08-13-2023, 02:05 PM
Let's be real. College sports are stupid and nonsensical. I love them because I love sports and I love my college, but other countries don't operate like this. The logical model and what happens everywhere else is the best athletes ply a trade and monetize it when they can. America's concept of amateurism is a self-satisfying, hypocritical, cynical lie. Just absolutely ridiculous if you think about it with any sort of emotional distance from what we're used to as weird, self-centered, hedonistic Americans.
None of that is to say that I think the noble way forward is to do away with college sports entirely. Those who think the American version of "amateurism" is more connected to the mission of universities are living in a warped reality of their own. Why, pray tell, is that better than something affiliated with a university but not related to an academic mission that nonetheless manages to provide entertainment and revenue and builds community?
None of that is to say that I think the noble way forward is to do away with college sports entirely. Those who think the American version of "amateurism" is more connected to the mission of universities are living in a warped reality of their own. Why, pray tell, is that better than something affiliated with a university but not related to an academic mission that nonetheless manages to provide entertainment and revenue and builds community?