What a great retelling of what Cal did with Nate Longshore, Kevin Riley, Jeff Tedford and the rest of those Golden Bears. My respect for Nate Longshore after reading has risen - Thank you Nate for never giving up and for your loyalty to the Bears. Of course, Jeff Tedford showed us all that Cal can aspire to o a high national ranking. Tosh Lupoi is an exciting part of that coaching tree, and I couldn't be more excited about the upcoming season and those to follow. Go Bears!
The difference today is that Longshore as QB3 would very likely have entered the portal and moved on to another D1 team where he’d be a starter and have more exposure on TV and to NFL scouts. D1 football as described in this column is in the past. There is little player loyalty to the school that recruited them since they can now move easily to a team where their odds of playing are better. How many times in the last couple of seasons has a player’s experience been described has having played at 2 or more schools before landing at his current institution? These are journeymen football employees who can move from university to university for more money and/or more exposure. Fernando Mendoza would never have left Cal under the “old” system where moving would cost à player à year of eligibility while sitting on the bench. No, the story described here of teams and players who stayed together throughout their college years is long gone. The term “student athlete” no longer applies. Instead, we have university employees who are paid to play football and who have infrequent loyalty to any particular university, except the one that offers a path to the brass ring of the NFL draft. Money and the portal have corrupted D1 college football to the point where the Power 5 conference teams have simply become farm teams for the NFL.
I agree, the college football landscape is different today than it was during those years. But that was also true back then. Those that do not learn from their mistakes and history are bound to repeat them. Tosh Lupoi clearly is embracing these lessons to insure we rise as high as possible in today's college football landscape. Go Bears!
I’m not arguing that we should do anything other than what Tosh and Ron are doing for Cal football under the changed circumstances we face today. I’m glad Cal is going all in with money and recruiting, playing the D1 game of today. It’s just hard to get one’s head around the fact that the guys we are now watching on the field are not necessarily committed to the university and the outstanding education it provides, but rather to themselves and getting the best NIL deal they can get together with the most snaps they can get at whatever university can provide them with that. This year it’s Go Bears but next year it could just as easily be Go Buckeyes or Hook ‘em Horns!
I agree, getting used to the ease with which athletes can move to another school after being developed at Cal has taken me some work to get used to. On the other hand, I think that means players at the Alabama's, Ohio State's, etc. are free to come to Cal. This is all the result of the former system being ruled unconstructed because of the restrictions the players had to endure.
"Freedom is just another word for nothin' left to lose. . . " (Janis Joplin)
What a great retelling of what Cal did with Nate Longshore, Kevin Riley, Jeff Tedford and the rest of those Golden Bears. My respect for Nate Longshore after reading has risen - Thank you Nate for never giving up and for your loyalty to the Bears. Of course, Jeff Tedford showed us all that Cal can aspire to o a high national ranking. Tosh Lupoi is an exciting part of that coaching tree, and I couldn't be more excited about the upcoming season and those to follow. Go Bears!
Something funny going on with the webpage. It says there were 4 comments, but I only see one other than mine right now.
Strangely, I did see another comment, praising the story, but now it seems to be gone.
The difference today is that Longshore as QB3 would very likely have entered the portal and moved on to another D1 team where he’d be a starter and have more exposure on TV and to NFL scouts. D1 football as described in this column is in the past. There is little player loyalty to the school that recruited them since they can now move easily to a team where their odds of playing are better. How many times in the last couple of seasons has a player’s experience been described has having played at 2 or more schools before landing at his current institution? These are journeymen football employees who can move from university to university for more money and/or more exposure. Fernando Mendoza would never have left Cal under the “old” system where moving would cost à player à year of eligibility while sitting on the bench. No, the story described here of teams and players who stayed together throughout their college years is long gone. The term “student athlete” no longer applies. Instead, we have university employees who are paid to play football and who have infrequent loyalty to any particular university, except the one that offers a path to the brass ring of the NFL draft. Money and the portal have corrupted D1 college football to the point where the Power 5 conference teams have simply become farm teams for the NFL.
I agree, the college football landscape is different today than it was during those years. But that was also true back then. Those that do not learn from their mistakes and history are bound to repeat them. Tosh Lupoi clearly is embracing these lessons to insure we rise as high as possible in today's college football landscape. Go Bears!
I’m not arguing that we should do anything other than what Tosh and Ron are doing for Cal football under the changed circumstances we face today. I’m glad Cal is going all in with money and recruiting, playing the D1 game of today. It’s just hard to get one’s head around the fact that the guys we are now watching on the field are not necessarily committed to the university and the outstanding education it provides, but rather to themselves and getting the best NIL deal they can get together with the most snaps they can get at whatever university can provide them with that. This year it’s Go Bears but next year it could just as easily be Go Buckeyes or Hook ‘em Horns!
I agree, getting used to the ease with which athletes can move to another school after being developed at Cal has taken me some work to get used to. On the other hand, I think that means players at the Alabama's, Ohio State's, etc. are free to come to Cal. This is all the result of the former system being ruled unconstructed because of the restrictions the players had to endure.
"Freedom is just another word for nothin' left to lose. . . " (Janis Joplin)