Imagine the 1989 Sugar Bowl if Deion Sanders hadn’t played. That’s not all that fun, is it?
Or the 1995 Sugar Bowl without Derrick Brooks. Or the 2002 Gator Bowl without Javon Walker. Or even the 2016 Orange Bowl without Dalvin Cook.
Think about the many memorable moments the Florida State football program has enjoyed through the years in postseason bowls, thanks to talented upperclassmen who shined in their final college games.
Well, those days appear to be coming to an end.
Because as we’ve seen around the country, and specifically in Tallahassee -- where both Derwin James and Josh Sweat have decided to skip the Independence Bowl to get ready for the NFL Draft -- this trend isn’t going to be slowing down anytime soon.
As a college football fan, that’s a bit of a bummer, right?
We watch all season, through ups and downs and good and bad, and then when the bowl games get here, the best players are just going to decide not to play?
What happened to loyalty? To family? To being competitive? To being selfless and playing for your brothers? To finishing the job?
Well, in James’ and Sweat’s case, you could argue that went out the window when the guy who coached them the last three years took $75 million and some ugly boots to head to Texas.
Most coaches don't stick around for bowl games when they're preparing for a new job, so why should the players? At least James and Sweat played long enough to make sure the Seminoles got bowl eligible.
Was anyone truly surprised James, a sure-fire first-round pick who has already missed an entire season due to an injury, decided to NOT risk millions of dollars for an exhibition game against Southern Miss in Shreveport?
Especially after watching Leonard Fournette and Christian McCaffrey sit out their bowl games last year and still go Top 10 in the draft?
When you really sit and think about it, it’s remarkable it took college football players THIS long to figure out the game.
Bowl executives make outrageous salaries. Coaches get six-figure bonuses for just getting bowl eligible. Schools make millions.
All Josh Sweat and Derwin James were going to get was maybe a watch, an iPod and some free chicken wings -- or whatever it is the Walk-On’s Bistreaux and Bar Independence Bowl decides to hand out to the participating players.
Maybe some gumbo? That ain’t worth the risk in their eyes.
James is essentially a millionaire right now. His measurables are off the charts, and he's put enough on tape that he’ll certainly be posing with the NFL commissioner on stage this spring.
So why play Southern Miss? For school pride? To get revenge for the 1989 loss to Brett Favre? Sure, we’d like him to play, but Derwin James needs to do what’s best for Derwin James.
And he’s part of the next wave of college football players -- Fournette and McCaffrey were essentially the guinea pigs-- that are going to start treating these bowls like the exhibition games they are.
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As a realist, this makes perfect sense. Especially with the amount of money EVERYONE else is making off these bowls. Why play for free and risk your livelihood so your millionaire coach can get an extra 200 grand to spend on Christmas presents?
But still, I get the other side, too.
Because when does it end? As a college football fan, that’s what I’m worried most about.
Like, why did Derwin James even play against Louisiana-Monroe? Why risk his health for that game? Heck, after it was obvious FSU wasn't winning a title, why keep playing at all? Why not just shut it down and move to L.A. after the loss to Miami?
Is that the next step? Draftable players start saying “peace out” in October if their team isn’t living up to expectations? Quitting school and starting to train for the combine if they’re not in playoff contention?
Maybe the slope is that slippery. Or maybe I’m crazy. Who can know?
You might be saying to yourself: “Give it a rest, Clark. Quit overreacting to a few players skipping bowl games! And, also, why are you so pasty?”
Not sure why you had to get personal there at the end, but I understand the overall sentiment. And granted, I might be overreacting.
Then again, read the beginning of this story again. Who would have even thought this was possible three years ago? That a star player, who is 100 percent healthy, would actually skip a bowl game?
And yet here we are. James and Sweat aren't playing for FSU. Louisville's best cornerback is sitting out the Cardinals' bowl game, Bradley Chubb likely isn't playing for N.C. State, Oregon's Royce Freeman skipped his, and two Texas players are skipping theirs as well.
This trend is going to turn into a tidal wave in the next few years. To the point where, I believe, college football fans will just come to expect it.
One thing Jimbo Fisher was 100 percent correct about when it comes to the college football postseason is that the playoffs devalue all other bowls. Not just the Independence Bowl or the Champs Bowl or the Whatever Bowl. But the New Year’s Six ones, too.
I can promise you we’re going to see more and more players -- even in the “marquee” bowls -- start to sit out in the coming years. If you’re not in the playoff, if you’re not playing for a ring, then why play at all? That will be the mindset of many future millionaires who watched Fournette and McCaffrey make business decisions at the end of 2016 and get paid handsomely for it with Top 10 selections (meanwhile, Dalvin Cook played in his bowl game and was picked in the second round).
If the NFL was bothered by these players quitting on their teams at the end of the year, it sure didn’t show it. So the trend will continue.
Players will just look out for themselves now -- you know, like everyone else involved in college athletics -- and all we’ll be left to do is look back fondly at the days of Deion and Derrick and Dalvin.
Because they’re likely never coming back again.
Oh, and one last note, I'd like to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays. You guys have been exceedingly nice to me since I got here and I'm really excited for the New Year -- which, if my wish is granted, won't include another day in Shreveport.
Thanks, everyone!
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Talk about this story with other Florida State football fans in the Tribal Council
