I have been Nebraska football fan for 55 years. I hate what has happened to college football. I hate the portal and all the disloyalty to team and program. I frankly don’t care about college football and Nebraska football that much anymore. There’s like this huge whole in my life now. I used to not be able to wait for the season to start. Now I usually don’t even know until the week of, when the game is and who we’re playing. I used read all the preseason magazines now I don’t even bother. It really sucks.
@@robertnoble6600 I feel your pain.My first game was against Missouri in 1962 in the knothole section. I faithfully listened to Bob Zenner before that with Pat Fisher, Roland McDole, and Don Fricke. Now, the inmates are running the asylum. Highest bidder. Even referees appear to be paid off. No team or school loyalty by coaches or players.
53 and I couldn’t agree more. My love for Nebraska football and college football in general has declined by more than half in the last 10 years. It will never be the same. Maybe God is trying to get us to realize our priorities in life.
@robertnoble6600 Agree totally with your thoughts. Even though I'm a capitalist, this is a perfect example of how money eventually corrupts! It would certainly help if somebody such as the conferences or Ncaa would step in and provide some regulation. Right now there is zero benefit to the fans, who are the people who support this sport! Meanwhile the coaches, administrators and players profit greatly!
I agree with you. This craziness has ruined everything as far as I’m concerned. What we used to have in the college game is what made it special, the better game. Pro football is nothing but a business. Now college football is infected with the same disease.
I didn't even have to listen to the first minute to say I agree as well. I was fine with the 1 time free transfer but this unlimited transfer is killing college football. There's no loyalty, there's no dedication, there's no more program building anymore. If anything the reason we have so many coaching moves (which then results in more player transfers) isn't because of better money or better opportunities elsewhere its because coordinators and head coaches don't want to keep recruiting their own locker rooms each and every year on top of new recruits. What time do they have to develop and teach and COACH these kids. NCAA needs to grow a pair and bring back the one time transfer rule and that should fix a vast majority of our woe's and worries
Absolutely agree. I have loved college football (and the Huskers in particular) since my undergrad days at UNL in the late 60's. There was a strong emotional attachment to the team and its players. It was great to watch talent develop. It was fun to watch recruiting. It was great to see the commitment of the players, most of whom were just playing for the fun of playing - scholarship limits meant that most were just in it for the game. But, within the past few years I've found my interest beginning to wane. I can't blame players for wanting to follow the money trail and looking out for what's best for them, but I despise the rules (or lack thereof) that have turned this great game on its head. As this massive movement of players through the portal continues and teams have to start wondering if players are coming back just because they feel they "deserve" more playing time, and players feeling as though enhancing their brand is more important that the team, etc, the game is becoming less worthy of my support. If it continues along this path there will come a point where the emotional attachment is gone and I'll find better things to do with my time. In reality, I think we're about 2 seasons away from the wheels coming off.
Exactly. Football is a team sport. It takes a team to win, not an individual. No one should think they are above their own team. Yet many people do now. I wonder if the ncaa makes money off the transfer portal? The more in, the more money. Hence, the lack of oversight and other bs.
I couldn’t agree more. They need to make college sports professional minor leagues. Right now, it’s worse than major leagues, where athletes are only free agents every few years. Letting these kids transfer annually is absolute madness… especially now that they are being paid.
I couldn’t agree more! Just think, we’re paying tens of millions of dollars to 18-22 year olds to play college football. There’s NO LOYALTY whatsoever. The players aren’t invested, and pretty soon the fans won’t be either. College football has become just like Minor League baseball. Constant player turnover! I’m finding better things to do with my time and money.
Personally, I think it helps level the playing field in a way, but yeah I agree, I miss knowing that you would have the same guys for 3 years minimum and watching them turn into a star. I think this affects rivalries, too. Rivalries are better when you know the star players on the other team.
@brandonriggle3860 disagree. It just opens up the opportunity to use it as a bid for the highest bidder each season. The players go where the money is now. Thie big money schools get the best players. The little guys don't stand a chance now.
Used to buy Lindy's and Phil Steele's magazines around mid June to see what was coming up for the season. Those mags are useless now. I miss the old days. Prolly cuz i was just a kid, but 1973 was the pinnacle of CFB for me. Not much parity but some monsters at the top of the food chain and Nebraska was one of them. Over half the top ten was undefeated going into the bowl games and the rest only had one loss I think. The rosters were stacked with underclassmen that you knew was coming back. Archie Griffin won a Heisman.... and he came back. Billy Sims won a Heisman... and he came back. Anthony Davis scored 5 TDs against ND.... and he came back. And they showed up and played to win in the bowl games. Oklahoma shoulda joined the Big Ten instead of the SEC if only to renew the OU/Nebraska game on the day after Thanksgiving. Second best rivalry game ever. Although Iowa has become a good rivalry to watch.
This is a great post and I totally agree with you! You have struck a nerve with me and you're the first one to have the guts and backbone to make a post like this and I applaud you for that! What fun is there in getting excited about players or a coach if they move on to another team next year? Its also sad when a coach can move to another school and a half dozen players follow him. Is that good for college football? The integrity of the game is under attack from money and lack of regulation!
I’m 74 and been a Husker fan since I was 8 years old. Growing up in Lincoln and getting season tickets in 1966, I went to a lot of games, until I moved out of state for work. I no longer really care for the college game, with the transfer portal, nil, these kids only care about themselves and their success, they have zero loyalties to the team. I hope Nebraska does well, but I really have lost interest. I also don’t like the showboating these kids do, the muscle poses, the finger to the lips to shhhsh the crowd, crossed arms, ridiculous stuff.
I feel much the way you described. I actually like Dec-Aug better than the actual season because there’s hope and optimism in the months between seasons. Then the season starts and we see that special teams can’t function properly. We see a 6th years senior OT who can’t stop an edge rusher. We see numerous illegal procedure penalties when it’s 3rd and 1. We see head scratching time out usage and unrecognizable two minute offense strategies. Basically the same ole shit different year stuff. So I’m a preseason Nebraska fan nowadays
Well again this is what happens when you try to ram a "Semi pro" structure into an education 4 year system. This was a 30 year problem in the making. The point at which the NCAA began turning massive profits and not paying workers. Finally the supreme Court comes around to ruling unpaid work as unconstitutional but the NCAA is now woefully behind. You are a semi pro league without contracts and without trade restrictions. So where to begin, first you need to not allow teams to directly/Indirectly pay players. The NCAA needs to cut a uniform check to all players. Those successful players need to find brand deals themselves with the help of their agents. Then if you want to have some kind of 1 transfer exception with a loss of a year of eligibility after that you could do that
I think the portal, NIL, & all school realignment, TV networks has taken my love of not just College football, but all sports in general. It's all a money grab from players, coaches, and schools.
I love college football but we all need to remind ourselves that college football as we knew it no longer exists. The teams might be the same name but the system is radically different and more closely resembles the NFL than anything else. NIL was the beginning of the end leading to radical conference realignments, huge financial inequities, unlimited transferring, the end of the college walk-on programs, and unbridled millions being paid to kids that can't even legally drink alcohol yet. College was unique because it was largely based on kids playing for and fans connecting with something larger than themselves. Now, it is quickly becoming all about themselves...which is why I stop caring about the NFL long ago.
Yep, the stories of each individual player is why we love college football. One example is my brother and I would point out Damian Jackson every time he got in the field and celebrated like madmen every time he made a tackle. With modern college football a guy like Damian isn’t going to be a thing anymore.
Used to look forward to listening to the game on the radio then moved to SoCal in '87, joined the Californians for Nebraska but it was a long drive to Pomona so saw very few games. Moved to San Antonio and Joined the Texans for Nebraska but also saw very few games on TV and some in person, including Osborne's last game in the Alamodome which included a pep rally and walk to the stadium from the River Walk:) Been in Colorado since 2000. The games left AM radio over a decade ago. Never know the schedule (or hear any news) until just before the first game of each season. If I have not gone downtown to the local watch party at the pub, I usually just watch the highlights on UA-cam the next day. Riola is the only player whose name comes to mind from this season.
Well said totally agree. I use to tell people I like college football because the team doesn’t change over like an NFL team and they play hard. I will stay a Husker fan but it’s definitely not the same. You covered exactly how I feel.
Not mine. Coaches were always grabbing for the moneybags. If you want to change anything, first structure COACH contracts so that they'll be sued and financially broken if they don't serve out their time. Also make coaches fireable for cause if they don't meet performance metrics stated in their contracts (example - fail to get 6 wins for 2 consecutive seasons, you're fired for cause). No buyouts.
I think it makes the offseason were interesting. I don’t follow everyone move but it’s fun to follow the big players movements. Also this season has been one of the most intriguing seasons in a long time. It’s a change but we’ll get used to it
I try to care but just can’t. I love the Husker tradition but there is none anymore, except for past glories. Am I supposed to give a flying f**k about these mercenaries who are here today and gone tomorrow? If Raiola stays or goes, so friggin what, he may have some relation to Husker royalty, but that doesn’t mean s**t anymore. Go, stay, who cares. NIL and the transfer portal disaster has really destroyed what I believe college football should be about. I know my opinion doesn’t mean anything, but I’m voicing it anyway.
I’m an Iowa guy and maybe that the reason we kinda hung with Kirk ,always knew however mediocre you knew he was there. But I agree it’s like being a baseball fan I don’t know who the Cubs are going to have next year,and same with college football. I have really lost the passion,so you win with last years players from another team doesn’t really thrill me. Great podcast 👍
I get it Jon. Unfortunately all of these schools need to cut rosters to 105. That means a lot of those in the portal will go down in division or might end their college careers. I think 140 is more realistic.
Why can't financial aid be limited to 105? Kids who want to pay their own way should not be barred from participation. They have effectively banned walk-ons. How does that help the sport?
@@huskerchuck9212 It's a response to NIL effectively letting schools workaround financial limitations. We can just give $30k to each walk on instead of a scholarship. There isn't much of an alternative from the NCAA's perspective.
I agree that college football has changed for the worst. My suggestions are this, 1. Put a cap on the amount of NIL money a player can receive. This will stop players from shopping around to the highest bidder after each season. 2. Leave the portal as is except for one change. Use the rule that used to be in effect, you transfer, you sit out a season before you become eligible again. I think this may add some stability to college football.
You speak great truths even if you aren’t a Cornhusker fan . This is for all fans . Also love your take on nfl . Viking fan but I agree on not hating other teams . I’m rooting for Detroit cuz I know I won’t live long enough to see the Vikings in the Super Bowl , and that’s ok .
Same, and it isn’t because I don’t support the young men’s having options, it’s because they have no consequence for transferring every year for any reason and that ruins everything.
For me it all started years back w/ conference realignment and that was the first red flag strike for me. Then NIL and the transfer portal are strike 2 and 3! How are fans supposed to remain loyal to a “team” (what a joke) where there’s no loyalty and the term “team” doesn’t apply anymore. It’s a group. Coaches are being set up to fail.
Transfer in...transfer out ...show me the money....blah...blah. I gave up on tbis stuff. Now I just watch Babe Ruth baseball played at a beautiful field in a small town in PA. I used to play ball there many years ago. Winning and losing,good sportsmanship, team loyalty, with love of the game.
Puts body in danger for a billion dollar complex. They deserve to get paid. Imagine getting injury, losing your scholarship with nothing to show for it.
I feel bad for seniors who have fought for one more game. You have players transferring and coaching staffs changing for the next season. The message is that bowl doesn't matter. And I know people think anything less than a championship doesn't matter. But I think it's a disservice to the sport to overlook the bowl games.
I'm an Arkansas fan and I completely agree with you. We have 20+ in the portal, and almost 10 not playing in the Bowl game because of the draft. We don't have 10 draft able guys. And I'm not talking about eligibility I'm talking about talent. Every player thinks they are worth more than they are. We really need a college football commissioner and a player salary cap. This is getting crazy.
Can there be another way to look at this? Create an environment where players want to stay, those that stay show loyalty and commitment and a willingness to improve and work . That might be where real gold can be found.
in addition, the regular season is lessoned by the 12 team playoff. it may not have diminished it as much as I originally thought, but the regular season doesn't mean as much. MI knocked OSU out if it was last year, now you get a second chance........same with TX.
OU fan 60+ yrs here. Transfers and NIL are killing my enjoyment. Money beats loyalty. Get used to “who is that “ in the useless bowls. Need to move transfers to after season and establish cap limits like nfl. Doubt it will ever be as good as it was. Miss our yearly match. Huskers had good fans!
Me too, it's devastating. I know we can pay $X and keep this player or that, but its a completely different game now and the NFL is starting to look a lot better in comparison.
Preach on brother John!! I find myself ranting privately and with friends daily or hourly.... about how college football nonsense is getting completely ridiculous and ruining football for the true fan. What are these young men going to do when they're truly faced with hard life adversity? How much longer can we life long fans hold up as our beloved sport is destroyed?
College football as we know it will be ruined by all this! Loved the Jersey comment, nephew made the Panthers and everyone said you gonna get his Jersey? I said hell no, what happens when he goes to a different team? Jerseys for players not fans
I left my Football team, one of the best in the south, and turned my allegiance to Nebraska 3 years ago because of its old school heart. But when you get kids from all over that don't care about the school but just about themselves, you're going to get portal hoppers. Just let those hop to make room for the ones who have the true old school heart come in. I hear we have a group coming in that have the nebraska heart. Make room for those.
I agree 1000%. free agency killed my love of the NFL.. and now the same thing as killing my love of college football. I'm even thinking seriously about becoming a fan of an FCS team so I have somebody to follow other than nebraska. Not for who yet I'm going to watch the FCS playoffs and see who I kind of gravitate towards
The question I’m asking myself is: Is it the recent losing by Nebraska, or the transfer portal, or both that is sapping my love of CFB? Maybe we won’t really know until Nebraska is good again. At the very least, the portal should be closed until after the national title game. Finish the freaking season!
@jasonboyd272 … Insightful Question. It’s the years of losing by Nebraska that makes Cornhusker fans dislike the portal. The shock and the emotional response to the transfer portal would be less right now if the “sports journalists” and vocal fans hadn’t downplayed and badmouthed it for the past two years).
I have gotten to the point where I turn the Nebraska game on at kickoff and turn it off at the end and watch, read or listen to nothing else. I don’t watch any other team or sport.
IT Manager? Love your users and they will love you back. I have scene Nebraska a few times but it was in Miami. Lets get a home and home with Miami soon!
If you want change quit buying the product. Boycott the first two games next season. Empty stadiums and low tv revenues will enact change. Power to the fans.
I agree. The portal is a bowl game killer. Last year, Ohio State was beaten by Missouri, yet OH ST was down to a 3rd to 4th string Qb. Was Missouri better during the season? No. How can you take bowls seriously when half the team is gone?
Avid Nebraska fan for over 60 years - What is happening with NIL, and the transfer portal is killing the sport, imho.. I too, should include the outrageous cost for coaches and tickets.. We have lost the TEAM to where one can find more money, or more playing time.. Essentially, we have turned college sports into the pros without contracts.. So, I share your sentiments - My late father played in the mid 30's at Nebraska, and is in the Hall of Fame. - Played both ways, and there were no scholarships.. They were a very tight, team oriented ( Nebraska ) group.. Unless things are changed, those days are long gone.. This is in no way to demean the hard work and talent on the field today..
I'm with ya John. I understand it's the new reality now. Doesn't mean I like it. I'm all for players doing what's best for them. But, at the same time - a commitment is a commitment. There have to reasonable limits. Same with NIL. It's nothing like what it was intended/supposed to be. Something's gotta give. It's ruining the game I grew up loving. I have zero attachment to the NFL . I can take it or leave it
Been a college football ball fan since 1970. Conference expansion, television networks controlling games, especially start times, night games, the portal. Dislike all of it. Miss the days of the Big 10, Big 8, PAC 10, Southwest Conference. Do not care about playoffs.
It's no different fhan schools changing conferences based on money and prestige or coaches leaving to take better jobs and not finishing their prior commitments
College Football as we know it from the 70,'s 80's, 90's, 2000's is done. the Big 6, Big 7, Big 8, the Big 12, (Funk Texas for killing that different topic for another time) College is done the way we love it. There is School Pride, but not really for the players anymore.
100% agreed. Clear back when we went to the playoff system I said this would start us down a path that would ruin college football and make it just a less-organized, less-professional version of the NFL. Here we are, and it is now a complete shit-show. My disappointment is not just about paying attention. It's about CARING for the KIDS who are playing. I loved cheering the guys who came to Nebraska, watching them grow through the ups and downs, and eventually watching them graduate and maybe cheer them going on to the next level - or hell, just be an all-around awesome human being like Eric Crouch. Now watching college football feels like handing out high-fives at the revolving door at the airport, while the kids go chase bigger paychecks. Character, commitment, hell, culture? I don't see room for any of that in this model. The next generation of football players hit the NFL with far less character and a big head start on all the vices and swollen egos that used to only start manifesting in about the 5th year of the NFL. Shame on everybody. This is not collegiate athletics. Sure, more money is being made off this than ever before. I'm real close to tuning out the NCAA and putting my time and focus on more rewarding hobbies.
The fact that the portal opens as the bowl games are starting has SEVERLY damaged my Fandom. The next thing they will be kicking off like the nfl, what a JOKE ITS A JOKE
I had never bought a jersey for any sport until Keisei Tominaga's senior year. I have decided that if I buy more jerseys they will only be for seniors and you know they spent their last year with us
I’m done - Husker/college is not fun anymore. Why should I be loyal to a college football team, when the players/coaches are only loyal to themselves. So I say goodbye to the Huskers and college football.
Change is hard. Players being able to earn was necessary and overdue. The infrastructure and how it is developed around this sport will make or break it for me. Regardless, I’ll always want to see my schools compete. It maintains a connection and an affinity to universities that are important to me. I’ll simply enjoy it a bit less if most of what I don’t like isn’t fixed.
the big 10 & sec has created this monster they're turning both leagues into semi pro football. its pretty rich a guy a fan of nebraska is complaining about the golden goose that is still making the cornhuskers relevant even though its going on its 3rd decade since they mattered.
This is the reality of sports. You no longer cheer for a team, you chear for clothing. What was once a team effort to make a team what it was, is now a different team every season, and a hope for the best. I am not a UNL fan, but I feel for you as it now all comes down to $$. Nothing else matters in sports. I watched college, because players played hard for a chance to get to pro ball. Now, it's how much can I make in College ball before I get a chance at Pro. I don't know what can be done at this point. Maybe the NCAA will discover a fix to allow teams to develop and compete, instead of hoping for the right group and knowing next year will be different.
I agree 100%. I think they should limit transfers to 1 for scholarship players, and 2 for non-scholarship players, but only if the second transfer is for a scholarship. The NCAA should setup some sort of revenue sharing arrangement for all Div 1 players, and let individual "star" players opt out and negotiate their own NIL deals.
NIL and the transfer portal has really damaged my fandom. For you old timers, remember the 2nd baseball strike? I was done with baseball after that. Oh sure, no really I stuck to it and I have missed a resurgence of the Dodgers. Watched a couple of World Series games, but not much interest during the season, in fact did not watch or listen to a single Major league game. I feel my love of college football is fading in much the same way. I have no plans to attend a game next year or the bowl game. Raiola and the family name is the only link to the past. You have the Block N helmet and the fans. But are we just fans of ourselves? Not much else to cheer
I think the portal is helping level the talent due to kids prioritizing playing time to increase their future prospects and that is helping the mid level teams get a few skilled players they might not have had access to before. Not a fan of nationwide conferences, but it's out of my control. I'll continue to get excited for the local rivalries and occasional shot at a highly ranked team. GBR and Ski-U-Mah.
They need to reign it in and push the transfer portal back to February after all games, they also need to set Salary limits and caps per team and per player max limits, they also need to make it so someone can only tranfer once in their entire career. End of story thats how it needs to be.
I do like the fact that players and athletes are being compensated. The previous model of generating huge sums of money for athletic departments on the backs of student athletes, even with academic scholarships and token food allowances, did not seem fair. That does not even address some of the onerous rules and regulations that applied only to athletes. Those things being said, there should be binding contracts (with no buy out clauses from other teams) that lock players for at least two years. Limiting a transfers to 2 a year seems like a reasonable compromise. I also would not be shy about incentive clauses for players and team members. Hell, coaches receive incentives so why not players.
Longtime (58 yrs) OU fan, and I 100% agree with John on this issue. Conferrence realignment was the first nail in the coffin, the free-fo-all transfer portal seasons are tiring, the players 'opting out' of bowl games, and commitments going to the highest bidder is an absolute turnoff for me. I will never forgive Nebraska, Mizzour, and Colorado for leaving Big 8/12 and want them to lose every single game (love the bathroom vids, btw) even though I respect the hell out of OLD Nebraska. This corporate bullshit has ruined it for me. No loyalty to the school anymore. Never in my lifetime had an OU coach left for another school. Just another reason causing me to lose interest.
I agree. I don't have a problem w/them getting paid. But them being free agents every year loses those school ties. Even a journey man in the NFL who has played for ten teams, only played at one college. Or used to. It has turned lower ranked schools into recruiting grounds, like minor league teams.
I have been Nebraska football fan for 55 years. I hate what has happened to college football. I hate the portal and all the disloyalty to team and program. I frankly don’t care about college football and Nebraska football that much anymore. There’s like this huge whole in my life now. I used to not be able to wait for the season to start. Now I usually don’t even know until the week of, when the game is and who we’re playing. I used read all the preseason magazines now I don’t even bother. It really sucks.
@@robertnoble6600 I feel your pain.My first game was against Missouri in 1962 in the knothole section. I faithfully listened to Bob Zenner before that with Pat Fisher, Roland McDole, and Don Fricke. Now, the inmates are running the asylum. Highest bidder. Even referees appear to be paid off. No team or school loyalty by coaches or players.
I hear ya. And the referee’s are definitely paid off, and have their marching orders from the big ten conference.
53 and I couldn’t agree more. My love for Nebraska football and college football in general has declined by more than half in the last 10 years. It will never be the same. Maybe God is trying to get us to realize our priorities in life.
@robertnoble6600 Agree totally with your thoughts. Even though I'm a capitalist, this is a perfect example of how money eventually corrupts! It would certainly help if somebody such as the conferences or Ncaa would step in and provide some regulation. Right now there is zero benefit to the fans, who are the people who support this sport! Meanwhile the coaches, administrators and players profit greatly!
I agree with you. This craziness has ruined everything as far as I’m concerned. What we used to have in the college game is what made it special, the better game. Pro football is nothing but a business. Now college football is infected with the same disease.
1000% agree! It is ruining college sports, that and NIL money. I keep hanging on because I like college sports so much, but I'm fading fast
Agree. It brings out all the worst traits in people. It rewards greed and teaches kids to just quit when things don't go their way. Hate it!
Serious buckeyes fan here. This portal and NIL is turning college football into the NFL. It’s not fun anymore. 💯 spot on.
It's not even like the NFL. It is like watching AAA Minor League baseball rather than the real thing. Just paid players at a lower level.
I didn't even have to listen to the first minute to say I agree as well. I was fine with the 1 time free transfer but this unlimited transfer is killing college football. There's no loyalty, there's no dedication, there's no more program building anymore. If anything the reason we have so many coaching moves (which then results in more player transfers) isn't because of better money or better opportunities elsewhere its because coordinators and head coaches don't want to keep recruiting their own locker rooms each and every year on top of new recruits. What time do they have to develop and teach and COACH these kids. NCAA needs to grow a pair and bring back the one time transfer rule and that should fix a vast majority of our woe's and worries
As a Nebraska fan we can wear number 15 because of Frazier and not worry about the portal
Absolutely agree. I have loved college football (and the Huskers in particular) since my undergrad days at UNL in the late 60's. There was a strong emotional attachment to the team and its players. It was great to watch talent develop. It was fun to watch recruiting. It was great to see the commitment of the players, most of whom were just playing for the fun of playing - scholarship limits meant that most were just in it for the game. But, within the past few years I've found my interest beginning to wane. I can't blame players for wanting to follow the money trail and looking out for what's best for them, but I despise the rules (or lack thereof) that have turned this great game on its head. As this massive movement of players through the portal continues and teams have to start wondering if players are coming back just because they feel they "deserve" more playing time, and players feeling as though enhancing their brand is more important that the team, etc, the game is becoming less worthy of my support. If it continues along this path there will come a point where the emotional attachment is gone and I'll find better things to do with my time. In reality, I think we're about 2 seasons away from the wheels coming off.
Exactly. Football is a team sport. It takes a team to win, not an individual. No one should think they are above their own team. Yet many people do now. I wonder if the ncaa makes money off the transfer portal? The more in, the more money. Hence, the lack of oversight and other bs.
Agree 100%. It’s ridiculous to see play out
I couldn’t agree more. They need to make college sports professional minor leagues. Right now, it’s worse than major leagues, where athletes are only free agents every few years. Letting these kids transfer annually is absolute madness… especially now that they are being paid.
I couldn’t agree more! Just think, we’re paying tens of millions of dollars to 18-22 year olds to play college football. There’s NO LOYALTY whatsoever. The players aren’t invested, and pretty soon the fans won’t be either.
College football has become just like Minor League baseball. Constant player turnover! I’m finding better things to do with my time and money.
Personally, I think it helps level the playing field in a way, but yeah I agree, I miss knowing that you would have the same guys for 3 years minimum and watching them turn into a star. I think this affects rivalries, too. Rivalries are better when you know the star players on the other team.
@brandonriggle3860 disagree. It just opens up the opportunity to use it as a bid for the highest bidder each season. The players go where the money is now. Thie big money schools get the best players. The little guys don't stand a chance now.
I call it "perpetual free agency", and i hate it.
Used to buy Lindy's and Phil Steele's magazines around mid June to see what was coming up for the season. Those mags are useless now.
I miss the old days. Prolly cuz i was just a kid, but 1973 was the pinnacle of CFB for me. Not much parity but some monsters at the top of the food chain and Nebraska was one of them. Over half the top ten was undefeated going into the bowl games and the rest only had one loss I think. The rosters were stacked with underclassmen that you knew was coming back. Archie Griffin won a Heisman.... and he came back. Billy Sims won a Heisman... and he came back. Anthony Davis scored 5 TDs against ND.... and he came back. And they showed up and played to win in the bowl games.
Oklahoma shoulda joined the Big Ten instead of the SEC if only to renew the OU/Nebraska game on the day after Thanksgiving. Second best rivalry game ever. Although Iowa has become a good rivalry to watch.
This is a great post and I totally agree with you! You have struck a nerve with me and you're the first one to have the guts and backbone to make a post like this and I applaud you for that! What fun is there in getting excited about players or a coach if they move on to another team next year? Its also sad when a coach can move to another school and a half dozen players follow him. Is that good for college football? The integrity of the game is under attack from money and lack of regulation!
Destroying another part of the culture that we've enjoyed so long. Goodbye college football my old friend!!
I’m 74 and been a Husker fan since I was 8 years old. Growing up in Lincoln and getting season tickets in 1966, I went to a lot of games, until I moved out of state for work. I no longer really care for the college game, with the transfer portal, nil, these kids only care about themselves and their success, they have zero loyalties to the team. I hope Nebraska does well, but I really have lost interest. I also don’t like the showboating these kids do, the muscle poses, the finger to the lips to shhhsh the crowd, crossed arms, ridiculous stuff.
Colorado fan here, totally agree. College football has some soul-searching to do to figure itself out.
They seem to be figuring it out rapidly and well up there at CU.
Totally agree
I still pay attention but do not get to attached to any of the players. Its also the same way I treat recruiting until a player is signed.
I feel much the way you described. I actually like Dec-Aug better than the actual season because there’s hope and optimism in the months between seasons. Then the season starts and we see that special teams can’t function properly. We see a 6th years senior OT who can’t stop an edge rusher. We see numerous illegal procedure penalties when it’s 3rd and 1. We see head scratching time out usage and unrecognizable two minute offense strategies. Basically the same ole shit different year stuff. So I’m a preseason Nebraska fan nowadays
Good points, but sad nonetheless
But if NU fans lived in less of a dreamlike state in offseason, they would appreciate reality much more.
Well again this is what happens when you try to ram a "Semi pro" structure into an education 4 year system. This was a 30 year problem in the making. The point at which the NCAA began turning massive profits and not paying workers. Finally the supreme Court comes around to ruling unpaid work as unconstitutional but the NCAA is now woefully behind. You are a semi pro league without contracts and without trade restrictions. So where to begin, first you need to not allow teams to directly/Indirectly pay players. The NCAA needs to cut a uniform check to all players. Those successful players need to find brand deals themselves with the help of their agents. Then if you want to have some kind of 1 transfer exception with a loss of a year of eligibility after that you could do that
Thank you.
I think the portal, NIL, & all school realignment, TV networks has taken my love of not just College football, but all sports in general. It's all a money grab from players, coaches, and schools.
Was it not just a money grab for the big wigs in suits hired by NCAA before?
Can't even get a F,ing ticket stub or a program from a game anymore as a souvenir.....everything's got to be digital
I love college football but we all need to remind ourselves that college football as we knew it no longer exists. The teams might be the same name but the system is radically different and more closely resembles the NFL than anything else. NIL was the beginning of the end leading to radical conference realignments, huge financial inequities, unlimited transferring, the end of the college walk-on programs, and unbridled millions being paid to kids that can't even legally drink alcohol yet. College was unique because it was largely based on kids playing for and fans connecting with something larger than themselves. Now, it is quickly becoming all about themselves...which is why I stop caring about the NFL long ago.
Amen Brother God bless you and yours. Speaking facts
Sign players to contracts. Get commitment on number of years. Add a post season bonus clause to best players to keep them in the bowl games.
Coaches first! Make them fireable with no buyout for cause. Causes could include not winning a minimum number of games per season.
Yes, totally agree. Hard to follow your team when your players are here today and gone tomorrow.
Yep, the stories of each individual player is why we love college football. One example is my brother and I would point out Damian Jackson every time he got in the field and celebrated like madmen every time he made a tackle. With modern college football a guy like Damian isn’t going to be a thing anymore.
Used to look forward to listening to the game on the radio then moved to SoCal in '87, joined the Californians for Nebraska but it was a long drive to Pomona so saw very few games. Moved to San Antonio and Joined the Texans for Nebraska but also saw very few games on TV and some in person, including Osborne's last game in the Alamodome which included a pep rally and walk to the stadium from the River Walk:) Been in Colorado since 2000. The games left AM radio over a decade ago. Never know the schedule (or hear any news) until just before the first game of each season. If I have not gone downtown to the local watch party at the pub, I usually just watch the highlights on UA-cam the next day. Riola is the only player whose name comes to mind from this season.
Completely agree!
Well said totally agree. I use to tell people I like college football because the team doesn’t change over like an NFL team and they play hard. I will stay a Husker fan but it’s definitely not the same. You covered exactly how I feel.
I’m an Arkansas Razorbacks fan, and It hurts even more in the SEC
Not mine. Coaches were always grabbing for the moneybags. If you want to change anything, first structure COACH contracts so that they'll be sued and financially broken if they don't serve out their time. Also make coaches fireable for cause if they don't meet performance metrics stated in their contracts (example - fail to get 6 wins for 2 consecutive seasons, you're fired for cause). No buyouts.
I think it makes the offseason were interesting. I don’t follow everyone move but it’s fun to follow the big players movements. Also this season has been one of the most intriguing seasons in a long time. It’s a change but we’ll get used to it
I try to care but just can’t. I love the Husker tradition but there is none anymore, except for past glories.
Am I supposed to give a flying f**k about these mercenaries who are here today and gone tomorrow? If Raiola stays or goes, so friggin what, he may have some relation to Husker royalty, but that doesn’t mean s**t anymore. Go, stay, who cares. NIL and the transfer portal disaster has really destroyed what I believe college football should be about.
I know my opinion doesn’t mean anything, but I’m voicing it anyway.
Agreed Jon
You and me both. Hate what it has become. Hopefully they will get some rules going down the road that will curb all the movement a bit.
I’m an Iowa guy and maybe that the reason we kinda hung with Kirk ,always knew however mediocre you knew he was there. But I agree it’s like being a baseball fan I don’t know who the Cubs are going to have next year,and same with college football.
I have really
lost the passion,so you win with last years players from another team doesn’t really thrill me.
Great podcast 👍
I get it Jon. Unfortunately all of these schools need to cut rosters to 105. That means a lot of those in the portal will go down in division or might end their college careers. I think 140 is more realistic.
Why can't financial aid be limited to 105? Kids who want to pay their own way should not be barred from participation. They have effectively banned walk-ons. How does that help the sport?
@@huskerchuck9212 It's a response to NIL effectively letting schools workaround financial limitations. We can just give $30k to each walk on instead of a scholarship. There isn't much of an alternative from the NCAA's perspective.
I agree that college football has changed for the worst. My suggestions are this,
1. Put a cap on the amount of NIL money a player can receive. This will stop players from shopping around to the highest bidder after each season.
2. Leave the portal as is except for one change. Use the rule that used to be in effect, you transfer, you sit out a season before you become eligible again.
I think this may add some stability to college football.
You speak great truths even if you aren’t a Cornhusker fan . This is for all fans . Also love your take on nfl . Viking fan but I agree on not hating other teams . I’m rooting for Detroit cuz I know I won’t live long enough to see the Vikings in the Super Bowl , and that’s ok .
Agreed 💯
Yep. Def ruining it for me too. This makes players individuals and not team players anymore.
It was fun watching players grow from HS recruit to full grown football player. That aspect is gone... we are rooting for the coach and the school.
I am with you on that too, John.
Same, and it isn’t because I don’t support the young men’s having options, it’s because they have no consequence for transferring every year for any reason and that ruins everything.
i am 66 years old. i would agree its not as fun. i just dont really have the words
For me it all started years back w/ conference realignment and that was the first red flag strike for me. Then NIL and the transfer portal are strike 2 and 3!
How are fans supposed to remain loyal to a “team” (what a joke) where there’s no loyalty and the term “team” doesn’t apply anymore. It’s a group. Coaches are being set up to fail.
Transfer in...transfer out ...show me the money....blah...blah.
I gave up on tbis stuff. Now I just watch Babe Ruth baseball played at a beautiful field in a small town in PA. I used to play ball there many years ago. Winning and losing,good sportsmanship, team loyalty, with love of the game.
Right on...every word. Love the N on the husker helmet. What is happening makes the game unrecognizable.
It’s only going to get crazier - who knows what is next. I don’t think the dust will ever settle.
Yes sir. Your thumbnail is exactly right.
Puts body in danger for a billion dollar complex.
They deserve to get paid.
Imagine getting injury, losing your scholarship with nothing to show for it.
I feel bad for seniors who have fought for one more game. You have players transferring and coaching staffs changing for the next season. The message is that bowl doesn't matter. And I know people think anything less than a championship doesn't matter. But I think it's a disservice to the sport to overlook the bowl games.
Same here. Let the noise play out. And Yes. It is killing my enjoyment of college football.
Great use of the term twitterpated. Agree the wanton portal hopping is over the top. There needs to be some stability on the roster.
I'm an Arkansas fan and I completely agree with you. We have 20+ in the portal, and almost 10 not playing in the Bowl game because of the draft. We don't have 10 draft able guys. And I'm not talking about eligibility I'm talking about talent. Every player thinks they are worth more than they are. We really need a college football commissioner and a player salary cap. This is getting crazy.
Can there be another way to look at this? Create an environment where players want to stay, those that stay show loyalty and commitment and a willingness to improve and work . That might be where real gold can be found.
Yes. That is an A+ solution.
“Create an environment where players want to stay, show loyalty and commitment and a willingness to improve and work”.
Pt 2: The programs that do this will be thriving 4 years from now.
I’m keeping my eye on Arizona State and a few others right now.
in addition, the regular season is lessoned by the 12 team playoff. it may not have diminished it as much as I originally thought, but the regular season doesn't mean as much. MI knocked OSU out if it was last year, now you get a second chance........same with TX.
OU fan 60+ yrs here. Transfers and NIL are killing my enjoyment. Money beats loyalty. Get used to “who is that “ in the useless bowls. Need to move transfers to after season and establish cap limits like nfl. Doubt it will ever be as good as it was.
Miss our yearly match. Huskers had good fans!
Me too, it's devastating. I know we can pay $X and keep this player or that, but its a completely different game now and the NFL is starting to look a lot better in comparison.
No wonder Harbaugh jumped to the NFL, considering the NCAA wanted him burned at the stake.
Preach on brother John!! I find myself ranting privately and with friends daily or hourly.... about how college football nonsense is getting completely ridiculous and ruining football for the true fan. What are these young men going to do when they're truly faced with hard life adversity? How much longer can we life long fans hold up as our beloved sport is destroyed?
College football as we know it will be ruined by all this! Loved the Jersey comment, nephew made the Panthers and everyone said you gonna get his Jersey? I said hell no, what happens when he goes to a different team? Jerseys for players not fans
I agree 💯 John! There definitely needs to be some changes made.
Yes- it’s killing my love of college football. It’s killing a lot of people’s love of the game. Michigan State grad and Fan for 50+ years.
I left my Football team, one of the best in the south, and turned my allegiance to Nebraska 3 years ago because of its old school heart. But when you get kids from all over that don't care about the school but just about themselves, you're going to get portal hoppers. Just let those hop to make room for the ones who have the true old school heart come in. I hear we have a group coming in that have the nebraska heart. Make room for those.
I agree 1000%. free agency killed my love of the NFL.. and now the same thing as killing my love of college football. I'm even thinking seriously about becoming a fan of an FCS team so I have somebody to follow other than nebraska. Not for who yet I'm going to watch the FCS playoffs and see who I kind of gravitate towards
Everything you are looking for can be found at the high school level.
The question I’m asking myself is: Is it the recent losing by Nebraska, or the transfer portal, or both that is sapping my love of CFB? Maybe we won’t really know until Nebraska is good again.
At the very least, the portal should be closed until after the national title game. Finish the freaking season!
@jasonboyd272 … Insightful Question. It’s the years of losing by Nebraska that makes Cornhusker fans dislike the portal.
The shock and the emotional response to the transfer portal would be less right now if the “sports journalists” and vocal fans hadn’t downplayed and badmouthed it for the past two years).
Definitely need some kind of cap and contract's. I'm sure it's coming, this is crazy and it's getting hard on fans with so much turn over.
I have gotten to the point where I turn the Nebraska game on at kickoff and turn it off at the end and watch, read or listen to nothing else. I don’t watch any other team or sport.
IT Manager? Love your users and they will love you back. I have scene Nebraska a few times but it was in Miami. Lets get a home and home with Miami soon!
If you want change quit buying the product. Boycott the first two games next season. Empty stadiums and low tv revenues will enact change. Power to the fans.
Brasky fans are too delusional from all the koolaid to not go watch (cough, cough) Akron or Houston Baptist
I agree. The portal is a bowl game killer. Last year, Ohio State was beaten by Missouri, yet OH ST was down to a 3rd to 4th string Qb. Was Missouri better during the season? No. How can you take bowls seriously when half the team is gone?
Makes 90s huskers even more distant
lol, Scott Frost was a transfer along with tons of Juco guys. Nothing has changed.
They had to sit out a year.
The portal evens out the talent. My favorite teams (UConn, SMU) have done well in the portal.
Avid Nebraska fan for over 60 years - What is happening with NIL, and the transfer portal is killing the sport, imho.. I too, should include the outrageous cost for coaches and tickets.. We have lost the TEAM to where one can find more money, or more playing time.. Essentially, we have turned college sports into the pros without contracts.. So, I share your sentiments - My late father played in the mid 30's at Nebraska, and is in the Hall of Fame. - Played both ways, and there were no scholarships.. They were a very tight, team oriented ( Nebraska ) group.. Unless things are changed, those days are long gone.. This is in no way to demean the hard work and talent on the field today..
I'm with ya John. I understand it's the new reality now. Doesn't mean I like it. I'm all for players doing what's best for them. But, at the same time - a commitment is a commitment. There have to reasonable limits. Same with NIL. It's nothing like what it was intended/supposed to be. Something's gotta give. It's ruining the game I grew up loving. I have zero attachment to the NFL . I can take it or leave it
MANNN !!!!
ME TOO!!!!!
MAKES ME SAD!!!!!
Am Oklahoma fan but the uproar in college sports I don't feel as close as I used to . We should have had Gabriel this year!
I’m with you.
Been a college football ball fan since 1970. Conference expansion, television networks controlling games, especially start times, night games, the portal. Dislike all of it. Miss the days of the Big 10, Big 8, PAC 10, Southwest Conference. Do not care about playoffs.
It's no different fhan schools changing conferences based on money and prestige or coaches leaving to take better jobs and not finishing their prior commitments
College Football as we know it from the 70,'s 80's, 90's, 2000's is done. the Big 6, Big 7, Big 8, the Big 12, (Funk Texas for killing that different topic for another time) College is done the way we love it. There is School Pride, but not really for the players anymore.
100% agreed. Clear back when we went to the playoff system I said this would start us down a path that would ruin college football and make it just a less-organized, less-professional version of the NFL.
Here we are, and it is now a complete shit-show.
My disappointment is not just about paying attention. It's about CARING for the KIDS who are playing. I loved cheering the guys who came to Nebraska, watching them grow through the ups and downs, and eventually watching them graduate and maybe cheer them going on to the next level - or hell, just be an all-around awesome human being like Eric Crouch.
Now watching college football feels like handing out high-fives at the revolving door at the airport, while the kids go chase bigger paychecks. Character, commitment, hell, culture?
I don't see room for any of that in this model.
The next generation of football players hit the NFL with far less character and a big head start on all the vices and swollen egos that used to only start manifesting in about the 5th year of the NFL. Shame on everybody. This is not collegiate athletics.
Sure, more money is being made off this than ever before. I'm real close to tuning out the NCAA and putting my time and focus on more rewarding hobbies.
I couldn't possibly agree more.
The fact that the portal opens as the bowl games are starting has SEVERLY damaged my Fandom.
The next thing they will be kicking off like the nfl, what a JOKE
ITS A JOKE
MINE TOO
I had never bought a jersey for any sport until Keisei Tominaga's senior year. I have decided that if I buy more jerseys they will only be for seniors and you know they spent their last year with us
This is a really good idea
Great post.
Right now we basically have 100% free agency…the pendulum has swung too far. Contracts can’t be too far away.
I’m done - Husker/college is not fun anymore. Why should I be loyal to a college football team, when the players/coaches are only loyal to themselves. So I say goodbye to the Huskers and college football.
Do all of these players have "agents" ? Just curious.
Change is hard. Players being able to earn was necessary and overdue. The infrastructure and how it is developed around this sport will make or break it for me. Regardless, I’ll always want to see my schools compete. It maintains a connection and an affinity to universities that are important to me. I’ll simply enjoy it a bit less if most of what I don’t like isn’t fixed.
the big 10 & sec has created this monster they're turning both leagues into semi pro football. its pretty rich a guy a fan of nebraska is complaining about the golden goose that is still making the cornhuskers relevant even though its going on its 3rd decade since they mattered.
This is the reality of sports. You no longer cheer for a team, you chear for clothing. What was once a team effort to make a team what it was, is now a different team every season, and a hope for the best. I am not a UNL fan, but I feel for you as it now all comes down to $$. Nothing else matters in sports. I watched college, because players played hard for a chance to get to pro ball. Now, it's how much can I make in College ball before I get a chance at Pro.
I don't know what can be done at this point. Maybe the NCAA will discover a fix to allow teams to develop and compete, instead of hoping for the right group and knowing next year will be different.
I agree 100%. I think they should limit transfers to 1 for scholarship players, and 2 for non-scholarship players, but only if the second transfer is for a scholarship. The NCAA should setup some sort of revenue sharing arrangement for all Div 1 players, and let individual "star" players opt out and negotiate their own NIL deals.
NIL and the transfer portal has really damaged my fandom. For you old timers, remember the 2nd baseball strike? I was done with baseball after that. Oh sure, no really I stuck to it and I have missed a resurgence of the Dodgers. Watched a couple of World Series games, but not much interest during the season, in fact did not watch or listen to a single Major league game. I feel my love of college football is fading in much the same way. I have no plans to attend a game next year or the bowl game. Raiola and the family name is the only link to the past. You have the Block N helmet and the fans. But are we just fans of ourselves? Not much else to cheer
I think the portal is helping level the talent due to kids prioritizing playing time to increase their future prospects and that is helping the mid level teams get a few skilled players they might not have had access to before. Not a fan of nationwide conferences, but it's out of my control. I'll continue to get excited for the local rivalries and occasional shot at a highly ranked team. GBR and Ski-U-Mah.
They need to reign it in and push the transfer portal back to February after all games, they also need to set Salary limits and caps per team and per player max limits, they also need to make it so someone can only tranfer once in their entire career. End of story thats how it needs to be.
I do like the fact that players and athletes are being compensated. The previous model of generating huge sums of money for athletic departments on the backs of student athletes, even with academic scholarships and token food allowances, did not seem fair. That does not even address some of the onerous rules and regulations that applied only to athletes. Those things being said, there should be binding contracts (with no buy out clauses from other teams) that lock players for at least two years. Limiting a transfers to 2 a year seems like a reasonable compromise. I also would not be shy about incentive clauses for players and team members. Hell, coaches receive incentives so why not players.
Longtime (58 yrs) OU fan, and I 100% agree with John on this issue. Conferrence realignment was the first nail in the coffin, the free-fo-all transfer portal seasons are tiring, the players 'opting out' of bowl games, and commitments going to the highest bidder is an absolute turnoff for me. I will never forgive Nebraska, Mizzour, and Colorado for leaving Big 8/12 and want them to lose every single game (love the bathroom vids, btw) even though I respect the hell out of OLD Nebraska. This corporate bullshit has ruined it for me. No loyalty to the school anymore. Never in my lifetime had an OU coach left for another school. Just another reason causing me to lose interest.
And yet Oklahoma left for the SEC. Way of the world. Respect for OU always. Those were great years!
I agree. I don't have a problem w/them getting paid. But them being free agents every year loses those school ties.
Even a journey man in the NFL who has played for ten teams, only played at one college. Or used to.
It has turned lower ranked schools into recruiting grounds, like minor league teams.