Hokie Sunshine

I don't post much & the decision by the 'team' is complete bs. I don't care about the excuses of needing to get ready for the NBA or some guys may be injured or yadda, yadda, yadda. Throw in the part they are now (presumably) getting well compensated via NIL & that makes this decision look even worse. And I don't care if their 'contracts' don't say anything about playing in the post-season or if other schools made similar decisions. The fact it was put to the 'team' to decide doesn't seem quite right either. There are a lot of times when these kids will be faced w/ having to do something they may not 'want' to do, but facing those obstacles & overcoming them is one of the benefits of playing competitive sports.

I was referring to being the 'big man on campus' type deal & all that comes w/ that. You aren't just a regular student anymore. It may not carry weight in every situation, but it cannot be discounted as sometimes in life the 'experience' itself is worth something... at least to me. Being able to play football/basketball in front of thousands of people... the memories that come w/ that... being treated like a 'star' to some degree when you walk around campus. I wasn't a college athlete, but was an assistant coach of a very successful high school basketball team... a team that won championships... was both hated & respected by everyone around to where when we walked into the gym, people noticed... the team bonding that came along w/ all the wins & losses... the life long relationships that come from it... etc. And just having that experience at such a small level was priceless & something that has stayed with me for over 20 years since I stopped coaching. I didn't get paid a dime for the 4 or 5 years I was with that team & never thought anything about it. I was not 'rich', I was in my 20's, not making much money & living in a crappy apartment... but the coaching experience was 'priceless'. The thought of being able to have a similar experience while at college... wow.

Where are they getting all of this disposable income to where they can hand it over to 18-23 year old's they don't even know? I'm jealous. I need all of the money I have to pay for my kids education. BTW you left off the most important benefit to being a college athlete... the street cred you get that lives w/ you forever... that's 'priceless' as they say.

They want a passionate fan base, they want to get paid, etc… and like everything in life nothing is all good or all bad. The good part is the tremendous fan support, the NIL money, the ‘star’ treatment… the downside is more scrutiny, more criticism when things go bad, etc. That’s what professionals deal with all the time and this isn’t unique to Virginia Tech. I don’t partake in any of online commenting as I find it all a little ridiculous (NIL, fans posting their hatred of 20 year old athletes online… all of it). However you cannot expect fans that you asked for their loyalty/support one day, then a week later go somewhere else to react in a levelheaded and reasonable way. In this case Brooks has come across as petty (not acknowledging the school that allowed him to get this massive contract/promotion), and while Georgia has every right to leave… she cannot do so and expect that passionate fan base to just say… ‘good luck’. ** Edited by Hokie Sunshine at 4/7/2024, 9:57:24 AM