Colleges need to read this and take heed. College sports should never be about the money. It is tradition; sports should be about building men out of boys and women out of girls that make these colleges great. Our colleges are and have been for a while now all about the money and it has filtered all the way down to the athletes. Now they feel they should be paid for their services. WHAT!!! You have got to be kidding me. They get an education either for little of nothing or at a very discounted rate (nothing is free). Most eat the best of foods at the Training Table (all they care to eat) and live in the nicest dorms available. They have the privilege to play some of the most awesome games created by man yes it is a privilege. They are made larger than life heroes because they have a gift of athleticism and are very good at playing the game. You hear the argument all of the time about how this guy or that guy brought millions of dollars to their university in memorabilia sales. This is very true but it is the university that brought them to the stage for them to showcase their abilities and set them up to make millions at the professional level. I realize not all of them make it but that is what we sign up for and at the collegiate level it isnt about the money but the tradition. All we do now is promote instant gratification at every turn and it is sickening, but we are all guilty of it. The only way to change it is to change our own mind set. I look at racing and cant believe what is going on in their ranks. We have kids in race cars that are worth more than a lot of homes out there. Most have done nothing for it except been blessed with wealthy parents that want their kids to have the things they didnt or to have it better than they did. Nothing wrong with wanting your kids to have the best. Take it away and what do they have then, hell all they have to do is want and they get. But the moral is, some of our kids have done nothing to earn that privilege, it has been given to them along with the hero status. WOW what the hell is a hero any more??? Dakota Meyer! Does that name ring a bell? He is the most recent medal of honor recipient who went through a six hour fire fight (they were set up and ambushed) riding on a vehicle manning a weapon going in and out of the killing fest pulling people from certain death. Dakota was also running on foot through bullet barrages time after time trying to get to four Marine brothers (none by blood) that were pinned down by gun fire to help get them to safety. Keep in mind during this entire time frame while he was in the kill zone “HE” was the target they were trying to hit and kill. In the end the Marines he was trying to save perished so he feels nothing he did was extraordinary!!! He feels if they would have lived it may have been extraordinary. I dont think Dakota is going to make millions and paraded around as a larger than life hero anytime soon. He has been on 60 minutes and other TV. shows but once the new is worn off, his name by most will be forgotten. I dont think we will see him on the backs of t-shirts with multi colors promoting him or the great and wonderful products that pay him lots of money to say he couldnt have done it with out them. Dakota is a very humble and unassuming man who has the privilege of being a Marine and the privilege of receiving the Medal of Honor. He is a HERO! Colleges and sports altogether just need to stop and realize what got them where they are “TRADITION” and what they are doing to their people “FANS” that put them where they are. Sorry about the rant but money doesnt always measure success. BrianBrianHAWG Hunter2013 BassCat Eyra2013 Mercury 250 Pro XS Gen2 L/U
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