its madness I tell you

march madness....
yes, it is madness
complete and utter madness
a madness that I can not relate to in any way shape and/or form

it is not like I am some cigarette smoking artist that hates sports
I love sports
I have always loved sports
in my less than dynamic past I lettered in track and volleyball in high school
then went on to play division three soccer in college as well as all sorts of intramural crap
(I was not good enough for my high school soccer team, yet I managed to start all four years on my college team)

I can appreciate sports and all of the potential benefits at all levels
be those team or individual sports
it is easy for me to understand the merit
the lessons on the playing field translate directly to life
not to mention the health benefits for both the body and mind

what I do not understand is the focus on college sports
football and basketball being the primary offenders
when did the colleges and the universities of this country become the stepping stone for professional sports?
when did our education system lose site of their priorities?

to me it is all a mess
as a former slacker student I know how easy it is to be distracted
I know how parties and sports can effect an individual's studies
we traveled once a week for away games
there were wednesday evening games and saturday day games through the fall
practices on all remaining days other than sunday
I will admit... there were times when I was tired
the combination of the workouts and the parties definitely cut into my studies
as sleep was higher on the list than classes

how do these college athletes do it?
clearly there has to be a greater amount of time devoted to travel
they may travel days before and not return until the day after
if the athletes are studying on the bus or the plane there may be a chance for them to get an education.... but I doubt that is what is happening

then when the athletes return....
there are the parties
win or lose there is going to be a party
these guys are more than likely the campus kings

where does the notion of education fall into the picture here?

this is not an issue of race
this is an issue of education
now honestly.... if I were a hard working student who was on my varsity basketball team in high school
I may want to play basketball on my college team
but... unless I were destine for the NBA they I would not even bother with try outs at a school like Georgetown
shouldn't the sports be for the students?
shouldn't a student athlete have a chance to be an athlete have a chance to be an altlete for their school?

I understand the advertising/recognition/exposure that sports bring the colleges
I feel that it is all a bit of an embarressment
if the local Pizza Hut wanted to have a softball team they would have two basic options
they could have a team made up of employees
or
they could sponsor a team and slap their logo on the back
college sports have come to a point where they might as well sponsor a team and slap their logo on the back
as the majority of these students do not belong in these colleges
come on...
your average student at Georgetown got 800 on their SAT in either math or verbal
asking for a combined score of 800 to an elite athlete so that they can play basket ball?
come on!!!!

this week I heard that John Thompson Jr. is a consultant for Georgetown
not the coach... but the ex-coach
he is on the Georgetown payroll for 400 thousand dollars a year
if I were a parent of a student at Georgetown... I would question where my student's tuition is going
maybe college is a joke across the board
just another business that our culture is buying into
at this point I see college as a place to grow up
a bit of a finishing school for the rich
sure it is vital for those that want to go on to higher education
but for those seeking a liberal arts degree....
come on