This is one of my favorite sports stories of the year. It's about this kid in some small town in Nevada who somehow fools everyone into believing he has a Div-I college football scholarship and even acts out a dramatic choice between the two finalists in front of a school assembly. Complete madness! Shortly after he announces his choice, it comes out nobody even considered the kid Div-I material.
Why do I find this story so intriguing? I'm not sure. I kind of feel bad for the kid, who just seems a bit immature, made up a couple lies, and then didn't have the courage to admit that he was lying. So, he played his bluff all the way through, no doubt (at least somewhere in the back of his mind) knowing that this had to end badly, but perhaps, hoping against all hope, that something would happen to change his fate. Of course, it didn't, and reality has come crashing down around him.
He's clearly in a tough spot.
And, what will be the long-range ramifications of this? Perhaps it will make some people take a second look at the ramifications of this recruting hype machine that is seemingly increasing its velocity every year. This kid clearly got up in the excitment and hype surrounding the recruiting process and bad things happened/are happening to him because of it. If college recruiting is truly about giving kids an opportunity, as it should be, and not about exploiting kids for our own ends, as it often turns out to be, then perhaps we need to update the rules and regulations governing recruiting to be more reflective of the hyper-media world in which we live.
Cheers.
Ralph
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7 comments:
Interesting story indeed. I think that the kid will be doing the only sensible thing that a kid in his situation would do...join the army.
Anyway, speaking of recruiting, how is it that Tyler Sargent (sp?) of Fairview is going to Univ. of New Hampshire to play football on a full scholarship (I think). Of all the places you think he could go to, why New Hampshire? Has there been any local reporting as to why he chose that school? I do not know much about the school or the program there, but I am intrigued.
Ralph, I'd say the kid has a big bright future ahead of him in politics or real estate development.
Not to excuse allegedly filing a false police report, of course. That is definitely not a laughing matter if true.
By the way, I wonder if the writer of the ESPN story you referenced, Gene Wojciechowski, is somehow related to the Corry Area Schools history teacher Jim Wojcicehowski who was recently highlighted in the ETN article about their Memorial Wall project.
I remember a few years back, a real good Fairview running back by the name of Bremmer, ended up someplace in upstate New York called Hamilton. I think combination of strong academics, cold weather, and a mostly Anglo-Saxon population make these north eastern schools good fits for Fairview running backs...
Cheers.
Ralph
I didn't know that Scott Bremner played football at Fairview.
Lois:
I believe the kid's name was Bremmer...
Hi Ralph, this is Lois' husband Ed. Are you sure about the name? That Scott Bremner fellow looks like a guy who could have played football. Maybe you have him mixed up?
Ralph, this is Jim Stiffel. I am Ed and Lois Stiffel's son. Don't pay any attention to them. I usually do not allow them to look at my computer and read the blogs that I read. Now they have been talking all day for the last two days about when they think Scott Bremner played football at Fairview. And to make matters worse my cat has diarrhea and the vet was closed because of Presidents Day. So I have my parents going crazy about Scott Bremner and my cat shitting all over my apartment. It's just been too much. Anyway, they are all sleeping now so I thought I would write to tell you to just ignore them. Now I just need to remember where I put my fig newtons. Thanks.
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