Players Skipping Bowl Games

[HarleyDog]

Not bashing anyone for thinking kids are ok to decide not to play but, doesn’t that type of thinking sound Marvinesque? We know what becomes of that type of attitude.

[grampahol]

"They only care about the money..."

That's kind of the reason most people bother getting up in the morning to go to work. I'm sure there's a few people who have some loyalty to their employers, but college football teams aren't these players employers unless they're coaching. Perhaps it is different if you grow up as a fan of the college team you play for and have deep roots in the community and so on, but many are recruited from out of town and college football is just a mere stepping stone on the way to making big bucks in the pros..I'd venture to guess that the majority see college football as nothing more than that. It's not as if there are thousands of employers just begging for people with degrees in African American studies or basket weaving degrees.. In fact there probably ought to be a degree program of professional football open to just football players where they can learn about the business end of professional football..heck, let anyone major in pro football studies except for the fact that there are only 32 potential employers for jobs unless journalism can be tossed in the mix and I suspect that the NFL really wouldn't want a whole lot of employees who really have a knack for mud raking and digging up dirt on the business of football..scratch that idea. 
Anyway, back to bowl games..There's only a handful of bowl games that matter a gnat and the rest are just made up nonsense. Just how important is a bowl game with 2 4-8 teams that's only known purpose for existence is to fill up dead air time for broadcasters? 
So your favorite college player skipped the ever important Who Gives A Rats Ass Bowl!  Certainly he's never going to show enough rah rah rah once in the pro's.     

[PikesPeakUC]

Thought that Josh Rosen was pretty eloquent about this topic recently:

Rosen is currently in concussion protocol and will sit out of the Bruins' Cactus Bowl matchup against Kansas State this week. But he did express a desire to suit up with his teammates for the game, but explained that he understood why many players chose to sit out their final college game instead. He argued that many players who elect to do so are unfairly maligned by fans and the media.

Rosen compared his situation as a quarterback to that of running backs who have received criticism for deciding to skip their team's bowl games in previous years, such as Christian McCaffrey and Leonard Fournette.

"For them it's not an issue of if they're getting hurt, it's an issue of how severe, because most of those guys get banged up to some extent every single game," Rosen said. "Quarterback is unique — we'll take a few licks here and there, but nothing like the beating those guys take."

Rosen went on to explain that he felt many didn't think about all the reasons players might have for making such a decision.

"A lot of people bash them, but some of them have to realize that some of these guys have families, some of these guys have kids. Some of these guys really have to support the people around them. Some of them maybe have been put in unfortunate circumstances where they can't afford to be in school for another year. They might want to...If they feel like they've locked in their future earnings to take care of their kids, or families, sisters, brothers, whatever, then I think people should really look into their story and see how football is affecting their life."

[XenoMorph]

(12-24-2017, 09:07 AM)HarleyDog Wrote: Not bashing anyone for thinking kids are ok to decide not to play but, doesn’t that type of thinking sound Marvinesque? We know what becomes of that type of attitude.

they gotta protect the investment they have made in themselves.


The college doesn't care if they can never play again after that game. And wont pay anything if that happens..  while the player can lose everything they have worked for up to that point.



Boss calls you and tells you they need to you to come in for  a special hazardous event that could end your career... But also your not getting paid...    Do you still go in?

[Benton]

Bowl games are for the school/sponsors/alumni. Like the Pro Bowl, it doesn't really do anything for the athletes who might end up losing out because of playing. I don't think most coaches (outside of maybe ours) use bowl games for much. In the end, you're looking at a guy's 3-4 years, not the final game of his career.

If I was the school/sponsors/alumni, I'd want the tradition to continue. If I was a player looking at starting my NFL career, I'd probably show up and play the safest game of my life. No contact, lots of jogging on plays.

[HarleyDog]

(12-26-2017, 02:30 PM)XenoMorph Wrote: Boss calls you and tells you they need to you to come in for  a special hazardous event that could end your career... But also your not getting paid...    Do you still go in?

You wouldn't?

[BMK]

(12-26-2017, 03:36 PM)Benton Wrote: If I was a player looking at starting my NFL career, I'd probably show up and play the safest game of my life. No contact, lots of jogging on plays.

And that's how you WOULD get hurt...playing at a different speed and intensity than everyone else on the field. Plenty of other guys desperately wanting to make the most of the national attention and will take you out. I'd think you'd be way better off not playing at all than trying to play safe.

[*Wyche'sWarrior*]

(12-24-2017, 02:48 AM)blt4584 Wrote: I think you have to look at a players entire history rather than just basing on what they decide for the bowl game. Fournette was killed last off-season for not playing the bowl, but no one gave him credit for trying to rush himself back to play in the season opener, or for the Auburn game, or for the Alabama game or for the Florida game.

I think he had an injury though, didn't he?

[*Wyche'sWarrior*]

(12-26-2017, 02:30 PM)XenoMorph Wrote: they gotta protect the investment they have made in themselves.


The college doesn't care if they can never play again after that game. And wont pay anything if that happens..  while the player can lose everything they have worked for up to that point.



Boss calls you and tells you they need to you to come in for  a special hazardous event that could end your career... But also your not getting paid...    Do you still go in?

That's not always true.  As much as I couldn't stand the guy, Steve Spurrier and the South Carolina administration held a position for Marcus Lattimore in case he wasn't drafted on the Gamecocks staff.  Marcus eventually came back to that very position, until the NCAA ruled that his work at his leadership academies through his foundation might give him an unfair recruiting advantage.  Even though Spurrier was gone, Will Muschamp honored the Gamecocks' commitment to him.  Marcus is now a high school HC.

Of course, Marcus Lattimore is one of the most stand up guys I've ever read about....one of the very few athletes I follow on Facebook.

[blt4584]

(12-26-2017, 04:04 PM)Wyche Wrote: I think he had an injury though, didn't he?

Yeah, he hurt his ankle summer practices and kept rushing back. His problem was he said something like "now that my college career is done its time to focus on the draft" and people took it in a way that I don't think he meant. I can't read his mind though, so who knows.

[*Wyche'sWarrior*]

(12-26-2017, 04:40 PM)blt4584 Wrote: Yeah, he hurt his ankle summer practices and kept rushing back. His problem was he said something like "now that my college career is done its time to focus on the draft" and people took it in a way that I don't think he meant. I can't read his mind though, so who knows.

I gotcha.  I was a little harsh on him, not bad.....just saying I would rather take a back that didn't sit out his bowl game.....but then I found out how bad his ankle was.  With that being the case, I think he made the right call in his particular situation.  Then the guy comes to the NFL and donates game checks to flood victims, and I knew he wasn't what people were trying to say he was.  I think you're right, personally.....after seeing him doing great things as a man in the pros.

[*Wyche'sWarrior*]

(12-22-2017, 07:43 PM)wolfkaosaun Wrote: It's a business decision. Remember when Marcus Lattimore broke his knee in October? Dude went into the 7th round and lost out on a ton of money. There's been injuries that have destroyed careers and projections.

Let me ask you this: As a college student who has not made any money for the past few years, you are almost guaranteed a few million dollars, but an injury takes away millions as well. There's no point in playing, coaches have seen your tape. Do you risk it for one more game? Or decide that your future is more important than one bowl game?

Fourth round, but yeah, he lost some coin.  That was a particularly gruesome injury though.....highly unlikely event.

http://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/15528475/former-south-carolina-gamecocks-rb-marcus-lattimore-finds-new-life-happiness-knee-injuries