Dropping Football Before Goal Line "Uncool?"
- Lee Wright - Sr Writer
- Sep 25, 2016
- 2 min read
While dropping the football before reaching the goal line isn’t quite an epidemic yet, it does create situations where games might be won or lost depending on an athlete’s need to ‘be cool’, at least for the moment. The odd part of this is that the athlete actually makes himself look very uncool. Ask Joe Mixon of Oklahoma or Vic Enware of California, two of the most recent incidents of, “Look at me, look at me.”
It shouldn’t be surprising that college athletes look for ways to garner even more attention than they’re used to. Receiving special attention from family, friends, classroom instructors, fans, etc., because of athletic prowess on the field, athletes begin to expect (and many times, encourage) more and more attention. Look at the way defensive linemen react immediately after sacking a quarterback. Many of them prance around like they’ve just found the cure for cancer. What they’ve done, however, is complete the job they’ve been asked to do – nothing more.
A more appropriate response might be to look for teammates who assisted on the play and give them praise (high fives, chest bump, etc.) for their efforts. Or, point up to the defensive coaches overlooking the field in the skyboxes, and give them props for creating a defensive scheme that created opportunities for the defensive linemen to succeed. But the, “Look at me, look at me” attitude seems to be the norm in today’s game.
I must admit that my take on athletes who use individual successes (in a team game) to place a bigger spotlight on themselves might be as much generational than anything else. We live in a world much different than when I was in college, with athletes who grow up with social media and the many avenues available for expression. Hence, the need (or opportunity) to express themselves is much more prevalent today, both on and off the field.
It’s one other area of responsibility of coaches to try and keep the athletes’ feet firmly planted on the ground. Some of the athletes will have to face even more opportunities to keep things in proper perspective if they are good enough for professional play. Those coaches who are successful will assist the players in keeping their focus, not on, “Look at me, look at me,” but, “Look at this team, look at this team.”
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