geechee
05-04-2006, 04:36 AM
Macon Telegraph
Macon.com
Michael A. Lough
Clausen's verbal fuels fires of Irish haters
There's a large faction of college football fans out there, Notre Dame Haters, and they can thank an 18-year-old - or his parents and "advisors," as well as recruiting "coverage" and recruiting "experts" and ESPN - for supplying more ammunition to last a decade or so.
Here, according to a variety of published reports, is how Jimmy Clausen made a verbal commitment, a non-binding verbal commitment, last month:
He and his family flew from California to a city in the Midwest. They proceeded to, ahem, the College Football Hall of Fame. In a limo. Escorted by police they arrived 45 minutes late with more than a dozen family members hanging on for the glory.
Hello, NCAA? Who paid for all that?
He wiggled three championship rings at the crowd. High school championship rings. And it drew cheers. In fact, his announcement drew a half-minute of applause, feeding the egos and delusions like a buffet fattens up a herd of offensive lineman.
Burp.
Knute Rockne threw up. George Gipp asked for a shot. Ara Parseghian is thrilled to be out of the game.
And the ghosts of deceased Hall members gathered together to make a statement: "Get that punk-haired kid outta our Hall until he does something on the college level other than load up on gel and hype."
Speaking of hype: "I'm going to try to make this," the latest savior proclaimed, "the No. 1 recruiting class in college football this year."
Congrats, dude, you won April.
That, Notre Dame fans know, means absolutely nothing, since they were used to winning the spring national championship to be followed by diddly in the fall. Get some Enron stock, folks, while you hoard hotel rooms at the national championship bowl site the next few years.
Hah.
Such histrionics anywhere invite the prayer for failure, regardless of the destination or level. You can almost lump Clausen now into the file with Bosworth, Marinovich and Leaf.
I'm still waiting to hear much from Lorenzo Booker, the all-century recruit who was, as Max Emfinger wrote in USA TODAY in 2002, part of a "an incredible recruiting class that included six Parade All-Americans and seven of my All-Americans" at Florida State. Booker's averaging all of 50.2 yards a game for the Seminoles. How many trips to New York has Oklahoma's Adrian Peterson made?
There are a few in Athens who inspired slobbering from fans as recruits who will leave having done less on the field than deep snappers.
The hype is not gospel, it's a guess.
Of course, here's the depressing thing for NDHs: Charlie Weis is a good enough coach to overcome the arrogance that surrounds his program.
Macon.com
Michael A. Lough
Clausen's verbal fuels fires of Irish haters
There's a large faction of college football fans out there, Notre Dame Haters, and they can thank an 18-year-old - or his parents and "advisors," as well as recruiting "coverage" and recruiting "experts" and ESPN - for supplying more ammunition to last a decade or so.
Here, according to a variety of published reports, is how Jimmy Clausen made a verbal commitment, a non-binding verbal commitment, last month:
He and his family flew from California to a city in the Midwest. They proceeded to, ahem, the College Football Hall of Fame. In a limo. Escorted by police they arrived 45 minutes late with more than a dozen family members hanging on for the glory.
Hello, NCAA? Who paid for all that?
He wiggled three championship rings at the crowd. High school championship rings. And it drew cheers. In fact, his announcement drew a half-minute of applause, feeding the egos and delusions like a buffet fattens up a herd of offensive lineman.
Burp.
Knute Rockne threw up. George Gipp asked for a shot. Ara Parseghian is thrilled to be out of the game.
And the ghosts of deceased Hall members gathered together to make a statement: "Get that punk-haired kid outta our Hall until he does something on the college level other than load up on gel and hype."
Speaking of hype: "I'm going to try to make this," the latest savior proclaimed, "the No. 1 recruiting class in college football this year."
Congrats, dude, you won April.
That, Notre Dame fans know, means absolutely nothing, since they were used to winning the spring national championship to be followed by diddly in the fall. Get some Enron stock, folks, while you hoard hotel rooms at the national championship bowl site the next few years.
Hah.
Such histrionics anywhere invite the prayer for failure, regardless of the destination or level. You can almost lump Clausen now into the file with Bosworth, Marinovich and Leaf.
I'm still waiting to hear much from Lorenzo Booker, the all-century recruit who was, as Max Emfinger wrote in USA TODAY in 2002, part of a "an incredible recruiting class that included six Parade All-Americans and seven of my All-Americans" at Florida State. Booker's averaging all of 50.2 yards a game for the Seminoles. How many trips to New York has Oklahoma's Adrian Peterson made?
There are a few in Athens who inspired slobbering from fans as recruits who will leave having done less on the field than deep snappers.
The hype is not gospel, it's a guess.
Of course, here's the depressing thing for NDHs: Charlie Weis is a good enough coach to overcome the arrogance that surrounds his program.