College Football Media Days Are Just One Giant Commercial or Bitch Fest. Yawn!
Plus: FIFA finally got the Balogun decision right—and some people simply can't stand seeing America become a proper "football" nation.
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College football media days are here.
And to be honest...
I couldn’t be happier that SiriusXM isn’t sending me this year.
That probably sounds strange coming from someone whose job is to cover college football for a living, but anyone who’s spent multiple days at these events knows exactly what I’m talking about.
They are a yawn fest.
Last year I covered both the SEC and ACC media days. Between the two, you’re talking about nearly a week of sitting in hotel ballrooms going through the motions over and over again.
The players don’t have much they can actually say. The coaches do what coaches always do.
“We love our team.” “We’ve had a great offseason.” “Our culture is outstanding.” Then someone asks about NIL or the transfer portal, and everyone agrees the current system is broken, unsustainable, and needs fixing.
Conference commissioners step to the podium, deliver a “State of the Conference” speech, tell everyone their league has never been stronger, and then move on.
Wash.
Rinse.
Repeat.
It’s exhausting.
The biggest problem isn’t that media days exist. It’s how much they’ve grown. Not for the better, either.
What used to be a one-day event has become a three- or four-day commercial for each conference. Television networks and radio companies have to pay for talent, travel, hotels, meals, and production just to cover what amounts to a giant promotional event.
If there were major news breaking every hour, maybe it would be worth it.
There usually isn’t.
Most years I leave knowing almost exactly what I knew before I arrived.
Now, there are perks. Sometimes.
Last year, because SEC Media Days were in Atlanta, I got to attend the MLB Home Run Derby and the All-Star Game. That made the trip worthwhile. The event itself?
Not so much.
ACC Media Days in Charlotte? Painfully slow. Media days also aren’t what they used to be because college football isn’t what it used to be.
Years ago, schools brought veteran leaders—usually seniors who had spent four or five years representing that university. Fans knew them. Reporters knew them. Those players had stories to tell because they’d actually lived the journey at that school.
Today?
Half the room is introducing itself.
Many of the players are transfers who have only been on campus for a few months. They’re often great kids, and NIL has certainly allowed many of them to improve their lives financially, but they haven’t had time to build deep connections with the university, the fan base, or even their teammates.
As a reporter, many of your questions become, “Why did you transfer?” instead of asking about years of experiences representing that school.
That’s not the players’ fault.
It’s simply the reality of modern college football. Fans don’t get that same emotional connection anymore because they’re still learning who many of these players are. That’s the sad part.
Speaking of overreactions...
The outrage over Flo Balogun’s red card being overturned is ridiculous.
People like Piers Morgan and Wayne Rooney are acting as though FIFA committed some great injustice by allowing Balogun to play against Belgium.
They’re upset about the wrong thing.
The injustice wasn’t overturning the suspension.
The injustice was showing the red card in the first place.
Balogun never should have been sent off.
He already paid a significant price by missing most of the second half against Bosnia after a decision that, in my opinion, should never have happened.
FIFA corrected a mistake.
That’s what governing bodies are supposed to do.
Some people seem more upset that the United States benefited than they are interested in whether the decision was actually fair.
I think that’s what this is really about.
America is becoming a legitimate football nation.
We’re investing in the sport. Our fan culture is growing. The crowds have been outstanding. The rest of the world is seeing American supporters embrace the game in a way many never expected.
Not everyone likes that.
Some European pundits seem uncomfortable with the idea that the United States is no longer just an outsider in world football.
They can complain all they want.
If the original decision was wrong—and I believe it was—then correcting it wasn’t corruption.
It was justice.