2019 Ohio State Season Thread

[ELA]

I don't actually care if he learns a lesson or not.  I'm not even disagreeing with the "fairness" of not letting him.  I'm just playing devil's advocate, and slightly bitter that as a fan who loved the sport, I can't say that personally this is a development that is making me enjoy it less without fairness to the athletes brought up, as though I am a decision making body.

[Cincydawg]

I don't think Fields ever played any race card.  He had nice things to say about UGA and as noted his sister still goes there.

[Anonymous Coward]

I don't actually care if he learns a lesson or not.  I'm not even disagreeing with the "fairness" of not letting him.  I'm just playing devil's advocate, and slightly bitter that as a fan who loved the sport, I can't say that personally this is a development that is making me enjoy it less without fairness to the athletes brought up, as though I am a decision making body.

That's just miscommunication. Fairness to the athletes wouldn't come up if the people you were communicating with understood that you were talking about your interests to the exclusion of the coaches' and kids'. Fairness to the athletes doesn't come up because fan enjoyment doesn't matter. It comes up as a feeler because fairness to the athletes is relevant and you maybe didn't specify a position on it. 
It's rare to escape miscommunication on polarized topics, and avoiding it succinctly is an art that almost no one demonstrates. So while it's also annoying to lay down every thought in a discussion like this by specifying whether you're exclusively talking about yourself, one group or in general ... that's the rub.

[ELA]

When athletes or coaches give their thoughts, I'm assuming they are speaking to their own self interests, as am I.  And if enough people stop caring about the second tier of American football because of a disinterest in watching a totally new router each year, or watching smaller programs development guys just to see them jump, then maybe players and coaches realize that the self interested viewpoints of fans actually matters quite a bit.  When/if the gravy train stops, maybe they'll care.  If it's just me who stops caring (and it's become increasingly closer each year for the past 5-6 years) then they probably won't.

[Anonymous Coward]

I think its harder than that in this particular topic because it's starting to take on a moralistic bend. So we can't assume that fans or coaches are only discussing their personal interests, because many times their general opinion is inseparable from what they think the kids deserve. Obviously anyone can talk about their lens without coupling it to the kids' lens, but if the part about "these are just my interests" isn't made explicit, the annoyance and confusion is kind of inevitable.

[ELA]

I don't see any morality issues.  As with any sport, the rules, both on and off the field are made to balance the competitive fairness with player treatment fairness.  Nobody is stopping Justin Fields from leaving Georgia.  The rule simply states that for the benefit of competition, and the health of the sport as a whole, if he does, he has to sit out a year.  I think the player compensation issue needs to be fixed, but the problem is the schools are hell bent on not fixing that, and trying to change a million other things, that hurt the sport, in the name of player treatment, to avoid paying them.  Like I said, maybe I'm on an island, but I went from planning Saturdays around college football, to having a moderate interest . I missed whole chunks this past year, and not for a conflict, just because I didn't feel like it.  I didn't watch a single snap of multiple MSU games this year.  That's my prerogative, and if nobody else cares, nor will they.  Not do I think them not caring about individual fans is some sort of morality issue.  But I think you can have rules, for the benefit of competition, that might inconvenience kids who made dumb decisions, and don't want to be held accountable for them.  Maybe I'm wrong.  Maybe we should get rid of lots of penalties.  Seems unfair to have offsides.  Who are we to tell kids, who we dont pay, that there are certain places on the field they can't stand . Feels immoral.

[bayareabadger]

I don't see any morality issues.  As with any sport, the rules, both on and off the field are made to balance the competitive fairness with player treatment fairness.  Nobody is stopping Justin Fields from leaving Georgia.  The rule simply states that for the benefit of competition, and the health of the sport as a whole, if he does, he has to sit out a year.  I think the player compensation issue needs to be fixed, but the problem is the schools are hell bent on not fixing that, and trying to change a million other things, that hurt the sport, in the name of player treatment, to avoid paying them.  Like I said, maybe I'm on an island, but I went from planning Saturdays around college football, to having a moderate interest . I missed whole chunks this past year, and not for a conflict, just because I didn't feel like it.  I didn't watch a single snap of multiple MSU games this year.  That's my prerogative, and if nobody else cares, nor will they.  Not do I think them not caring about individual fans is some sort of morality issue.  But I think you can have rules, for the benefit of competition, that might inconvenience kids who made dumb decisions, and don't want to be held accountable for them.  Maybe I'm wrong.  Maybe we should get rid of lots of penalties.  Seems unfair to have offsides.  Who are we to tell kids, who we dont pay, that there are certain places on the field they can't stand . Feels immoral.

I find myself torn reading this. 
It’s not my role to interrogate why you feel this way. I would find it interesting, why players moving more potentially makes the sport less appealing. I have guesses, but as you said, it’s hard to delve into that without it becoming a thing. (Also without delving into the question of if the game is changing or if we’re changing)
Anyway, it opens up a larger question as to why do we like the sports we do. College sports draws me more than the pros, even though the pros are better played and college sports are terrifically anti-competitive. Maybe there’s certain parts of the story of it we like. Maybe it’s just that I’m comfortable with certain parts of the way my team plays. Maybe it’s becuase the scale is a little smaller, so everything is heightened. 
Anyway, if Fields finds why he’s looking for, good for him. And if not, maybe OSU being down a few ticks makes the conference more interesting. Also if OSU could do whatever to help Potter’s waiver, that’d be peachy. 
(I feel like some of the smaller sports have somewhat more flexibility historically, but can’t for the life of me find the info to back that)

[Anonymous Coward]

I don't see any morality issues.  As with any sport, the rules, both on and off the field are made to balance the competitive fairness with player treatment fairness.  Nobody is stopping Justin Fields from leaving Georgia.  The rule simply states that for the benefit of competition, and the health of the sport as a whole, if he does, he has to sit out a year.  I think the player compensation issue needs to be fixed, but the problem is the schools are hell bent on not fixing that, and trying to change a million other things, that hurt the sport, in the name of player treatment, to avoid paying them.  Like I said, maybe I'm on an island, but I went from planning Saturdays around college football, to having a moderate interest . I missed whole chunks this past year, and not for a conflict, just because I didn't feel like it.  I didn't watch a single snap of multiple MSU games this year.  That's my prerogative, and if nobody else cares, nor will they.  Not do I think them not caring about individual fans is some sort of morality issue.  But I think you can have rules, for the benefit of competition, that might inconvenience kids who made dumb decisions, and don't want to be held accountable for them.  Maybe I'm wrong.  Maybe we should get rid of lots of penalties.  Seems unfair to have offsides.  Who are we to tell kids, who we dont pay, that there are certain places on the field they can't stand . Feels immoral.

Re: morality issues, I was talking about the larger conversation, beyond this one, including player compensation. This one may seem unattached to player compensation**, but at the rate that story (the drama around amateurism ending) is growing, it consumes our general mentality when it comes to how player, coach, and fan interests compete.

** (they both have to do with power/freedom asymmetries in the sport and then that's it)

[ELA]

I find roster building and roster continuity a large part of the appeal.  I understand that much of fanhood is built on false tribalism, and a part of that is why I've always preferred college, at least I was rooting for guys who chose the same tribe I did, for the time allowed.  As manufactured as it is, it was why I preferred the lesser version of football, along with other reasons that have been stripped away as well, but I struggle with simply rooting for a uniform.

[MaximumSam]

I find roster building and roster continuity a large part of the appeal.  I understand that much of fanhood is built on false tribalism, and a part of that is why I've always preferred college, at least I was rooting for guys who chose the same tribe I did, for the time allowed.  As manufactured as it is, it was why I preferred the lesser version of football, along with other reasons that have been stripped away as well, but I struggle with simply rooting for a uniform.

I agree with this. Watching guys come, develop, and leave is a major part of the appeal. If you ever watched the movie version of Friday Night Lights, setting Billy Bob replacing the names of the graduating seniors perfectly encapsulates the appeal.

[betarhoalphadelta]

.  Like I said, maybe I'm on an island, but I went from planning Saturdays around college football, to having a moderate interest . I missed whole chunks this past year, and not for a conflict, just because I didn't feel like it.  I didn't watch a single snap of multiple MSU games this year.  That's my prerogative, and if nobody else cares, nor will they.  

Are you sure that's not just age? I find priorities changing quite a bit as I move farther and farther from my college days... 

[ELA]

Are you sure that's not just age? I find priorities changing quite a bit as I move farther and farther from my college days...

That's certainly why I am able/willing to plan my life around sports, but even when the opportunity is in front of me, I far more often decline it than I ever used.  I watched a movie instead of watching MSUs season opener this year.  When I do watch sports, I've found myself watching professional more.  The things I used to prefer about college, that made me opt to watch a lesser product are disappearing, so why would I watch it?  I'm struggling to answer that.  They more and more look the same, so I'd prefer to watch the top level 

[Cincydawg]

I see OSU ranked around 5 in most of the "too early" polls, which should be fine.  We won't likely have 3 undefeated teams next season.  Obviously, a lot hinges on how Fields gets into the System and understands the offense and runs it showing his talent.  Mainly they need to avoid that Purdue kind of a game.

Michigan is also getting top ten attention.  I'm not sold on them, nor Auburn, they strike me as similar in a way.

[bayareabadger]

I see OSU ranked around 5 in most of the "too early" polls, which should be fine.  We won't likely have 3 undefeated teams next season.  Obviously, a lot hinges on how Fields gets into the System and understands the offense and runs it showing his talent.  Mainly they need to avoid that Purdue kind of a game.

Michigan is also getting top ten attention.  I'm not sold on them, nor Auburn, they strike me as similar in a way.

 I thought this was a downplay Auburn year