I feel you dude, Ive been following recruiting for almost 30 years. From the days when all you could get was the newspaper sports section info and some mags like Athlons, Street and Smiths, Phil Steel, Prep Star, Super Prep mags and newsletters, to the early days of the internet, with Wallace, Emfiger, later Border Wars, when Rivals began, Grassy, Shadows Board, I remember when Canesport was that dinky little newspaper Ferman used to publish that they sold at AllCanes in South Miami near Campus. To the monstrosity it has now become.
I agree that it has really become an unmitigated circus. And it gets worse every year. I honestly dont see how it will get any better. As technology continues, social media, everyone with smartphones, ipads, etc, its just going to get worse and worse, its going to grow into a bigger animal. I actually forsee it getting MUCH worse. Its only a matter of time before someone figures out a way to create some kind of gambling system around betting on what kid signs with what school, and then the real corruption is going to begin that will make things like point shaving look like childs play. Its a scary new era.
Every year, I say Im not going to follow this sh8t anymore, but every year, I know Im lying to myself, and I keep coming back to it. LIke a f*cking junkie, I just cant help myself. The difference now is, that I have learned to approach it with more maturity. I take it all in stride. We will get ours. I find the discussion and ups and downs entertaining, but I dont let it drive me crazy like I used to. Expect the worst, hope for the best, and try to tune into recruiting season as late as possible, is the best way to approach it. And all this cr@p about kids from 2015, or 2016 etc, I just laugh at and ignore. Even kids who are seniors now and committed will change their minds 50 times before now and signing day, so why would I care about what some Sophomore says he's going to do in 2 or 3 years?
Were going to get some good players. We will never get all the kids we want. Some kids will ***** us and disappoint us, while there will be others who will be pleasant surprises. Some kids who everyone thinks are cant miss, will be busts, and other sleepers will emerge to be stars. Take it all in stride. Enjoy it. But dont live for this sh*t, or it will drive you literally insane. At the end of the day, this is still just following the decision making process of a bunch of kids, who are, for the first times in their lives, being lavished with attention and notoriety, and having legions of fans from different places, fawning over them. As hard as it is for an immature teenager to make a major life decision, its only compounded by the internet celebrity and fans, which all combines to turn this into the sh*t show it has become.
All we can do is sit back, relax, try to enjoy it, and live with the outcome.
