February used to be known for President’s Day, Black History Month, and Ground Hog Day. Now, there’s a new holiday for sports fans: National Signing Day, named for the annual tradition of finding out which colleges successfully nabbed the most sought-after high school football players.
Just a few years ago, we’d find out the plans of these young athletes by seeing their picture in the paper. Occasionally, we’d see a few of them on TV. Now, the amount of media coverage is unprecedented and includes daylong broadcasts devoted only to National Signing Day. Social media takes it right into our newsfeeds and inboxes, as athletes themselves crank up the hype with self-promotion and attention-grabbing antics.
Not long ago, the hype surrounding one’s athletic career began in college and accelerated from there. Now, it’s starting much earlier, and I think it’s way too much attention at too early an age. If you’re plotting, scheming, and tweeting to become a star at 17 or 18, what lengths will you go to when you’re 21, 31 or 41?
Athletes who put on gimmicks for the public and the media when they’re still young are expected to up the ante in college and beyond at the professional level. Remember LeBron’s “I’m taking my talents to South Beach” debacle?
LeBron was an NBA superstar when he made that decision. He wasn’t an 18-year-old with the weight of the world on his shoulders and a yet-undefined career. Still, it’s not just NBA players who seek the limelight by any means necessary.
Case in point: Seattle Seahawks’ Richard Sherman is considered the best cornerback in the league. He’s also known for his frequent trash talk and outspoken personality. Who can forget the interview after the Seahawks v. 49ers game when he declared himself the “best corner in the game”?
This season, the hype surrounded another Seahawk – Marshawn Lynch. The star running back known as “Beast Mode” one-upped Sherman. He didn’t do so by excessive trash talking. He did it by barely talking at all. Days before the Super Bowl, he held a 5-minute news conference, responding to every question with a smug, “I’m just here so I won’t get fined.”
When teenagers see stunts like that, they often want to emulate them. Why have we allowed this to start and where does it end? Recruiting athletes is an essential part of college football, so there will always be some level of attention surrounding it.
Putting an 18-year-old kid on national TV to announce where he will play college sports builds hype and can be exciting, but it can also cause tremendous pressure and be extremely nerve wracking for the athlete. The coverage of signing day has gone too far. I think it’s time to dial it back and let some of the hype die down.