I agree with what you said. My father in law is a huge Penn State fan.....he loved breaking my eggs about The U and would always say things about how Penn State did it the right way....with their STUDENT-athletes, stress on student, as to imply Miami's players didn't go to school (he wasn't wrong) while Penn State players did (he was wrong about that). He was a big believer in the student-athlete myth. Still is most likely. I never really had much to say back because, well, he was my father in law and there is no convincing him to change his mind. It was interesting how quiet he got many years later when the Sandusky story broke...
I don't mean to imply that the student-athlete does not exist - it most certainly does. I simply am saying that most kids at top football schools are there to play football first, second and third before a class would ever come into play.
I now feel a renewed sense of old man sensibilities, so thank you. I'm now off to tell some kids to get off my lawn.
It's all good, I just wanted to clarify.
I went to school with all of those old-school guys, I remember the Fiasco Bowl Steak Fry walkout. The Pedo State punter actually said that ONCE A WEEK they let the black players eat at the training table, as if that was some kind of hilarious joke. That's when Jerome Brown gathered up the team to walk out of that craptastic event.
And I've been told by a certain former player that the UM players could see the steroid injection marks on the Nebraska linemen in the 1983 Orange Bowl.
Yes, the "milk and cookies boys" of Ped State and Nebraska in the 1980s were filthy. And while UM's players were not perfect, they were not steroid-munching racists like the players at a number of other "more respectable" schools. The backlash against Miami was absolutely based on racism, both against our players (black athletes from "the hood") and our city ("overrun" by Cuban immigrants) at that particular time in history.
But I can tell you, when I was at UM, Dr. Anna Price made sure that the football team was going to class and graduating. If you ever went to her office, it was covered in pictures of former football players AT GRADUATION. That was her passion.
So I don't mind if it's "old man sensibilities" or not, I know that JJ instilled, and Dr. Price developed, a sense of pride in the UM STUDENT-athletes to make the most of their opportunities to change their family trajectories.
I know a lot of the old players. And while a few have lost their NFL money (i.e. Bernie), I really don't know very many who are UNsuccessful today. They may not all be millionaires, but the vast majority are living solid, productive, respectable lives. Some are coaches, some are cops, but I can't think of very many horror stories.
Maybe Warren Sapp...
