AUght2win

First off, that’s awesome DAG I’m guessing it wasn’t AU or we would already know that? What school? Wisky? Secondly, track is one of the sports entirely propped up by football/basketball money. I would think every bus ride, hotel room, meal, event, etc. you guys had was taken from the money made from the big 2. That’s been one argument I’ve had - if they start giving football/basketball players a large chunk of the pie from those sports’ revenue, all the less popular sports will go under overnight.

Okay but explain “everyone was getting rich”. Explain that part. Who? And how? WED just stated above that Georgia freaking Tech, a major athletics program, is in the red as an athletic department. In fact, the yearly reports say all that about a dozen colleges are in the red athletically. So who’s getting rich and how? CFB isn’t like a publicly traded stock. Jimmy Rane doesn’t “invest” in the program and then make money off it. Colleges use football money to prop up other sports (like gymnastics which makes nothing and costs a ton) and spend money internally on whatever need-be. Now maybe that spending is exorbitant at some places. We did, after all, just build a 90 freaking million dollar FOF. So if you want to constrict spending, no argument here. But let’s get it straight, no singular person is “getting rich” off college football players. The only argument for exploitation would be the TV networks. They make millions - but also PAY millions to the schools for broadcast rights. So idk. But y’all need to stop talking about it like the school president is taking half of the gate of the Iron Bowl or something.

They went from “give the kids nothing” to “literally don’t refuse them anything”. I’ve always said I don’t think society’s best and brightest are involved in college athletics.

You can say that all you want but my consumption of CFB as a whole has dropped by 90%. I don’t watch *any* other games now besides AU, and I used to be a guy who would get up to watch Gameday every week. If the disconnect grows deep enough to the point where I truly don’t feel like the players represent Auburn, I will have no reason to watch.

Keyword there. I know you didn’t mean it literally, but I’ll use to illustrate the differences the new system has brought. We are getting into territory now where guys are there for 6 months. That’s what Thorne will do. There is just utterly no connection to Auburn and no representation of the school with a bunch of guys who very plainly not interested in it at all. Like you, I want to see AUBURN win. But it’s feeling less and less like I’m watching Auburn. It’s basically just a pro team with no affiliation. Might as well have a draft.

First off, yes JHS would. We have a fanbase like Tennessee or Nebraska. They show up regardless. Secondly, you still don’t understand the argument. The argument is that if college football AS A WHOLE was filled with walk-ons, people would still watch. That’s why player skill isn’t what is propelling its popularity. People don’t go to CFB games primarily for the thrill of seeing elite athleticism. That’s for pro sports. People WILL buy tickets to see Lebron or Jordan or Brady or Manning pull off incredible feats. But nobody went to Auburn-Florida in 2019 “because I have to see Bo Nix and Kyle Trask play!” Nobody went to the A&M game because they just couldn’t pass up the chance to watch Tank play. It really doesn’t matter who is wearing the AU - AS LONG as they’re wearing the AU. The players are benefiting from and participating in something, they are not offering irreplaceable value to it.

That is such a bad argument. What is the point of naming a less popular school? Are you intimating college football isn’t popular? Or that it’d popular at GT with more money? Or…? Yes, some schools have more popular football programs than others. Incredible stuff.

I have no real beef with players making money. But I don’t like the current model. Personally, I think it should be like a union pension and players (at every school) get the same amount depending on how many years you play (like being vested). Because like I said in the previous post, people showing up to Texas games back then wasn’t dependent on Kevin Durant. They were showing up to support their school. KD obviously generated MORE excitement, aiding the program, but he didn’t make or break it. That should at least be taken into account when discussing how much value individual players truly bring to college sports.

I don’t understand the notion of looking at the game from the sole perspective of what’s best for the players. It’s disingenuous to say college football revolves are the players. The NFL and NBA are leagues where many people show up for the name on the back of the jersey, CFB is based on the name on the front. The reality is CFB players are participating in something MUCH larger than them. The narrative from some is that it’s virtually slave labor to give kids a full college scholarship for playing a game. That CFB is like the NFL, and without these kids’ elite skill level, college football venues would be empty on Saturdays. Basically: talented kids power CFB and are what make it truly popular. Of course that isn’t the dynamic for anybody familiar with what college football really is. The actual dynamic is that college affiliation powers CFB, and is AIDED by skilled players. Fans show up and tune in to root for their school. No specific player or talent level is what draws fans to the stadium. It’s an affinity for the school and the idea that these kids are true representatives of our school. Don’t believe me? Look at a football model where it’s purely about watching elite athletes play - the XFL and USFL. Every XFL or USFL team would manhandle 99% of college teams. It’s a higher level of play. But despite having better players, their stadiums aren’t packed and their brand isn’t a 100th of what CFB is. We need to stop acting like if it wasn’t for the 5 star players, that CFB would fold. Most CFB fans would still root for their school if every team was compromised or walk-ons.

Save this bit for the road. Netflix special isn’t far off if all your material is this good.

So this version of college football is more enjoyable to you than say it was in 2005?

Opinion piece here. Want to start off by saying Hugh has done an amazing job. Love that we got Thorne and have been super aggressive in the portal. This really has nothing to do with him or Auburn, and it isn’t a dissatisfaction with ANYTHING we are doing. This is about the system as it currently operates. On any given down this fall, we could have an (ex) ECU center snap the ball to a Michigan State QB, who play-fakes to a USF RB, then pumps to an FIU TE before throwing to a Cincinnati WR. I just don’t know how I feel about the implications of that (while, as it pertains to our 2023 season, I am glad we got every single one of those kids). Nothing against those kids. Thrilled to have them. And they’re making the smart move for themselves and their families. But there’s just no reason they’re here other than money. Now, that’s not entirely new to college football, but I feel like there used to be at least a small level of personal affinity for a school to earn a commitment - I don’t care how big the money, you better like your college at least a little bit because you’re going to be there 3 years minimum. But now it’s high school transfer rules with NFL(ish) cash. No sport on earth has as much significant turnover as college football does right now. On the projected offensive two deep - Auburn will have 9 guys who previously picked other schools. On defense, it’s 9-10, including 5 out of 6 DL. Potentially over (maybe well over) half the team’s starters will be guys who had no connection to Auburn six months ago. They’ve got my support for sure. But it definitely feels different than rooting for a Bo, or Cadillac, or Takeo, or Lutz, or guys who actually you feel like ARE the university. I just don’t even know what the point of the game is anymore. My love for the sport has dimmed. Hope they can figure out a balance where the kids still get paid but there’s some semblance of “college” put back in college football.

We weren’t top 10 in 2009.

Was that seriously floated to Bo or considered? It’d be a fascinating story if he came back and succeeded.

I just don’t agree, man. There was not anything like the constant recruiting coverage, updates, prospect quotes, and visit tracking that’s goin on right now. Some obvious propaganda arms were trying damage control. It didn’t look anything like what we’re seeing right now.

I don’t ever remember beat writers being excited about recruiting under Harsin. Especially this time a year ago in the wake of the investigation.

I’m honestly shocked TJ is allowed to be here. I mean, didn’t he essentially quit the team and not even travel the last half of the season? On top of all the social media shots he fired? I guess Freeze is giving him a clean slate since the last regime was so bad. But my understanding was, even when we KNEW Harsin was gone, that TJ wasn’t coming back next year regardless. Surprised he stuck around.

Lot to be positive about for sure…

That’s another problem. No TOs. Ever. Even when we could use them to set up a buzzer beater play. Did it the other night against Iowa. Just took 2-3 to the half.

That doesn’t happen without bad coaching. I love BP. He can stay as long as he wants. But his coaching or lack there of needs to be examined. What. Happened. To. Donaldson.

It’s largely his fault. No timeouts. No adjustments. No energy coming out of half. Donaldson hasn’t seen the floor in this half. Someone make it make sense.

If Auburn can only sign players from areas where there are majority Auburn fans, we’ll sign exactly 0 players. We *might* have a majority within Auburn city limits.

Not a big time recruit but Jonathan Wallace was QB at Central Phenix.

That’s fine. It still doesn’t negate a unique advantage Auburn has that you can’t put a price on - which is being 30 minutes away. No excuse for us doing as poorly as we have there. And I’m confident CHF turns it around.

Yeah but fandom doesn’t trump being able to have your whole family come watch every game you play in person because you’re just 30 minutes away. We should have way more success in Columbus/Phenix City than we do.