The Games Before the Games

I work at an institution of Higher Education, and I love college sports. Even so, sometimes I have to remind myself that these two things interact quite frequently.

It's easy to forget that the huge, fast, amazing athletes we see on the picture box are also 20 year old young men who are still maturing and learning what it means to be an adult. And while they are recipeints of a great opportunity, they also are challenged by the pressure of balancing a college experience with a full time job preparing to perform on the field. Add this to the idol worship and the pressure that comes with being a BMOC, and it amazing that there aren't more instances where an athlete snaps.

I also find myself troubled by the attention that we in American culture pay to young adults; and not just those who run a sub 4.6 40 yard dash. We spend inordinate amounts of time watching Brittany Spears, Lindsay Lohan, Jonas Brothers, or Miley Cyrus rocket to fame and then burn out, and that's a bit odd. Again, these are not even college students when they show up on our radar- they're kids. With our infatuation with youth culture, it's no wonder that shows like "To Catch A Predator" are necessary.

I bring this up because this weekend sees the big High School All Star football games: the Army All American Bowl (on NBC) and the Under Armour Game (on ESPN). While I will watch, and am interested in some of the in-game annoucements that recruits will make, there's something about the whole process.

There are whole institutions and organizations dedicated to watching and grading 15, 16, and 17 year olds as they perform athletically, and some of the verbiage used ("fluid hips", "great hands", "solid lower body") would interest Chris Hansen. Another aspect of this industry is having the "experts" call, email, text message, and interview these young men about their college choices.

Please hear me correctly- I do not think that anyone involved in the recruiting tracking process is doing it for the wrong reasons. I just wonder about the bigger picture: these folks are providing a service, and there are people who are willing to pay for this information. And that's what is a bit odd- that there is a market for this information, that there are people around the counntry who are that interested in 15-17 year olds that they probably haven't met or ever will meet. For the record- I can name the 5-6 recruits that Ohio State is still strongly pursuing, so I'm in this boat as well.

I'll be following up on this with some perspective about the means that colleges will take to be sure they win these "recruiting wars", as well as a look at some of the "results" that we see from this process.