Dark Energy

Can you imagine the venom that would be spewed toward Flo if they started charging for watching many events? On top of their regular subscription …. The vehement Flo haters would be apoplectic.

Aren’t you creating multiple accounts to seem more popular? Getting reactions? Getting people to laugh at your posts? Create awkward situations that gather attention to you? oh, wait, you didn’t want to be accused of that … Woops, not accusing, just asking.

I still need the Hamiti answer people!!

By the way, that fact that ‘phonetic’ is not spelled in a phonetic way .. love it.

Let’s teach each other the right way to say some of the names out there. First one - Hamiti is it — HAM - It - ee or ha MIT ee ??

So you are pretending to be TBar … Thanks for admitting it.

I’m behind. Will say that I’ve said my side. All good. Thanks for the debate.

Wow. Straight up scary. Two? not good now. Worried it doesn’t imply good things for later.

Thank you for this. This was his first match as a freshman? Bam! Looking good! Can’t wait to see how his season unfolds.

Most are not under athletic scholarship. They aren’t privileged in that way. And those that are usually only have a fractional scholarship. Paying 50 to 75% of costs at Northwestern is huge. Even out of state student at a state school. In other words those that have the money can more easily do it. I have heard no disagreement with this. NIL? Who has the time and energy to focus on NIL? The super elite and the priviledged. Let me take a selfie and focus on my tik toks! (Haha) On 3 - ok.

All well said. I agree with what you just wrote in large part. I do admit to disagreeing with choices many make. A parent screaming at their 8 year old kid who is losing a wrestling match is an example. I’d look for ways to get across why those choices aren’t good for them, their loved ones, or society. I would also disagree with a high school systematically creating a path for high school athletes to take 5 years to graduate because it provides them a ‘benefit.’ Even if the parents and kid wanted it. I transfer this belief to college as well.

A redshirt significantly equalizes 5+ year of socio economic differences? I don’t know but I’m not jumping to this conclusion. How do you explain paying for the 5th year? Less well off family is taking more loans. All that said, I would conjecture that taking a redshirt and taking a grey shirt DOES skew toward more well off families. Those that need their kid to graduate in four (and get a job) due to financial situations are more likely to not take a redshirt. The privilege argument cuts both ways.

To be clear, I don’t like grey shirts. Can you paint the picture for me though? Why would only well off families be the exclusive users? If at an RTC, RTC can cover room and board. Kid could have part time job. Don’t tell me they can’t fit in a simple part time job. I think your logic would also imply that redshirts are almost exclusively for those well off. Why pay for ANOTHER year of school - a gray shirt year is much cheaper! You need to address this point. And AGAIN, I’m all for getting rid of greyshirts. I think it is harder than getting rid of redshirts.

Thank you for directly addressing my questions. To answer yours, I donate annually to my college’s academic fund as well as specifically to the athletic program (sometimes more than once a year due to drives). Not sure that makes my case any stronger. You and I have dramatically different opinions on the purpose of a university and the role of athletics at the university. That is the root of our disagreement on redshirts. And that is fine. Many of the ideas you support our would not mind, I would oppose. And that is ok. Curious to your thoughts on ‘redshirting’ a year or two in high school? I’m guessing you are good with that.

hmmm. So, would you use this reasoning to support 2 redshirt years? 25 full scholarships plus being paid beyond scholarship? Ability to transfer at any point? No need to take more than 8 credits for student athletes? Just trying to understand whether the only litmus test you use is ‘benefit to student athletes.’ My guess is that you do think there should be limits to the benefits. Because there is more to consider. We just differ on the placement of those limits.

I also clearly pointed out that taking a redshirt would fall into the ‘privilege’ realm. If you are paying for 50% of school (or 25%), having the option to pay for a 5th year is pretty privileged … no? Compare to Greyshirt - not paying for school or it is cheap (community college). Which is more privileged? @Theo Brixton - your solution would be better than today.

Curious on the thinking … what difference are you referring to? Wrestling ability? And the middle / high school redshirt is ridiculous ^ 2. Sad whenever I hear it.

No, not exponentially more. But I do not know for certain. Many kids don’t redshirt. They do their four and are done. How do we feel about high schoolers purposefully take 5 years to finish high school so as to be more successful with their high school wrestling career? This is not all that different a situation. Sounds way more gross, I know. But why?

There isn’t a license but would need to be registered. Might need to pass a test. Background check. Not sure what rules are in your area. @Sheerstress has good advice. Generally start with youth tournaments and with JV tournaments. Once feel comfortable probably go with less critical duals and less critical tournaments. That said, with the ref shortage, perhaps get some good duals quickly!

Ha! Fair. Did sound arrogant.

Is the school saying — ‘hey, you didn’t get first chair, here is another year of scholarship for you? Feel free to extend your stay. Also, we will give less money to other band members since we are giving an extra year to you.’ I’ll answer - no, they are not. And what is this privilege crap? Most athletic scholarships are not full rides. With 5 year scholarships, let’s say kid is paying 50%. Now they have to pay it for 5 years with a redshirt. Not 4! If family is struggling to pay for college, 4 is the way. Going 5 is easier for those that have the money to pay!! Grayshirt - I’m not a fan. I don’t have a solution. I’d like to eliminate. Just don’t know how. Open to ideas. Can start a new thread if you like. Hell, some kids may need to work a year before going to college to help pay for it. Not privilege. Don’t want to penalize them.

Quoting my reply about grey shirts. Sounds pretty negative to me. But I see some here are not interested in honest debate and instead want to somehow besmirch me or have themselves having fun sounding like an arrogant schmuck. Privilege - hah. Glad to know your fighting stance. Ok - back to discussion. Let’s do the math. 9.9 athletic scholarships available. Will simplify from here but the point will be the same … assume all getting the scholarship money use for five years. That is 20 people and let’s round the limit to 10 to make math easier. So each is getting 0.5 scholarship. Over a simple 20 year period how many kids get this 1/2 ride? Easy, 4 increments of 5 years x 20 kids = 80. Let’s now say they all just get for 4 years. Now, the math is 5 increments of 4 years x 20 = 100 kids. Go ahead and get more precise, the outcome will be the same. More kids get more scholarships if the time frame is 4, not 5 years. Can do the math again another way and find that you could keep the number of kids at 80 and choose to INCREASE scholarships for the 4 year approach and spend the same amount of money. Or do a combo, mix of more kids getting scholarship and get more money. Nice. I totally get that redshirts make life easier for athletes and it makes it easier to win. I get it. I bet we can come up with many ideas to help with this. For example 1) require only 10 credit hours to be full time 2) give them automatic grade lifts in their classes 3) give full rides to all including stipends 4) don’t actually make them go to class 5) pay them as employees and allow 8 years of eligibility Crazy and absurd. Point is that limits need to be put in place somewhere. It is a question on where those limits are drawn. I’m someone that believes that the limits are not in the right place. I do not like the institutionalizing of incentives to take 5, not 4 years, to graduate. It wastes time, and takes REAL opportunity away from others.

Ok. So there is a TBar impersonator. TBar would never say anything negative about Cael’s management.

Thanks for posting the article. I was hopeful that is said something more than it makes it easier to win more (development), better for team winning more (team opportunity), and medical. It did, a bit. Still - I saw nothing that changes my mind that competing for four years I. College is not enough. Again, if Tuba player isn’t first seat, does she redshirt? If a bio major doesn’t get the research project she likes, does she redshirt? If the actor doesn’t get the lead in the play, does he redshirt? If the Chem E major doesn’t get the outcome she wants in a lab does she redshirt? Why is athletics so much more important that the system is contorting itself? If it was four years — and move on, would still be awesome. More kids getting more scholarships. More kids getting to top of podium and realizing the pinnacle of success in NCAA wrestling. More kids launching into successful careers earlier. Yes, paying for a kid to go to school for 5 or 6 years is better and easier for the one kid in that one window. And if it pays for a graduate degree, cool. But I expect that is the exception. And even still, it means another kid is not getting money for their undergrad degree. And this should be about undergrad kids.

Just because there is something that is worse doesn’t mean we should try to stop bad things that aren’t as bad. And just because something bad has happened for a long time, doesn’t make it good or that it is not worth trying to stop. Redshirts are a perversion. An excuse for a coach or school to try to have more champions / better team / whatever. If a kid isn’t ready to wrestle as a freshman, ok — try to start Sophomore year. Big freaking deal. Oh no, a maniacal sports fan is going to be upset. A fan that wants the kid to bend their life trajectory to the fan’s preferences. More money to fewer kids since the 9.9 needs to span 5 or 6 years instead of 4 per kid. It’s a bunch of adult’s shortening a kid’s career time span for the sake of the adults enjoying watching sports — and making money off the kids.