuing your dream the very next day, if not the same day.
Alright, the kids are now off my lawn. I can go back to drinking lemonade from my lawn chair atop the moral high ground. I will be up here reading Sports Illustrated's Signing Day Winners and Losers article by Chris Johnson.
Come August, I will be tuned in to college football again, and making my contributions to elite football player narcissism.
Nice Not Knowing You, Josh McDaniels
One of the worst Indianapolis Colts teams in years got to the top of the headlines following the Super Bowl when New England Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels backed out of a verbal deal to be the Colts coach.
I didn't like it when it was being reported that Indianapolis general manager Chris Ballard was choosing McDaniels to be the next coach in Indy. A Bronco fan buddy of mine even sent me a "condolence" text when he heard the Colts planned to hire the Patriots offensive coordinator. McDaniels backing out was good news from my perspective.
I checked my thoughts with my "contacts" back home. They all concur. I provide samples of their concurrence from text messages:
"There are tons of good candidates out there. For fuck sake, the guy who just won the Super Bowl was coaching high school football the last time the Colts were in the Super Bowl. And it wasn't that long ago! Give someone a chance. But still...fuck McDaniels. Dick move for sure."
"Any man who wears a visor to work and isn't holding a golf club is a douche."
Cleveland Cavaliers Make Serious Noise at Trade Deadline
Prior to the deadline, the Cavaliers had been playing some of the worst basketball they have ever played with LeBron James on the team. They were 5-9 since Jan. 8, and 7-13 since Christmas Day. Cleveland was falling apart, and a looking incapable of defending their Eastern Conference crown.
As of 3 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 8, they are better. They got that way by trading away six players that were either past their prime or horrible defenders, or both. It is unclear if they got Eastern Conference-title better, but Jonathan Tjarks of The Ringer believes Cleveland has positively reset their team without mortgaging the future -- with or without King James, who many believe will leave his hometown in free agency this summer (again).
Jake Whitacre of Bullets Forever reported the Washington Wizards sent G Sheldon Mac to the Atlanta Hawks which frees up a roster spot and some salary cap space. With the open spot, Washington could now grab an available veteran as tanking teams buyout their most expensive players providing the least in return (i.e. - past their prime, horrible defenders, or both). Things are looking good for the Wizards as they are 5th place in the conference, will have All-Star PG John Wall back in time for the playoffs, and they didn't trade any significant assets to gain their new found flexibility.
The Indiana Pacers did nothing over the trade deadline, and I am excited about it. As described by the staff of 8 Points 9 Seconds, the Pacers have a solid young core, and are set to have a lot of salary cap space in the offseason to entice a free agent or two. Sometimes the best trade is the one you don't make.
Both the Pacers and Wizards are tracking for the playoffs, and could make noise in the postseason. Neither team overreached at the trade deadline, and maintained their key players. They won't be getting past Cleveland, the Boston Celtics, or the Toronto Raptors this year, but there is reason for optimism about the future in both fan bases.
National Signing Day is the first Wednesday in February, and the first day of a period that lasts until April 1 in which some high school athletes (football, soccer, and water polo) can sing a letter of intent to their future college.
According to Steven Petrella of Land of 10, most players have already made their decision, and quietly confirm their commitment. Some blue chip football players, however, have multiple elite program opportunities, and keep coaches and boosters anxiously awaiting their decision all the way up to signing day. Then the madness ensues.
This year, ESPN scheduled a full day of live programming on ESPN2 and ESPNU to cover 12 elite high school football players' college announcements. Many of these announcements open like this: a packed high school gym with an athlete surrounded by parents, coaches, an adoring community, and tons of college paraphernalia. The microphone is then turned over to the 18 year old, an announcement is made, and varying degrees of emotion are released.
Some of these signings go over the top, and become incredibly narcissistic. J.R. Gamble of The Shadow League has seen bulldog puppies in University of Georgia gear, and players sky diving as a part signings. Sometimes a parent is totally unaware of the eventual decision, and clearly unhappy with their talented offspring's choice (please see clip below).
I chose this clip from the live broadcast for the incredibly uncomfortable, "Um, it was my mom" quote. There are hundreds of clips from this on YouTube if you can't figure it out from this one.
I love college football, and am very interested in recruiting news, but these spectacles kill me. And it is the adults, not the athletes, that have gotten us into this level of nonsense. Parents, coaches, sports network executives, and many others fuel the fire of this masturbatory madness.
Signing day is only the beginning of an athletic career that will hopefully be a springboard to something greater than four years on the gridiron. It marks the start of a pursuit that will require hard-charging effort over many adult years. These signing events have become self-absorbed celebrations of a job well done, but the serious endeavor still lies in the future.
What about signing, scanning, and emailing your letter of intent -- day complete? Wouldn't that work? You could hug some supporters, go to dinner with family, get a good night's sleep, and get back to pursuing your dream the very next day, if not the same day.
Alright, the kids are now off my lawn. I can go back to drinking lemonade from my lawn chair atop the moral high ground. I will be up here reading Sports Illustrated's Signing Day Winners and Losers article by Chris Johnson.
Come August, I will be tuned in to college football again, and making my contributions to elite football player narcissism.
Nice Not Knowing You, Josh McDaniels
One of the worst Indianapolis Colts teams in years got to the top of the headlines following the Super Bowl when New England Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels backed out of a verbal deal to be the Colts coach.
I didn't like it when it was being reported that Indianapolis general manager Chris Ballard was choosing McDaniels to be the next coach in Indy. A Bronco fan buddy of mine even sent me a "condolence" text when he heard the Colts planned to hire the Patriots offensive coordinator. McDaniels backing out was good news from my perspective.
I checked my thoughts with my "contacts" back home. They all concur. I provide samples of their concurrence from text messages:
"There are tons of good candidates out there. For fuck sake, the guy who just won the Super Bowl was coaching high school football the last time the Colts were in the Super Bowl. And it wasn't that long ago! Give someone a chance. But still...fuck McDaniels. Dick move for sure."
-Indy Banker Guy
"Any man who wears a visor to work and isn't holding a golf club is a douche."
-Indy Real Estate Dude
Long-time Patriot, backs out of agreement, visor without a golf club at work...I rest my case.
Cleveland Cavaliers Make Serious Noise at Trade Deadline
Prior to the deadline, the Cavaliers had been playing some of the worst basketball they have ever played with LeBron James on the team. They were 5-9 since Jan. 8, and 7-13 since Christmas Day. Cleveland was falling apart, and a looking incapable of defending their Eastern Conference crown.
As of 3 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 8, they are better. They got that way by trading away six players that were either past their prime or horrible defenders, or both. It is unclear if they got Eastern Conference-title better, but Jonathan Tjarks of The Ringer believes Cleveland has positively reset their team without mortgaging the future -- with or without King James, who many believe will leave his hometown in free agency this summer (again).
Jake Whitacre of Bullets Forever reported the Washington Wizards sent G Sheldon Mac to the Atlanta Hawks which frees up a roster spot and some salary cap space. With the open spot, Washington could now grab an available veteran as tanking teams buyout their most expensive players providing the least in return (i.e. - past their prime, horrible defenders, or both). Things are looking good for the Wizards as they are 5th place in the conference, will have All-Star PG John Wall back in time for the playoffs, and they didn't trade any significant assets to gain their new found flexibility.
The Indiana Pacers did nothing over the trade deadline, and I am excited about it. As described by the staff of 8 Points 9 Seconds, the Pacers have a solid young core, and are set to have a lot of salary cap space in the offseason to entice a free agent or two. Sometimes the best trade is the one you don't make.
Both the Pacers and Wizards are tracking for the playoffs, and could make noise in the postseason. Neither team overreached at the trade deadline, and maintained their key players. They won't be getting past Cleveland, the Boston Celtics, or the Toronto Raptors this year, but there is reason for optimism about the future in both fan bases.
Has all this Signing Day stuff moved up. If memory serves, I didn’t even start taking visits until early March, though that might’ve been because I was looking exclusively at non-scholarship schools. Still, I KNOW that I didn’t commit until late March or early April.
ReplyDeleteThis signing period is only for football, soccer, water polo.
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