College Football: For Whom Doest Thou Thy Cheering?

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Down where I did most of my growing up, someone would gently put an arm around your shoulder and tell you about a decision you had to make -- a decision for all eternity. You can choose the straight and good path and root for Georgia, or you can trample the way of evil, a shiveringly awful fate -- and become a Georgia Tech fan. Dear friend, will you become a Georgia fan today?
 
My childhood team and alma mater are the same: the Mississippi State Bulldogs!

As I'm typing this: FIRST TOUCHDOWN OF THE YEAR!!! CHRIS RELF TO BUMPHIS FOR 44 YARDS AND A TD!

GO STATE!
 
Favorites:

2. CALIFORNIA

3. Any team playing against alabama, texas

:ditto:

UW because I'm originally from Washington. Cal because I'm currently attending. And the last bit from above because I really dislike those two states in general (although I've met some really great folks from both).

:pray2: for you.

:rofl:

Honestly, it's a sour grapes attitude. Texas usually has the good sports teams, so over the years I've come to envy them (even more now with the Mariners losing horribly and the Rangers being one of the best teams in the MLB).
 
I especially like this clip. It is from the 2006 game when Arkansas beat Alabama in OT. It was sweet around here for several weeks. :D

[video=youtube;O6djsdAbqvY]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O6djsdAbqvY&feature=related[/video]

[video=youtube;qKSqZW6UYV0]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qKSqZW6UYV0&feature=related[/video]
 
My college football teams do not mirror my college basketball teams. Very odd.

This is the same for me. In college football, I like ... are you ready? Wait for it...UVA (I know ... no chance). In college hoops it's UNC. I too root for App State, as my wife did her grad school work there, and I have had several friends play there.
 
Shouldn't this thread title read, "Whom do you cheer for?" Where is Josh when I need him...

To be grammatically correct, it should be retitled "FOR WHOM do you cheer?" I love grammar, but that just seems too stuffy for a thread about sports. :lol:
 
Shouldn't this thread title read, "Whom do you cheer for?" Where is Josh when I need him...

To be grammatically correct, it should be retitled "FOR WHOM do you cheer?" I love grammar, but that just seems too stuffy for a thread about sports. :lol:

I was going to let that slip. Thank you for easing my mind. Someone finally noted it!
 
University of Washington Huskies all the way... :)

I always root against any other Pac-12 team during the season, but will root for any Pac-12 team in the bowl games... :)
 
I'll be a wet blanket, here, I suppose.

I could see liking football. It can be a gritty, complex, and amazing sport to watch.

But I don't really cheer for anyone, or watch football more than once a year (and that's if I'm invited to a party).

I just can't bring myself to cheer for felons, future felons, and folks who have no business looking at a college campus, let alone being representatives of a university. They aren't student-athletes. They are not even athlete-students. They're just plain athletes, with very little other than their performance on the field to recommend them. They're professionals who haven't been paid much yet. Big schools build multi-million dollar tutoring centers just to keep their players academically eligible in nonsense majors.

Strangely, the fan base of these teams is mostly composed of people who, in a few years, would pay any price not to live next to the players they are now cheering.

So for whom might I cheer? I'd start with a team filled with students whose academic qualifications are roughly comparable to the rest of the student body, and for teams who would rather lose players than lose their dignity.

That leaves me with the service academies, and maybe a few Ivy League schools. But it's too much of an investment to try to follow them, so I just end up ignoring the game as a whole.

Let the flaming begin :)
 
Jeremy, obviously you're entitled to your own opinion, so if you don't care to watch football, then that's certainly your prerogative. However, I do think there are some holes in your reasoning. First, not all college athletes are felons or future-felons. You are painting with the broadest of brushes friend, since the students-athletes who are trouble-makers makes up the smallest minority. Second, do you do this with every other form of entertainment? I'm sure you're aware that there have been musicians and actors who were bad apples. Does this mean you don't ever listen to any music or watch any TV or movies?

As for the fact that some students are recruited based solely on their academic prowess, why is this wrong? Many of those young men and women would never have the opportunity to receive a college education if not for an academic scholarship. Are there some who squander said opportunity and end up not graduating? Sure, but again, let's not paint with the broad brush that all student-athletes fall into this boat. Many go on to receive an education and graduate. Second, I don't have any hard facts to back me up here, but I am willing to guess that for most major D1 universities, their athletic teams bring in a HUGE chunk of money for the school. Again, just assuming, but I think a lot of that money benefits the entire school. Anyone have any info on this?
 
Athletes Show Huge Gaps in SAT Scores - The Paper Trail (usnews.com)

Without singling out the worst-offending conferences (*cough* SEC), the average college football player nationwide scores 220 points lower on the SAT (out of 1600 - only verbal and math are considered) than their college classmates.

Simply put, that means the average college football player would have a 0% chance of admission without football. They don't belong, and they bring the school down.

By definition, the graduation rate for college football players has to be a total sham, and it's low anyway.

If you go to a college with a massive 220 point SAT performance gap between players and average students, and then have a full-time job playing college football, there is very, very little chance that a graduation is legitimately earned.

Within 2 years of retirement, almost 80% of NFL players are bankrupt (Why do so many NFL players go bankrupt? - Shutdown Corner - NFL*Blog - Yahoo! Sports). And they are the lucky ones. Those with a made-up, unearned "liberal arts" degree who don't go to the NFL are even worse off.

It doesn't matter how much money they make the school. And it doesn't matter what movies, actors or musicians entertain me. They aren't set out as representatives of an institution that is supposed to be better.

The whole system is an embarrassment. For football players, the NCAA requires an 820 score on combined Verbal/Math on the SAT. With an 820, a person should probably be kept from graduating high school - forget going to college for free.

The past and future criminal records of the big teams, and their general thuggishness, is only icing on the cake.
 
Thanks, Josh.

I decided to research just how bad 820 is for combined Reading/Math.

To receive an 820, a student has to accumulate roughly 27% of the available raw score points in both Reading and Math. Each question has 5 possible answers.

If you can do slightly better than a small child would do (on average) by chance, then you're eligible for a free ride in college.

I hope that comes to mind for everyone the next time the NCAA sends out a commercial about the importance of academics.
 
My father was involved in a study of NCAA and NAIA athletes and academics. It is absolutely atrocious how many young men are allowed into college in the football programmes who have no business being in a university setting. Another interesting thing that showed up is how many scholarship athletes in other sports, especially the non-lime light sports (not football or basketball) are stellar academics.
 
Teams I cheer for
1. Florida State
2. USF Bulls
3. Anyone who pounds the gators


Teams I can not stand;
1. Florida Gators
2. Florida Gators
3. Florida Gators
4. USC
5. Notre Dame
 
Teams I cheer for
1. Florida State
2. USF Bulls
3. Anyone who pounds the gators


Teams I can not stand;
1. Florida Gators
2. Florida Gators
3. Florida Gators
4. USC
5. Notre Dame

Let me be sure I'm understanding you here...so you don't like the Gators? :lol:
 
I am a Hoosier so I have to love Notre Dame. I like watching LSU, Virginia Tech, Northwestern, Alabama (Roll Tide), and the Drag Racing Channel.
 
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