A Former Oregon Player's Perspective on His Team's Fans

This is just a link-drop, something I hope to be doing more of, but I ran across this article by Oregon Live, and felt the need to share it.  Basically, a former player attends his first game as a spectator in the stands, and is shocked by what he sees and hears: 

"I was then verbally attacked by other spectators saying, "you need to keep your (expletive) mouth shut, because you don't know (expletive) about football." They claimed that I didn't know that they had coached college football, and that I had no idea what I was talking about. Ironic to say the least, considering my background and what you know of me, what my old teammates know of me, and what my old coaches know of me."

His take on what the game has become for many college athletes resembles a gladiatorial clash of the Roman times:

"On the outside, spectators placed bets and objectified us. They put us on pedestals and worshiped us for a short time, but only as long as we were winning. In the end, we were just a bunch of dumbass (racial slur) for the owners to whip, and the rich to bet on."

The rest of the article, which is a very good read, is available HERE.  I highly suggest that everyone reads this.  It truly begs the question, should the NCAA start compensating players more than giving kids a full ride to play a sport at a school?  It seems like there is no true good answer to that question. 'Til next time.