The Dark Fanhood of "New" College Sports

Brace yourselves...another round of the good ole transfer portal hits today, folks. Yep, again comes the pain of fanhood: uncertainty, frustration, and anger. This "new" climate of college sports continues to plunge the knife deeper into the hearts of fans, as we watch our teams become an ever-revolving door.

This is not an anti-NIL or anti-transfer portal blog incoming either. I understand millions are made by others off of college sports, and coaches bounce for the new shiny toy every year as well. So guys honestly maybe this is just an old fashion nostalgia blog you know... for the days of “HELL YEAH, our best player isn’t draft-eligible, he’s back!!” Either way, it’s becoming downright impossible to connect to your team anymore. The question becomes: what can be done?

Tennessee QB Nico Iamaleava jumpstarted what will become the second wave of transferring over the next couple of days and weeks. Yes, you’re not wrong if you are feeling like..."didn’t we just have to deal with this ball of stress refreshing Twitter and paid message boards this winter"?

Again, I get that kids deserve a chance.... but we also need to understand that sometimes you cannot forget about the journey to your moment. Players are transferring two, three, four times even! I’m not saying we need to hold them accountable for the schools necessarily, because we know they just see dollar signs. But this needs to be reined in for US!... the fans.

In the end, we are the ones hurt. We are the ones who make this whole thing so profitable. So where are our protections for our teams?

This QB at Tennessee has me all out of sorts, guys. He agreed to a “contract” (I don’t know if you can really call it that) not once, but twice within a year... and now for a third time, wanted more or said basically he would transfer!

Just seriously lets pause here for a second...can someone tell me how many jobs you can ask for a raise three times in that short of a period, including basically twice within like two days (games) of work? I cannot think of many off the top of my head!

To me, that is the problem.

Go ahead...let’s pay the guys I'm all for them getting the money. But we also need to still remember: they are not professionals yet. This kid now looks to be headed toward a big reality check. Many schools have already backed away from him, and it’s sounding like his offer could be less than he was getting at Tennessee. Many power 4 schools are turning their backs from him.

The system is not working as-is. It’s clear to many. We’ve even now had very successful coaches stepping down from college sports citing NIL issues. We have players renegotiating before playoff games, portals opening multiple times a year, and unlimited amounts (or ways around sitting) of transferring.

There is no longer pride to fight for a job... or for your school.

I’m not saying this is every player or coach nowadays, but in general, it’s harder to find a 3- or 4-year kid who stays, or a coach who completes a contract anymore. As a former player and now coach myself, it is tough to sit back and see all of this unfold... and to see college sports slowly turn into a version that leaves its once truly unique identity in the past.

Bet of the Day

04/16

Domantis Sabonis 20+ points -105