It is called by many the biggest holiday on the calendar of a college football fan. Yes, it's national signing day, when talented high school recruits can sign on the dotted line for the first time, cementing their spot on the roster of the college team of their choosing.
I am embarrassed to say that I pay attention to this stuff. I follow it probably too closely. But it's fun for me. I like to see who the next Buckeyes are going to be and how the staff is working to fill positions of need. I especially like the way that Ohio State coach Jim Tressel goes about it. No promises of playing time. No special favors. He just tells it like it is. I think a lot of players respect that.
Even though this can be fun, I believe it has gotten way out of hand. Certain web sites were inaccessible yesterday due to the large amount of traffic trying to access them. Just to see what player is going where.
There are these mythical rankings of the classes each year which is rediculous. ESPN's can be found here. How can you possibly rank high school players who haven't played a down of college football with any degree of acuracy? There is no way to measure their potential--how much they will grow physically, mentally, spiritually. There is no way to predict what kind of a teammate they will be. There is no way to measure their heart.
Year after year we are shown instances of highly rated players who ended up hardly making an impact on their team. We are also shown players who were never even mentioned during the recruiting days who became key players on their teams. Yet, we don't learn--we still pay way too much attention to these future "stars."
All this foolishness of paying attention to and ranking these players reminded me of a verse from James:
I am embarrassed to say that I pay attention to this stuff. I follow it probably too closely. But it's fun for me. I like to see who the next Buckeyes are going to be and how the staff is working to fill positions of need. I especially like the way that Ohio State coach Jim Tressel goes about it. No promises of playing time. No special favors. He just tells it like it is. I think a lot of players respect that.
Even though this can be fun, I believe it has gotten way out of hand. Certain web sites were inaccessible yesterday due to the large amount of traffic trying to access them. Just to see what player is going where.
There are these mythical rankings of the classes each year which is rediculous. ESPN's can be found here. How can you possibly rank high school players who haven't played a down of college football with any degree of acuracy? There is no way to measure their potential--how much they will grow physically, mentally, spiritually. There is no way to predict what kind of a teammate they will be. There is no way to measure their heart.
Year after year we are shown instances of highly rated players who ended up hardly making an impact on their team. We are also shown players who were never even mentioned during the recruiting days who became key players on their teams. Yet, we don't learn--we still pay way too much attention to these future "stars."
All this foolishness of paying attention to and ranking these players reminded me of a verse from James:
Now listen, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city spend a year there, carry on business and make money." Why, you don't even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little hile and then vanishes. James 4:13-14
4 comments:
Great verse. Too bad most of these young men, or their adult influences, probably aren't familiar with it.
True in many cases, although I am seeing a shift that is encouraging, at least in Columbus. Jim Tressel has instilled Christianity in the Buckeye program and the players are buying into it. Also, it seems many of the players he is recruiting are Christians as well. I'm seeing this with some other big-time programs as well (Georgia and Clemson to name a couple). Cool stuff!
Oh, I agree, and I am a TOTAL Jim Tressel fan. I think he is an awesome man of integrity and I like what he instills in his players. Mark Richt (is it at Georgia) is an awesome guy as well. He even had a cameo appearance in "Facing the Giants". It's good to see coaches/leaders stepping out and not fearing any repercussions of exhibiting their faith these days and, actually living by it.
Amen!
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