PMARSHONAU The love of money shakes the foundation of college sports.
I am tired of it all. I’m tired of college athletics being politicized. I am tired of lawyers seeking out plaintiffs so they can make millions. I am tired of judges who know little about the games college students play applying laws that were never intended for college sports.
I am tired of players being viewed as adults when that is convenient and as children when that is convenient.
I have long been impressed by players working hard and long to be the best they can be. Money doesn’t change that, but it has changed so much. It’s not just players. It is family members and agents, many of whom are wholly unqualified. It is “student-athlete advocates” who are really advocating to put money in their own pockets.
I am tired of what that money falling from the sky has done to the sports I have loved since, as a 7-year-old, I sat in the stands at Legion Field and watched Auburn beat Mississippi State 15-7 on its way to a national championship.
All I remember of the game itself is Auburn trapping the Mississippi State punter for a safety. But I remember the pageantry, the cheers, the excitement in the air even before I got into the stadium with my brother and my mother.
I knew nothing about the sport, really, beyond playing in my back yard. I was excited to see Lloyd Nix and Jackie Burkett because my father had given me two authentic jerseys with their numbers.
I remember coeds selling mums on Toomer’s Corner. I remember going to Tuscaloosa with my father and Bear Bryant interrupting his press conference to come outside, where we were playing, and say hello to us. I remember the kindness of so many people I have covered and known.
In 1960, I had a sideline pass for the Auburn-Chattanooga game. I was there with my friend Tim Herring, son of Auburn defensive genius Hal Herring. Coach Shug Jordan walked up to us minutes before the game started. “If you see a bunch of big guys running toward you, get out of the way,” he said with a grin.
I remember Auburn students yelling “Tiger meat! Tiger meat” as the opposing team ran onto the field.
One of the special things about my job is that Lloyd and Jackie, my childhood heroes, became my adult friends. They are both gone now, and I miss them.
In my job, I have known so many good and interesting people. I have watched teen-agers grow into impressive young men and women. I have witnessed overwhelming joy and numbing disappointment.
I have no problem with players getting paid. Regardless of the sport, they pay a fearsome price to put on those Auburn colors. Most of those who have come Auburn’s way are loyal to Auburn to this day. That is true even in these strange and troubling times. But what we have now are college sports unencumbered by any real rules. It’s get as much as you can. If things don’t go the way you thought they would go when you were a high school superstar, pack up and go somewhere else.
The games on the field and in the arena are more compelling than they have ever been. But college athletes aren’t pro athletes. Most will never be. Meanwhile, we are rapidly losing what made college sports special to me and to so many others.
That makes me sad.
