Kids are exploring their options...nothing wrong with that. How many of us have interviewed, maybe been offered a job but turned it down to stay? Maybe he will leave, maybe not but good for him for seeing what his options are.
I think you have made it clear why I find all of this such a turn off.
I really believed in the idea of the student-athlete. It always seemed to me to be a great trade-off. You play big time football or basketball and in return you get a free college education.
Who amongst us would turn that down?
I wouldn't.
In the old days, I wanted to attract kids because of what Syracuse University had to offer - how the school - and the coaches - could impact a life.
I never wanted my college football team to become a professional franchise and I didn't want the players on my team to become free agents on a year-to-year basis, "exploring their options."
I never wanted to compare playing college football to me looking for a better job.
I find the backroom financial negotiations that must be occurring really uncomfortable.
Who knows? Maybe underneath it all, I'm a hypocrite.
Maybe I'd be okay with all of this if I felt that my school could compete in the new world.
I hope that's not true. I hope that I would find the new paradigm unappealing even if SU were benefitting from it.
Right now it doesn't seem that we are benefitting at all. Just the opposite seems to be true.
Indeed, I seriously doubt that Syracuse University will be able to compete in this environment.
And that tells me that our great football tradition that has existed for generations, will die.
And, that upsets me.
So, yeah, the kids get to explore their options, and in the process ruin college football for most schools - other than the factories in the SEC and the Big Ten.
