College Sports: For the Love of the Game!

[MHettel]

These stories just get more and more bizarre.

Cam Ward played QB for 2 years at UIW. Yeah, I’ll save you the time, that’s Incarnate Word.

He put up big numbers and WSU gives him a chance to move up and he thanks them after 2 years by grabbing the bag (I heard Millions) offered by Miami.

He then proceeds to lead Miami to a good season and get into the Heisman mix.

In his bowl game, he set the all time passing Touchdown record! Then proceeded to pull himself from the game to avoid injury….


So he’s willing to risk injury to pursue a personal achievement, but not willing to risk injury to achieve a team accomplishment.

Yeah, that’s where we are.

[bjf123]

If I’m an NFL GM, that will factor in to any thoughts about drafting him. Clearly, he’s a “me first” kind of player.


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[Xavier]

In a meaningless bowl game. Big whoop. Look at Michigan Alabama and see how many all American nfl draft picks sat. 10+. Happened before NIL, happens now. It’s hardly eye opening

[MHettel]

In a meaningless bowl game. Big whoop

Well he put the ME in MEaningless.

[MHettel]

In a meaningless bowl game. Big whoop. Look at Michigan Alabama and see how many all American nfl draft picks sat. 10+. Happened before NIL, happens now. It’s hardly eye opening

But did they play long enough to set a record and then pull themselves out once they did?

Also a record set by a guy in 4 years that took you 5 years to break and will only ever be broken by a guy that gets 4 years to break it. What an accomplishment!

[Xavier]

I mean….he went out and played some. That’s more than the guys who sat out completely, right? Where’s the outcry against them?

[OTRMUSKIE]

Also what was the score when he took himself out?

[Xville]

A game that means literally nothing . Who cares

[MHettel]

A game that means literally nothing . Who cares

Why does it mean nothing. Are you designated as the sole individual that gets to decide when a game does or does not have meaning?

If the game had no meaning, then wouldn’t it mean that your comment about it actually has LESS meaning than the game?

I’m confused

[XUGRAD80]

There have ALWAYS been players that were selfish and not “team” players. It’s just that now they have a real economic reason to be that way. I don’t fault players for wanting to sit out if playing means possibly jeopardizing their draft status. On the other hand, there are going to be players that enhance their position by their performance in the post season, and will choose to,play. I haven’t yet seen any player sitting out playoff games, and the other games are basically just exhibition games. Did you check out how many pro football players skipped the pro bowl back when it was played as a real game?

In any case, these players sitting out are the exception and not the rule. I do believe that the vast majority are very happy to play in bowl games, knowing that it may well be their last chance ever to play football. I’m not going to worry about those that choose otherwise.

[Xville]

Outside of the playoffs, it’s an exhibition game. Hence, why it means literally nothing. Just another thing for hett to find something to be pissed off about.

[MHettel]

Outside of the playoffs, it’s an exhibition game. Hence, why it means literally nothing. Just another thing for hett to find something to be pissed off about.

And yet you still find a need to comment on it.

[xubrew]

These stories just get more and more bizarre.

Cam Ward played QB for 2 years at UIW. Yeah, I’ll save you the time, that’s Incarnate Word.

He put up big numbers and WSU gives him a chance to move up and he thanks them after 2 years by grabbing the bag (I heard Millions) offered by Miami.

He then proceeds to lead Miami to a good season and get into the Heisman mix.

In his bowl game, he set the all time passing Touchdown record! Then proceeded to pull himself from the game to avoid injury….


So he’s willing to risk injury to pursue a personal achievement, but not willing to risk injury to achieve a team accomplishment.

Yeah, that’s where we are.

I don’t think this is anywhere close to as bizarre is it’s going to get. I think things are going to get a lot worse before they get better. IF they get better.

[MHettel]

Outside of the playoffs, it’s an exhibition game. Hence, why it means literally nothing. Just another thing for hett to find something to be pissed off about.

So let me get this straight. Aside from the playoff games, all other games are meaningless. That’s your view? So 12 of about 120 D1 teams get to participate in a season that had some meaning. I mean, if a team didn’t make the playoffs, then none of the games that led up to that would have any meaning.

And in this case, you had #13 10-2 Miami against #18 10-3 Iowa State. You’re saying THAT game just “doesn’t mean anything”? It doesn’t? The Iowa state fans didn’t hit the bars hard after a comeback win? And the silent trip back to the hotel for the Miami fans.

A win that included a comeback touchdown on 4th and Goal with less than a minute left. Meaningless, says XVille!

And let’s just dissect the performance of our record setting QB that quit on his team. He was 12-19 with 190 yards and 3 TDs before he removed himself, but of course AFTER he set the record. 31-28 lead at the half.

Second half? Different result. His replacement went 5-14 with 26 yards and an interception. 11 total points in the second half.

Arguably, Cam Wards decision to pull himself from the game, presumably for the purpose of injury avoidance (but only after the personal achievement was accomplished) led directly to his team losing.

But it’s meaningless.

[Xavier]

So let me get this straight. Aside from the playoff games, all other games are meaningless. That’s your view? .

I mean, that’s the majority viewpoint. Bowls are meaningless outside of the playoffs. And all the players not playing in them is as much proof as you need. If X played an exhibition after the season you’d care if they won? Are you including X smoking Dayton in the exhibition this year as part of the season?

[MHettel]

I mean, that’s the majority viewpoint. Bowls are meaningless outside of the playoffs. And all the players not playing in them is as much proof as you need. If X played an exhibition after the season you’d care if they won? Are you including X smoking Dayton in the exhibition this year as part of the season?

Why is it an exhibition? I don’t get that part. You play the season with a goal of being bowl eligible. 2 Somewhat decent teams that would not normally play each other get a chance to win a showcase game. That’s an exhibition? All these games are on TV nonstop between XMas and new years. But meaningless?

Prior to the playoffs, we’re all bowl games always meaningless? Like a 1985 rose bowl win would just be, like, meaningless.

But it could help in the polls to see who wins the national championship! But I guess the “national championship” that is “won” via a poll without even winning an actual game would be even MORE meaningless than an actual GAME played that has no meaning. Is that possible? For something that has no meaning to actually have MORE meaning than something else that has LESS meaning. Thats like dividing a number by zero. Breaks my brain.

And to conclude, it appears that ALL college football games played prior to the playoffs being implemented are meaningless.

[Xville]

I mean, that’s the majority viewpoint. Bowls are meaningless outside of the playoffs. And all the players not playing in them is as much proof as you need. If X played an exhibition after the season you’d care if they won? Are you including X smoking Dayton in the exhibition this year as part of the season?

Yep exactly. Bowls are meaningless outside of the playoffs so who gives a shit? Hett I guess. This is just another thing for hett to go all “get off my lawn” on again. Teams don’t play all season to be bowl eligible, they play all season to try to win championships.

[MHettel]

Yep exactly. Bowls are meaningless outside of the playoffs so who gives a shit? Hett I guess. This is just another thing for hett to go all “get off my lawn” on again. Teams don’t play all season to be bowl eligible, they play all season to try to win championships.

You’re right. Kinda like that 13-7 prediction last year. You’ve established a lot of credibility on this board. Telling all of us that Bowl Games don’t matter proves that.

[XUGRAD80]

The non-playoff bowls are REWARDS for the players and fans. Only the bowls that affected the national championship polls in the past had any real meaning for most fans. Only the playoff bowls have any meaning today. The day after they are played I can’t even remember who won or lost most of them. I’ve attended several college bowl games over the years and they have all been fun, especially if my team won, but I don’t have any special pride because my favorite team won something like the Liberty Bowl in Memphis. Had a great time on Beale Street on NYE, enjoyed the nice weather during the pregame tailgate, and was happy to see my team win the game, but it really didn’t mean much. It’s not even really considered part of the win-loss record for the team that year. It’s like…they went 10-2 and ALSO won the Liberty Bowl.

For players and fans, no game is COMPLETELY meaningless, because the players do play to win and the fans root for them to win. Saying they are completely meaningless would be like saying that any team that didn’t win a national championship had a “meaningless” season. There is SOME meaning to the games, but they are basically an exhibition and serve as a reward for a season well played.

[Xville]

I just don’t understand the angst of a qb who is going to be a probable top 5 pick in the draft and make millions, sit out the second half of a game that doesn’t mean anything to the program? If he had played and they won it changes nothing. Why are you so against athletes making the best decisions for themselves and their future? Is it simply just jealousy?

[XUGRAD80]

I just don’t understand the angst of a qb who is going to be a probable top 5 pick in the draft and make millions, sit out the second half of a game that doesn’t mean anything to the program? If he had played and they won it changes nothing. Why are you so against athletes making the best decisions for themselves and their future? Is it simply just jealousy?

I’m not going to try and speak for him, but I do think the angst is not against this individual player, but is against the “me first” attitude his actions represent. To a certain point, I get that and I agree. BUT things are not as they once were, no matter how much we might want them to be. Actually in my opinion, they never were 100% like we might want them to be. There have always been situations where players had to make decisions that were in their best interest, even if it was detrimental to the team success. Just as coaches have often made decisions that were best for the team (and thus their own) success, over something that was best for an individual. All for one, One for all sounds great on paper, but how many times do the all say screw the individual? It’s always a balancing act. In the scenario of the original post, the senior actually may have done the program a favor by allowing the backup to get some quality playing time. I’ve seen several times over the years where, in a bowl game, where the coaches have made the decision to play the underclassmen more than the seniors. They do that in order to give returners some experience. It’s what’s best for the future of the program. Often times the fans criticized that because they thought the coach wasn’t trying to win the bowl game. In THIS situation it was the player, and not the coach, that made that decision. Big difference? Not so much IMO. Maybe he does t like it when it’s the coach that sits a senior so an underclassmen gets more playing time? I don’t know. I just know that IMO it’s not that big of a deal since he is a senior and isn’t coming back next year anyway.

[xubrew]

I think several people have several different thoughts in their head all at once.

Do bowl games matter?? Not like they did 30 years ago, or at least not in the same way. I can remember when they were very competitive and everyone took them very seriously. It's not like that any more. Now players choose to opt out of them. Not all of them, but far more than what used to. Now coaches will tell upperclassmen "we'll take you on the trip and put you in for a couple of plays for a curtain call, but we want to play the younger players." Not all of them, but a lot of them.

I've heard coaches say...(like ACTUAL FBS head coaches say) "To us, it's like a second spring game, but it's just against another team." No one would have EVER said that thirty years ago. Now I'm sure there are coaches that don't feel that way at all. But there are a lot that do. Not every team approaches a bowl as a high stakes must win affair. They used to. I remember when they did. But not everyone does any more. I'd venture to say that the majority don't anymore.

[drudy23]

I think several people have several different thoughts in their head all at once.

Do bowl games matter?? Not like they did 30 years ago, or at least not in the same way. I can remember when they were very competitive and everyone took them very seriously. It's not like that any more. Now players choose to opt out of them. Not all of them, but far more than what used to. Now coaches will tell upperclassmen "we'll take you on the trip and put you in for a couple of plays for a curtain call, but we want to play the younger players." Not all of them, but a lot of them.

I've heard coaches say...(like ACTUAL FBS head coaches say) "To us, it's like a second spring game, but it's just against another team." No one would have EVER said that thirty years ago. Now I'm sure there are coaches that don't feel that way at all. But there are a lot that do. Not every team approaches a bowl as a high stakes must win affair. They used to. I remember when they did. But not everyone does any more. I'd venture to say that the majority don't anymore.

Anything new and different will bring excitement. While yes, when first introduced, bowls were very popular, that popularity waned considerably since then. People don't care about games that don't mean anything, including players. The current non playoff bowl games are largely ignored.