Keep our head in the clouds and our feet on the ground, right? That's what we were always told growing up and we still have that notion pounded into our heads today. So should an advertisement keep that in mind when they show us something to get our attention? Probably not.
As a high school student, my dream was to play a college sport at the highest level. Today, I can honestly say that I've made it. As I enter my senior year as a Division 1 athlete, my mindset has changed drastically from that of the eager, competitive, eighteen-year-old with lofty goals. I now think about what classes I can take to help in my career and not which classes will be the easiest A, allowing me to practice, lift, run, and go pro someday.
Should the NCAA be advertising to people like me, who have lived the experience and now see it for what it is? Or should they be advertising to kids like me at 18 and every other kid who thinks they'll be the next J.J. Redick or Bo Wallace and the parents who want to their kids to be these athletes?
The answer is simple. Advertise to the dreamer, not the doer. Most college athletes will have the same realization as I have, and lets face it, that takes the focus away from the sport.
The NCAA is all about the money, the fans, the prowess. For God's sake, it is the National Collegiate Athletics Association. Not the National Collegiate Academics Association. Let's run some ads that focus on the sport. March Madness, the BCS Bowls, and the College World Series shouldn't have to stand on their own. Let's run ads that call a spade a spade and let everyone know about the sports and the athletes.
We want to watch sports and you want our money. Please stop trying to save face about how we will all go pro in something other than sports. Those of us who care already know. As for these academic ads, it was a nice sentiment. But frankly, NCAA, we don't give a damn.
As a high school student, my dream was to play a college sport at the highest level. Today, I can honestly say that I've made it. As I enter my senior year as a Division 1 athlete, my mindset has changed drastically from that of the eager, competitive, eighteen-year-old with lofty goals. I now think about what classes I can take to help in my career and not which classes will be the easiest A, allowing me to practice, lift, run, and go pro someday.
Should the NCAA be advertising to people like me, who have lived the experience and now see it for what it is? Or should they be advertising to kids like me at 18 and every other kid who thinks they'll be the next J.J. Redick or Bo Wallace and the parents who want to their kids to be these athletes?
The answer is simple. Advertise to the dreamer, not the doer. Most college athletes will have the same realization as I have, and lets face it, that takes the focus away from the sport.
The NCAA is all about the money, the fans, the prowess. For God's sake, it is the National Collegiate Athletics Association. Not the National Collegiate Academics Association. Let's run some ads that focus on the sport. March Madness, the BCS Bowls, and the College World Series shouldn't have to stand on their own. Let's run ads that call a spade a spade and let everyone know about the sports and the athletes.
We want to watch sports and you want our money. Please stop trying to save face about how we will all go pro in something other than sports. Those of us who care already know. As for these academic ads, it was a nice sentiment. But frankly, NCAA, we don't give a damn.
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