"Bag Man" author to do Reddit AMA, Friday at 1pm

Submitted by TrppWlbrnID on

STEVEN GODFREY, writer & journalist for SB Nation and author of the "bag man" article will be doing an Ask Me Anything (AMA) on reddit today at 1 pm. for those of you who might not have been on Reddit, an AMA is basically like the internet version of a press conference. the college football forum is usually a pretty levelheaded forum so you won't be drifting into rcmb-like territory.   and if you like that, hit the main page for cat videos, cat gifs, cat memes and cat pictures.
 

reddit/CFB previously did an AMA with an autograph dealer which i thought was interesting

http://www.reddit.com/r/CFB/comments/21iyej/i_am_an_autograph_dealer_that_deals_specifically/

in very reddit fashion, this is not a link to the AMA, but to the notification of the AMA, the AMA will be linked once it begins.

http://www.reddit.com/r/CFB/comments/22qvkr/upcoming_ama_meet_the_bag_man_writer_journalist/

LSAClassOf2000

April 11th, 2014 at 12:18 PM ^

The comment thread which followed Godfrey's article, now standing at nearly 1,000 replies, got particularly contentious so I am curious as to what sort of questions people will bring to this one. A lot of people here seemed to more or less say that, while it is not at all shocking on a high level, the level of detail provided here was fascinating and did provide insight into the intricacies of what goes on. Actually, I am curious to see if people from fanbases that have been repeatedly accused of this sort of stuff show up as well. 

MichiganStephen

April 11th, 2014 at 2:08 PM ^

two questions, which he was gracious enough to answer: 1. Did the SEC bag men ever talk to you about encounters with bag men outside of their conference? Does it work the same way all over (in the B1G, Pac 12, etc.)? His answer: One specifically mentioned that he had "associates" in the Pac 12 that operated a similar system. 2. Non-bag man questions and specific to my school: how many wins does Hoke need to keep his job? Will Nussmeier be able to turn the O-line into an at least average unit? His answer: At least 8, more like 9 (although I don't think he deserves the hot seat this year). And yes, I expect Nuss to create noticeable improvement by midseason. Sucks Lewan's gone. My follow-up: I agree 9. 8 will do if they can beat MSU and OSU, which they won't. Why don't you think he deserves the hot seat? Because of the youth on OL? His answer: Yessir. One more year to get those blue chips looking like blue chips. I think 15 is a reasonable chopping block season. However, there are some serious concerns about that offense in the long term. Not like... Florida serious, but serious. He also said "Every logo I've seen on this Reddit has a bag man network." Most of the power 5 and a few other schools had fans present. For those unfamiliar, your school's logo appears next to your username. All in all, a fantastic AMA.

GoBLUinTX

April 11th, 2014 at 2:23 PM ^

he's saying Michigan has a bag man network.  Evidently not a very good one considering the players that turn away.

I was really hoping somebody would have asked if gambling was ever mentioned with regards to bag men.

Interesting about his implication about Illinois.  Not sure what he meant by Michigan having a future serious problem with offense.  So vague was he that I give it no credence.

Only $80K for the unnamed 2014 player.  As I recall Cam Newton was worth $100K.

XM - Mt 1822

April 11th, 2014 at 8:16 PM ^

if it's fiction, it's some of the best fiction i've read.  however, it certainly has the sound of truth to it.  where were these bag men when i was playing at mich?  

Yeoman

April 12th, 2014 at 12:08 PM ^

I've had some conversations about this with a co-worker that played for Woody and one thing that was clear was that these guys are always around and always willing, and the extent to which they operate depends on the encouragement or discouragement they get from the program. If they know they'll be cut off if they're found out and they know they're going to be found out, they stand down. If they have enough collective influence they'll try to engineer a change, a new coach or new AD, to shift the program in a direction more amenable to their activities. (You might be able to imagine which changes at OSU we're talking about here.)

No collection of boosters was ever going to win a confrontation with Bo and no one since Bo has commanded that level of fear and respect. I can imagine that things might have changed with his passing.