Skipping bowl games

[Boomboom521]

i get it, an injury could cost millions, and as a responsible professional, one would have to look at that fact during the process of evaluating if playing is the right move.

However, all of the above pieces to the evaluation are dependent upon two things: 1) thinking about the bowl game like a professional and 2) having a higher importance placed on the self than on the program.

Maybe you will become a professional football player in the future, maybe you will for a HOF career, maybe for a brief Ryan Leaf type flash, maybe you’ll hang on a practice squad for several years, maybe cut at the end of preseason. But at the moment, you aren’t a professional — you are (likely) one of the leaders of a college football program, and abandoning the team in the most important game of the year (playoff or not) is just an abandonment of responsibilities, imo.

The program that recruited you, provided the facilities, the coaching, the opportunity for you to prove that you are capable of becoming a professional (for however long or brief a period) needs you to preform in this game. A bowl win.....Sugar or Heart of Dallas....has a big impact on recruiting and the positivity going into the next season.

In too many ways, the greater good is sacrificed for the individual in this nation today. I think sitting the bowl game is just another example of the selfishness that seems to be justified more and more often in our society.

 

[3xWVUenginEER]

I would say this.

1. Unless a bowl game is on 12-30 or later meaning playoffs or traditional big time Traditional New Years Day Bowl games, it's pretty much meaningless, except to the tv network broadcasting it. The network makes $$$$ or they wouldn't keep doing it. The schools aren't making $$$$ going to these games, but the coaches do in the form of bonuses, which is amazing. The fans who do go are paying waaaaaaay too much if they buy face value tickets through the schools. Buy them scalped for $10 is my rule, $20 tops. I believe there are too many bowl games, and to be fair, which college sports are not, there should be an 8 win rule in order to get to go to a bowl game. It would increase interest by schools not being all but guaranteed a bowl game.

2. Every head coach in the P5 is making a minimum of what $2 million annually. I bet the average is over $3.5 million. You have over 50 coordinators making over $1 million annually. The players by comparison aren't making minimum wage. Really the scholarship and cost of attendance isn't that expensive given the revenue they're helping to generate..
If the player has got a 1st-2nd-3rd round grade in the NFL draft which basically gives them a guaranteed million dollr$, I don't blame them for skipping a post season exhibition game. It is a business to ALL of the coaches who can make a financial decision to better themselves by leaving school ABC for XYZ. There's no NCAA rule to stop this. The players should have that right to skip any bowl game too. The coaches do it when they take a new job about 99% of the time. It is a business. The coaches put a 'higher importance on self than the program' every season. It is the monster.

Even if a player is just fighting for a roster spot at the NFL with a league minimum of $465k. What athletic coaching major, psychology major, sociology major, multi disciplinary studies major etc is gonna make that? That is a nice foundation to build life upon. If the player feels getting healed up to hope to do better on their upcoming job interview of a lifetime is maximized by missing a bowl game, more power to them!


I know there are 2 different schools of thought from most of the fan bases. Traditional sports views vs the current situation in college sports which is it's ALL about $$$$. I think college sports is part of a sports bubble that is over inflated, and I think will bust in the next few years. I think it will reset a lot of what is happening at both the college and pro level. Everything peaks and interest in sports is not immune from that. I think the pros will be impacted more than college at the onset. I don't even watch the NFL anymore. I don't miss it.

 

[Boomboom521]

I would say this.

1. Unless a bowl game is on 12-30 or later meaning playoffs or traditional big time Traditional New Years Day Bowl games, it's pretty much meaningless, except to the tv network broadcasting it. The network makes $$$$ or they wouldn't keep doing it. The schools aren't making $$$$ going to these games, but the coaches do in the form of bonuses, which is amazing. The fans who do go are paying waaaaaaay too much if they buy face value tickets through the schools. Buy them scalped for $10 is my rule, $20 tops. I believe there are too many bowl games, and to be fair, which college sports are not, there should be an 8 win rule in order to get to go to a bowl game. It would increase interest by schools not being all but guaranteed a bowl game.

2. Every head coach in the P5 is making a minimum of what $2 million annually. I bet the average is over $3.5 million. You have over 50 coordinators making over $1 million annually. The players by comparison aren't making minimum wage. Really the scholarship and cost of attendance isn't that expensive given the revenue they're helping to generate..
If the player has got a 1st-2nd-3rd round grade in the NFL draft which basically gives them a guaranteed million dollr$, I don't blame them for skipping a post season exhibition game. It is a business to ALL of the coaches who can make a financial decision to better themselves by leaving school ABC for XYZ. There's no NCAA rule to stop this. The players should have that right to skip any bowl game too. The coaches do it when they take a new job about 99% of the time. It is a business. The coaches put a 'higher importance on self than the program' every season. It is the monster.

Even if a player is just fighting for a roster spot at the NFL with a league minimum of $465k. What athletic coaching major, psychology major, sociology major, multi disciplinary studies major etc is gonna make that? That is a nice foundation to build life upon. If the player feels getting healed up to hope to do better on their upcoming job interview of a lifetime is maximized by missing a bowl game, more power to them!


I know there are 2 different schools of thought from most of the fan bases. Traditional sports views vs the current situation in college sports which is it's ALL about $$$$. I think college sports is part of a sports bubble that is over inflated, and I think will bust in the next few years. I think it will reset a lot of what is happening at both the college and pro level. Everything peaks and interest in sports is not immune from that. I think the pros will be impacted more than college at the onset. I don't even watch the NFL anymore. I don't miss it.

If a player is hurt, that’s a different story, imo. Even your analysis is based in a selfish mentality. A bowl championship is a bowl championship. Are you saying that an 8-5 season with a bowl victory over a PAC team like Utah isn’t different from a 7-6 season with a loss against the same team?

It’s not life or death for a program, but it matters. When decisions made by a player revolve around the player only, I think the concept of team is not as legitimate as it should be, imo. It’s a critical aspect of personal development. Sacrifice and personal risk for something higher is a very important component to a successful program, nation, family, friendship, and life in general, imo.

 

[3xWVUenginEER]

1st let me say I don't like going all quote for quote with rebuttals because it comes across as adversarial. Not my intent.

Still let me say the following in context.

"If a player is hurt, that’s a different story, imo. Even your analysis is based in a selfish mentality."

Sports past high school nowadays is ALL a selfish mentality. Too much $$$$ for it not to be.

"A bowl championship is a bowl championship. Are you saying that an 8-5 season with a bowl victory over a PAC team like Utah isn’t different from a 7-6 season with a loss against the same team?"

I don't think it's any different. Any difference is minimal at most. The announcers always hype the bowl games as National TV and great for recruiting. Utah was ranked 11th in the PAC 12 recruiting based on espn. WVU was 5th or 6th in the Big 12 by the same espn rankings. The tv ratings for this game won't bump either school at all.

There's not many of these bowl games that are even being watched. The ratings are less than many regular season games. You've got about 5 or 6 schools that have great tv draws. Utah beating WVU isn't one of them. I would guess that less than 1 million watched that game on espn.

 

[Boomboom521]

1st let me say I don't like going all quote for quote with rebuttals because it comes across as adversarial. Not my intent.

Still let me say the following in context.

"If a player is hurt, that’s a different story, imo. Even your analysis is based in a selfish mentality."

Sports past high school nowadays is ALL a selfish mentality. Too much $$$$ for it not to be.

"A bowl championship is a bowl championship. Are you saying that an 8-5 season with a bowl victory over a PAC team like Utah isn’t different from a 7-6 season with a loss against the same team?"

I don't think it's any different. Any difference is minimal at most. The announcers always hype the bowl games as National TV and great for recruiting. Utah was ranked 11th in the PAC 12 recruiting based on espn. WVU was 5th or 6th in the Big 12 by the same espn rankings. The tv ratings for this game won't bump either school at all.

There's not many of these bowl games that are even being watched. The ratings are less than many regular season games. You've got about 5 or 6 schools that have great tv draws. Utah beating WVU isn't one of them. I would guess that less than 1 million watched that game on espn.

Discussion is healthiest when respect is mixed with confrontation, so I appreciate the comment.

I agree that hype is a problem, and even that the amount of bowls dilutes the punch of the trophy in the case. Both legit points.

But it’s still a game in the season. The final game of the season. When a game is treated as a “waste” at any point.....0-11 or 11-0....it’s a smear on the integrity of the game, imo. It isn’t about the amount of wins and losses, it’s about the program, the team concept, and the principle of giving all you got for those that line up next to you. Walking away from that might be accepted by the coach and most on the team even these days, but that’s literally the problem, imo.

College ball being about $$$$ is a problem, imo, as well. I’m not saying that money shouldn’t be made, I’m not saying that players shouldn’t recieve a piece of that fat and nasty pie.....but I’m saying that the concept of what a program is and what it stands for should be different than just simply an avenue to wealth accumulation.

Two wrongs don’t make a right. It’s on the coaches and administrators as well. And more on the monster NCAA than anyone.

 

[3xWVUenginEER]

I see your point and at 2 specific institutions (3 if we count Air Force), I will always agree. I love watching Army and Navy in the Bowl Games no matter which one because those guys are ALL playing for a purpose greater than themselves. They serve for a purpose greater than themselves. God Bless them all!

I'm an Army fan, but I root for Navy all but 1 game a year. Air Force is clearly #3 to me.

Btw Navy is currently kicking and curb stomping the hell out of the Wahoos of the Jeffersonian Institution and I'm liking it a whole bunch. Not as much as Army beating SDSU in a nail biting go for two to win at the end with under 1 min to go, but it's getting there.

They are the exceptions.

The NCAA is the problem. It's a cartel that's as crooked as the IOC and influenced as much as the world sanctioning body FIFA (the soccer folks-I don't watch). See UNC, the U, and Sandusky State as clear proof why the NCAA will never do Anything to fix their cash cow to have integrity.

 

[Charleston Mountie]

Regardless of player or coach, skipping the bowl - unless the coach is fired on the player is restricted from the game shows a distinct lack of character. A reputation is made at such cross roads and those opting out prove that they are unreliable and in many cases, ungrateful. Of course the NFL is littered with that mindset these days, you can find all of them kneeling during the national anthem.

 

[Boomboom521]

I see your point and at 2 specific institutions (3 if we count Air Force), I will always agree. I love watching Army and Navy in the Bowl Games no matter which one because those guys are ALL playing for a purpose greater than themselves. They serve for a purpose greater than themselves. God Bless them all!

I'm an Army fan, but I root for Navy all but 1 game a year. Air Force is clearly #3 to me.

Btw Navy is currently kicking and curb stomping the hell out of the Wahoos of the Jeffersonian Institution and I'm liking it a whole bunch. Not as much as Army beating SDSU in a nail biting go for two to win at the end with under 1 min to go, but it's getting there.

They are the exceptions.

The NCAA is the problem. It's a cartel that's as crooked as the IOC and influenced as much as the world sanctioning body FIFA (the soccer folks-I don't watch). See UNC, the U, and Sandusky State as clear proof why the NCAA will never do Anything to fix their cash cow to have integrity.

I think that’s well said

 

[Boomboom521]

I see your point and at 2 specific institutions (3 if we count Air Force), I will always agree. I love watching Army and Navy in the Bowl Games no matter which one because those guys are ALL playing for a purpose greater than themselves. They serve for a purpose greater than themselves. God Bless them all!

I'm an Army fan, but I root for Navy all but 1 game a year. Air Force is clearly #3 to me.

Btw Navy is currently kicking and curb stomping the hell out of the Wahoos of the Jeffersonian Institution and I'm liking it a whole bunch. Not as much as Army beating SDSU in a nail biting go for two to win at the end with under 1 min to go, but it's getting there.

They are the exceptions.

The NCAA is the problem. It's a cartel that's as crooked as the IOC and influenced as much as the world sanctioning body FIFA (the soccer folks-I don't watch). See UNC, the U, and Sandusky State as clear proof why the NCAA will never do Anything to fix their cash cow to have integrity.

For whatever reason (maybe it’s the blue and gold), but I like those Navy unis today too

 

[3xWVUenginEER]

I like the fact it's 42-7 in the 3rd qtr and UVA doesn't have a working heater on their sidelines. And the temp is in the 20s. Hahahahahaja! Oh it's good to laugh.

Our 70 pts vs Clemson may be in danger of falling.

I think those are the Blue Angel Unis

 

[Woodie_rivals56930]

As for a WVU player staying out a bowl game, the whole team should of stayed at home, cause sure as hell I didn't see many of them playing. What I am getting at is that WVU, until coaching improves, should not except any more invitations regardless of the money involved, cause the games we play in don't pay enough to cover expenses. And if the expenses were met, the embarrassment of the way we play still makes it not worth it.

 

[3xWVUenginEER]

Navy only won 49-7. I wanted one more TD just as a way to give the finger to Mr Jefferson's institution. Navy set some records and so did UVA.

It was obvious VA was done playing in the First qtr. NAVY wasn't done til the 4th qtr.

 

[TejasFan]

Navy only won 49-7. I wanted one more TD just as a way to give the finger to Mr Jefferson's institution. Navy set some records and so did UVA.

It was obvious VA was done playing in the First qtr. NAVY wasn't done til the 4th qtr.

I wish West Virginia could have been matched up in a bowl with Virginia. Both teams played without desire in their respective bowls. I wonder which team would have given up first in such a matchup. Is it too late this year to get a game with VA? Warez

 

[WVU80ate_rivals]

i get it, an injury could cost millions, and as a responsible professional, one would have to look at that fact during the process of evaluating if playing is the right move.

However, all of the above pieces to the evaluation are dependent upon two things: 1) thinking about the bowl game like a professional and 2) having a higher importance placed on the self than on the program.

Maybe you will become a professional football player in the future, maybe you will for a HOF career, maybe for a brief Ryan Leaf type flash, maybe you’ll hang on a practice squad for several years, maybe cut at the end of preseason. But at the moment, you aren’t a professional — you are (likely) one of the leaders of a college football program, and abandoning the team in the most important game of the year (playoff or not) is just an abandonment of responsibilities, imo.

The program that recruited you, provided the facilities, the coaching, the opportunity for you to prove that you are capable of becoming a professional (for however long or brief a period) needs you to preform in this game. A bowl win.....Sugar or Heart of Dallas....has a big impact on recruiting and the positivity going into the next season.

In too many ways, the greater good is sacrificed for the individual in this nation today. I think sitting the bowl game is just another example of the selfishness that seems to be justified more and more often in our society.

Skipping bowl games is selfish. Team sports is about teamwork. It’s never ok to skip games.

 

[3xWVUenginEER]

The fans are skipping certain bowl games too. Everyone skipped the Heart of Dallas. Also I've never seen a Gator Bowl with less fans than what Louisville and Miss State brought and I've been to probably 6 of them.

I wonder what % of actual attendance is for games this year vs last year and even 5 years back. It has to be trending down but at what %

We are a point shaving scandal away from really blowing it up.

 

[WVU80ate_rivals]

The fans are skipping certain bowl games too. Everyone skipped the Heart of Dallas. Also I've never seen a Gator Bowl with less fans than what Louisville and Miss State brought and I've been to probably 6 of them.

I wonder what % of actual attendance is for games this year vs last year and even 5 years back. It has to be trending down but at what %

We are a point shaving scandal away from really blowing it up.

lol fans are not obligated to attend. Big difference

 

[3xWVUenginEER]

Coaches and players aren't either. It's more and more a business.

I will give credit to the the followers of the 'Great' Matt Campbell because they did go to Memphis. Then again if I hadn't been to a bowl game in how many years, I'd probably be there no matter the locale excluding that ungodly & awful pinstripe bowl

 

[WVU80ate_rivals]

Coaches and players aren't either. It's more and more a business.

I will give credit to the the followers of the 'Great' Matt Campbell because they did go to Memphis. Then again if I hadn't been to a bowl game in how many years, I'd probably be there no matter the locale excluding that ungodly & awful pinstripe bowl

Yes, they’re supposed to be. It’s a team sport. Sorry you don’t understand

 

[3xWVUenginEER]

I'm not here to argue. You have your opinion on what's happening in college sports and I'll have mine.

 

[Phil1972]

My first reaction was he should have played, but realizing what nothing games most of these bowls are, I changed my mind. If you are not in one of the 10 or so decent bowls and are a legit prospect, I say do what you want.