High School football on ESPN

[Renew Deal]

There was a HS football game on ESPN tonight. It was a quality game between teams from Maryland and Nevada. Some of the kids are "prospects."

I'm not convinced that putting high school football on ESPN is good for the game or the kids. HS football is part of the academic experience. It's not supposed to be a semi-professional polished game. Recruited high school teams are hardly based on academics. I don't like it. I don't think it's good for the athletes which are also kids.

[JonLP24]

1. I don't have a problem with it

Hamilton which plays in the same division as my high school is a perennial state champion. Terrell Suggs attended, they face accusations of recruiting due to number of transfers though a change of scenery in high school can be vital. I understand why a high school athlete would choose to attend a different high school to improve their scholarship prospects.

Anyways, typically they're top 10 nationally ranked and played against top national high school teams televised. It's interesting because they're familiar. Also to see the best HS teams in the nation face off. I also enjoyed local access televised games and local cable affiliate broadcast state championships. I don't attend any HS games so I feel the exposure is good. All-star games are most interesting, and those are the last stop for them before college. Plus, it used to be a small dream of mine to appear.

I don't worry about the message so much, I consider learning to be proficient at sports a part of the academic experience. Like art or any other elective. Ratings are an issue when televising the best HS students in their best area but I wouldn't object. Also grades are much more heavily emphasized than the general student population, this doesn't include teachers forging grades(this appears to be more of an issue in college, including sham classes, w/ significantly higher stakes at play) so I think the message of having a well-rounded academics is clear. It's easy for teens to get off-track for a variety of reasons. Main reason is, I'm sure many of them have a blast. Reward for hard work. Boost to overall confidence.

On edit--------
I strongly prefer it to little league world series. However, several years ago, when ESPN Classic was basic I watched some of the old games. It was interesting the frequency of current (at-the-time) quality MLB players that I saw that were children at the time.

[Auggie]

2. Agree ... I also haven't any interest in watching

[Kingofalldems]

3. Did Good Counsel win?

[rocktivity]

4. What about money? What does ESPN pay? Where does the money go?

I've been wondering about that since they started televising the Little League games.


rocktivity

[ProfessorGAC]

5. Blech!

I don't like the idea either. I'm not even a college football fan, and i think TV money has made that more corrupt than ever. It seems to have become "if you ain't cheatin', you ain't tryin'!" more than it ever was.

And now, since college ball is the feeder for NFL (ergo, minor league football), HS football is minor league for the minor leagues.

Why would any one even care about a high school one didn't attend?
GAC