Congrats to Oregon on becoming a major college football program. You ended USC's reign atop the PAC 10 and participated in your first Rose Bowl in 15 years. Now you are experiencing the by-product of your success. You are experiencing the BADD as in burglaries, assaults, DUI's, and domestic violence. Every major program goes through this so don't feel bad. It is a rite of passage, a sign that you are getting top recruits and not scholarship athletes. Good guys finish last, just ask Ty Willingham. Bad guys finish first, look at Florida. They didn't start winning big until Miami decided to "clean up" their program. Sure, they have 2 national championships in the last 5 years but they had to take the BADD with the good. Florida has over 30 off the field incidents since 2008 that we know of. As you make the transition to powerhouse remember 3 things:
1. Get chummy with DA's and judges so you can prolong trial dates as long as possible to avoid suspension during the season.
2. Educate your fanbase. They need to know these problems won't go away as long as you are winning.
3. Befriend your alumni. There will be times when they have to call in HUGE favors to keep players eligible and out of trouble.
Win with the thugs or lose with the choir boys. Your choice.
No comments:
Post a Comment