As I scroll through various sites that cover college sports I notice a somewhat alarming trend. The criticism and critiques of these student athletes is down right mean at times. It's not the other kids Im referring to its grown men and women bashing these kids and it got me to thinking where does one draw the line and do you think these kids open themselves up to harsh criticism when they play college sports at the highest level?
Honestly, I struggle with this issue sometimes. I think sometimes people do lose sight of the fact that these still are teenage kids in many cases.
I can tell you this much, I see and hear things I just about every Pitt football game that I would personally never do or say.
I think that’s an especially big problem in a market like Pittsburgh, where we have a pro sports mentality and the way we critique our teams and players doesn’t really change whether are you talking about the professional teams or the amateur teams.
There are definitely things that I would say about a Steeler or a Penguin that I would not say about a Panther based on the fact that some of those people are being paid millions of dollars to perform a job while others are still young kids trying to figure it out. However, for a lot of people, that distinction is meaningless.
That said, I also agree with people who say this is big-time college athletics and with great power comes great responsibility.
You are not at Westminster or Bucknell. You are not at Bethany or Slippery Rock. You are playing big-time college football and you’re getting a lot more attention than most of the kids your age. It is not normal for an 18 or 19-year-old kid to be on national television every week.
Sometimes that attention is not going to be positive and you just have to learn how to deal with that reality.
Do I see and read things that make me cringe? Yes, that happens a lot. However, I also see things from the kids themselves that make me cringe and that could only happen because of the platform they are provided — arguably prematurely.
I guess where I land on this is people need to behave in a way that they would be proud of if their loved ones saw them. If you are behaving in a way that you think might embarrass your spouse or significant other or your parents or even your children, you probably need to pull in the reigns a bit.
I’ve definitely seen and heard things at Pitt games and read things on here that just make me shutter at the persons lack of judgment. However, you’re playing big-time college football and a-hole fans kinda comes with the territory.
