SIAP: Swofford and Narduzzi Oppose Harbaugh Spring Practice for Hilarious Reason
Link: http://espn.go.com/blog/acc/post/_/id/91082/acc-commissioner-john-swoff…
Both Narduzzi and Swofford (full quotes in article) seem to think this is really about the players needing to be "normal" and having a "regular" spring break. As Narduzzi says, "If I was a high school player, and you're telling me I couldn't go to Cancun or Daytona on spring break, I'd be kind of like, 'Are you serious?'"
So there you have it. The complaints are a little about student time demands, but this is really about letting the players go to Cancun or Daytona like normal kids. And all coaches should embrace this position, because as anyone who went on spring break knows, nothing bad ever happens in Cancun or Daytona. [Note sarcasm]
February 19th, 2016 at 11:04 AM ^
...let's also ignore the fact that it costs money to go to those places.
So, a free trip to Florida or having to spend hundreds to go elsewhere? Hmmmmm....
February 19th, 2016 at 11:06 AM ^
They'll fly to Ibiza on their private jets with their leather underwear and their diamond encrusted flip flops...
February 19th, 2016 at 11:17 AM ^
February 19th, 2016 at 11:24 AM ^
It does tend to lead to an abnormally large amount of swamp ass...
February 19th, 2016 at 11:29 AM ^
February 19th, 2016 at 4:29 PM ^
Talcum powder for the win!
February 19th, 2016 at 11:31 AM ^
Come on guys, let's use the politically correct phrase: mutt butt
February 19th, 2016 at 12:08 PM ^
I am 50! I am a man! I will use swass or swamp ass all I want.
February 19th, 2016 at 1:42 PM ^
There is a direct linear relationship between age of a male and the general grossness of that entire area. At 50, I'll bet it's quite nasty down there... :-D
February 19th, 2016 at 3:57 PM ^
February 19th, 2016 at 12:14 PM ^
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February 19th, 2016 at 1:29 PM ^
The sweaty leather leads to chaffing.
February 19th, 2016 at 1:41 PM ^
I won't post it on the board, because out of context it's bad, but there is a great George Carlin joke about wet leather pants and Eskimos... ;-)
February 19th, 2016 at 12:10 PM ^
February 19th, 2016 at 12:22 PM ^
I was from a decently well-off family and my parents made me earn/pay for spring break myself. I worked a side job and I still had to end up sheepishly asking my parents to help out. Point is, I didn't come from poverty and didn't have the time pressures of being a student-athlete and I still could barely cobble together the money. If you're telling me the average CFB player has $1,000 lying around, when they don't have time to work a campus job and we aren't allowed to pay them anything, you're just flat-out wrong.
But at least you thought of the children.
February 19th, 2016 at 3:51 PM ^
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February 19th, 2016 at 4:40 PM ^
also the local travel agency may be running a promotion when they walk in.
February 19th, 2016 at 11:04 AM ^
And everyone also knows that all college kids go to Cancun or Daytona because they're so rich.
February 19th, 2016 at 11:31 AM ^
That was the spring break destination when Narduzzi was in collegel. Daytona beach for spring break is about as cool as Panama City Beach. Even Cancus is kind of lame these days (anywhere further south on the Mayan Riviera is way cooler). Also, its not like Sarasota (which borders Bradenton) is a lame destination. Plenty of fun bars and things to do. Super nice beaches, cute girls, and whatnot. Will it be crazy, probably not. But it will be super fun. Also the first week of spring training is going on, which means plenty of interactions with other athletes their age. I would say it is similar to the basketball team going to Europe to play in the summer. You get a great team trip and bonding and you get it for free.
If would guess if you did an anonymous poll of the team, the results would be overwhelming in favor of doing it. If Narduzzi coached at a school that could afford to do such a trip, he would do it (just like Mike D). Now his only recourse is butthurt.
February 19th, 2016 at 11:38 AM ^
I wonder if Narduzzi went to Cancus when he was in collegel... We may never know...
February 19th, 2016 at 11:47 AM ^
For whatever reason, my browser does not do spell checking when I am posting on mgoblog (but it does for all other text editors).
February 19th, 2016 at 12:18 PM ^
February 19th, 2016 at 12:10 PM ^
irregardless, stay in school.
February 19th, 2016 at 12:18 PM ^
Regardless, that's a good suggestion.
February 19th, 2016 at 11:05 AM ^
I am confused, Why would a high school kid not be able to go on spring break because Michigan is practicing in Florida?
Or they saying the high school kid might think about this for his future?
February 19th, 2016 at 11:05 AM ^
February 19th, 2016 at 12:01 PM ^
February 19th, 2016 at 1:07 PM ^
He goes by the nickname Nard Dawg so...yeah.
February 19th, 2016 at 11:06 AM ^
because all college students can just go to Cancun or Daytona on spring break every year because it doesn't cost money and it is just what magically happens for all college students on spring break because it just happens and it will always happen for every student every year so we absolutely cannot give them a free trip to Florida.
Get serious man.
February 19th, 2016 at 12:14 PM ^
When I went to Michigan I was broke. Only went on one spring break trip. The other years I worked or drove my 20-year old car home. And I had more money than a lot of the players do now.
Party trips to wherever aren't a god-given right, I agree. The weirdest thing about this whole saga is WHO is weighing in. The ACC and other B1G coaches have no skin in this game, and by speaking up about it, they only serve to potentially alienate future prospects who may actually enjoy a Florida trip in the future...
February 19th, 2016 at 11:08 AM ^
And the hypocricy continues. GO BLUE!
February 19th, 2016 at 11:09 AM ^
OK, so don't hold practices over spring break, and see if that works for you as a recruiting tactic. Maybe it will and they'll be rolling in five-star players. Maybe it won't.
February 19th, 2016 at 11:29 AM ^
If it is such a detriment to players, then tell recruits on the recruiting trail that if they go to Michigan, they won't be able to go to Cancun or Daytona during spring break. It appears that a Narduzzi recruit would immeadiatelly burn a Michigan offer letter at this point.
Michigan is going to have a tough sell telling future recruits " Hey, we might decide to take the whole team down to florida, all expenses paid, during spring break to hold some of our spring practices. Practice is for 4 hours, and the rest of the time will be spent either on fun group activities or free time in the sun. This will allow you to also have more free time during finals to study as well."
This should thrill the ACC and SEC as Michigan is creating a horrible culture for their players.
February 19th, 2016 at 11:09 AM ^
It seems that for all the complaints directed towards what the players want, no one has been asking them for their opinions.
February 19th, 2016 at 11:10 AM ^
February 19th, 2016 at 11:13 AM ^
February 19th, 2016 at 11:16 AM ^
I know several players on our squad got on twitter to say they love the idea.
February 19th, 2016 at 12:10 PM ^
it would be tough for them to answer in the negative...
I'm sure some like it and some don't, but it is what it is and it is definitely good for the program overall.
jdon
February 19th, 2016 at 11:13 AM ^
Yeah, forget about the fact that the players are generally around campus all summer for conditioning... Are you serious that I can't pay my own way to go to Daytona because you're going to pay my way to go somewhere else in Florida?
February 19th, 2016 at 11:14 AM ^
And I hope I don't get negged for this, but I heard from a senior on the team that the team was as a whole pretty disappointed they didn't get a spring break. I don't think its enough to call the whole trip unethical, but there is actually some truth to the argument that this isn't what the student atheletes want.
February 19th, 2016 at 11:16 AM ^
Jake Butt, a non-anonymous person and team member you may have heard of, indicated he liked the idea of practicing without having to deal with schoolwork. So there may be some truth to the argument that Harbaugh may be on to something.
February 19th, 2016 at 11:17 AM ^
If that's true, it is something to consider.
Of course, that doesn't mean it should be disallowed.
February 19th, 2016 at 11:18 AM ^
I wouldn't be surprised if this is true, but I wonder if that mindset will change once they actually go on the trip.
February 19th, 2016 at 11:20 AM ^
It's unsurprising that some of the team doesn't like the idea. And that doesn't make them bad teammates or anything else.
Any time you have 110 +/- individuals on a team and the coach makes a major decision like this, some will like it and some won't. But I don't think you can extrapolate that into "this isn't what the student athletes want". It's more like "not every student athlete wants this".
February 19th, 2016 at 11:52 AM ^
Great points. Companies in the working world often offer trips to really nice places for those who have excelled throughout the year....Having been on a few of these I can tell you that there are a good many colleagues who go on the trip and piss and moan about it wishing the company would have just dropped a couple grand in their bank account.
Certainly there are some kids who would rather have the time to themselves. I would have rather had the cash to go to Cancun and see if I could win the STD acquisition bowl. Didn't work out that way....probably for the best.
February 19th, 2016 at 11:20 AM ^
This is actually very interesting information. I have posted this elsewhere, but everyone does need to remember that some players may actually not like this. And to everyone who is saying, "well, then the players can just complain!", you have to remember that a lot of the players probably don't want to be seen as criticizing the coaches or rocking the boat. In other words, I think there is a reasonable argument against the spring break trip idea. But "kids need to die in Daytona and be normal kids!" is not that argument, in my opinion...
February 19th, 2016 at 11:33 AM ^
I think it would be unlikely that there weren't at least some players disappointed in the decision. And as unpopular as this will probably be to say, Narduzzi and co. have a point about taking away one of the few weeks in the calendar year that a "student-athlete" gets to be free of responsibilities in the classroom and the playinf field. I also dismiss the argument that spring sports teams already do this so it's not a big deal as those teams probably are completely free at times during the fall semester (fall break, thanksgiving break).
There are certainly also positives. As many have pointed out, doing this allows some that otherwise couldn't afford to go do fun stuff in Florida to also have a spring break.
I think I'd like to see Harbaugh and co. not do this every season. Maybe every other season. Players that want a true college spring break experience get that chance at least a couple times during their college years.
February 19th, 2016 at 11:36 AM ^
Are you a trusted user? s/
I'd been running on the assumption that the players were working out pretty intensely over that period anyway. Just like they're free to go home over the summer, they'll also be 9th on the depth chart when they return. But if if this is really a time when the players all take off for a week, then it does change things.
February 19th, 2016 at 12:16 PM ^