What do you mean by "The system loves winners"? Is Shedeur really a winner?
Shedeur Sanders had a 13–12 record as the starting quarterback for Colorado over two seasons (2023–2024). He lost his only bowl game.
Compare his willing to Will Howard who got drafted BELOW Shedeur yet he had a 14–2 record as the starting quarterback for Ohio State in the 2024 season AND he led the team to a national championship.
Thank you for sharing this perspective. I’m not going to lie—when I read about and saw the photos of his celebration room, I scoffed and bristled at the tremendous hubris it revealed. I didn’t have enough sympathy for the impact of the cloth from which he was cut, namely the monumental hubris of his father, who indeed has the obnoxiously undeniable talent to back it up. As a Denver fan, I can relate to both the Elways and the Mannings. The continuing saga of the Sanders family, however, is new to me and I will now watch from afar with some new interest.
Personally, I am not a fan of his. I think he is a talented player. He is not the guy I would choose to lead my team. Although, I will tell you, mentally he fits the profile that offensive coordinators love (I was a football coach). They love a guy who makes it all about himself, because they know that that guy will do everything possible to win. What they want is for that guy to say the right things publicly because he has to lead the locker room. He was simply unwilling to say the right things or even put on an act. That was a huge red flag. This comes with the fact that Sheduer has a reported 6M dollars in the bank from his college days.
I also think that we misconstrue the NFL. Talent is only a part of it in that world. They need allegiance to the team in a way that players like Shedeur are unable or unwilling to provide. I think that is the reason why he fell.
I’ll keep an eye out for it! I can definitely see what you’re saying in the NFL. How do you think allowing college players to receive payments/endorsements has affected that attitude at the NCAA level? I can see both sides of that argument, but the grassroots impact has been a nightmare to navigate. We have parents on our coach pitch baseball team worrying about which travel ball team their 5yo kid should go to in order to have the most connections to the NCAA and on. It’s absurd and it’s one of many things ruining kids sports right now.
You are a Colson Fellow! Nice. My wife and I both thought about it. We both graduated last year with A Masters (mine) and a Doctorate (hers). I'm in a doctoral program this year. We thought about it quite a bit.
It’s definitely worth it! I still deeply regret that I couldn’t go to my commissioning at the national conference (I had COVID). The friends I made in that group and the ways they challenged me to think are still impacting me. You should both do it together!
The current effects of openly allowing money into the game were inexorable. I haven't watched the college game with any seriousness since Joe Paterno was fired. All of sports are ruined because of it.
In a sense, I feel vindicated and a little righteous indignation from your response (I agree with you). As a mom of 4 kiddos, 3 of whom are just barely starting out their athletic endeavors, I thought I was going into this with my eyes wide open. The statistical likelihood of any of our kids being the next Cal Ripken or Tom
Brady or Simone Biles is slim to none. I thought we’d meet up a few times a week for fundamental skills, teamwork, some encouragement and constructive feedback, some orange slices and juice boxes, and that would be it. Sticky smiles and fond childhood memories—that’s what I have and what I want for my kids. Those days are GONE, and it breaks my heart. I have already had to navigate explaining to my son that he can’t play travel club ball for myriad reasons, not the least of which is because we want him to have a richly normal childhood. We want to focus on discipleship and building character. We had hoped that sports would be a part of that, and it will to some extent. We’ll just spend more time than I ever thought possible keeping them humbly focused on maintaining their integrity and a balanced life. I’m flabbergasted at the thousands of dollars parents hemorrhage into these programs. And for what? Are their children ultimately better off for it? Will they look back on their childhood with fondness and gratitude? It remains to be seen. Meanwhile I’m left shaking my head in speechless shock at the 10yo pitcher who screamed “SHUTUP!!” at his father (and coach) as he walked away after striking out. And his father laughed it off because it was his third game that day between the two teams he plays for and clearly the kid needed some space. He’s TEN. What have we done?
Here is what I will say. If I had a son who wanted to play sports. I would use sports as a vehicle to teach him the value of hard work, fair play, and sacrifice.
I learned to coach because I cared about the kids. I learned the drills to develop skill level because the kids made sacrifices and I didn't want to let them down.
I used my time as a coach to teach all of the character traits and discipline that I would want my own son to embody. If they went to college–great! If the played pro sports–wonderful! That wasn't my goal. Every single kid could be a father. Very few can play professionally. I chose to coach to help make good fathers, sons, brothers, and friends... and we had fun playing along the way.
There is a bridge to character there, but that bridge is distinct from worshipping sports.
Amen! Thank you for this discussion. It has helped me to think even more. I want more than anything to build my children into men and women of God. I pray they have coaches who think like you! (Thankfully my daughter’s softball coach takes this approach. She was ready to quit last season, but her new coach used an encouraging, character-first approach that completely changed her mind. We need more coaches like that!)
What do you mean by "The system loves winners"? Is Shedeur really a winner?
Shedeur Sanders had a 13–12 record as the starting quarterback for Colorado over two seasons (2023–2024). He lost his only bowl game.
Compare his willing to Will Howard who got drafted BELOW Shedeur yet he had a 14–2 record as the starting quarterback for Ohio State in the 2024 season AND he led the team to a national championship.
How does this fit with your proposal?
The NFL loves winners. I am not saying Sheduer is a winner. I’m saying what Damien Woody said. The NFL loves winners, “the draft showed your not him!”
Why do you think Howard dropped? He’s certainly a winner?
Thank you for sharing this perspective. I’m not going to lie—when I read about and saw the photos of his celebration room, I scoffed and bristled at the tremendous hubris it revealed. I didn’t have enough sympathy for the impact of the cloth from which he was cut, namely the monumental hubris of his father, who indeed has the obnoxiously undeniable talent to back it up. As a Denver fan, I can relate to both the Elways and the Mannings. The continuing saga of the Sanders family, however, is new to me and I will now watch from afar with some new interest.
Personally, I am not a fan of his. I think he is a talented player. He is not the guy I would choose to lead my team. Although, I will tell you, mentally he fits the profile that offensive coordinators love (I was a football coach). They love a guy who makes it all about himself, because they know that that guy will do everything possible to win. What they want is for that guy to say the right things publicly because he has to lead the locker room. He was simply unwilling to say the right things or even put on an act. That was a huge red flag. This comes with the fact that Sheduer has a reported 6M dollars in the bank from his college days.
I also think that we misconstrue the NFL. Talent is only a part of it in that world. They need allegiance to the team in a way that players like Shedeur are unable or unwilling to provide. I think that is the reason why he fell.
Btw hubris is the subject of my next essay.
I’ll keep an eye out for it! I can definitely see what you’re saying in the NFL. How do you think allowing college players to receive payments/endorsements has affected that attitude at the NCAA level? I can see both sides of that argument, but the grassroots impact has been a nightmare to navigate. We have parents on our coach pitch baseball team worrying about which travel ball team their 5yo kid should go to in order to have the most connections to the NCAA and on. It’s absurd and it’s one of many things ruining kids sports right now.
You are a Colson Fellow! Nice. My wife and I both thought about it. We both graduated last year with A Masters (mine) and a Doctorate (hers). I'm in a doctoral program this year. We thought about it quite a bit.
It’s definitely worth it! I still deeply regret that I couldn’t go to my commissioning at the national conference (I had COVID). The friends I made in that group and the ways they challenged me to think are still impacting me. You should both do it together!
We just might.
The current effects of openly allowing money into the game were inexorable. I haven't watched the college game with any seriousness since Joe Paterno was fired. All of sports are ruined because of it.
In a sense, I feel vindicated and a little righteous indignation from your response (I agree with you). As a mom of 4 kiddos, 3 of whom are just barely starting out their athletic endeavors, I thought I was going into this with my eyes wide open. The statistical likelihood of any of our kids being the next Cal Ripken or Tom
Brady or Simone Biles is slim to none. I thought we’d meet up a few times a week for fundamental skills, teamwork, some encouragement and constructive feedback, some orange slices and juice boxes, and that would be it. Sticky smiles and fond childhood memories—that’s what I have and what I want for my kids. Those days are GONE, and it breaks my heart. I have already had to navigate explaining to my son that he can’t play travel club ball for myriad reasons, not the least of which is because we want him to have a richly normal childhood. We want to focus on discipleship and building character. We had hoped that sports would be a part of that, and it will to some extent. We’ll just spend more time than I ever thought possible keeping them humbly focused on maintaining their integrity and a balanced life. I’m flabbergasted at the thousands of dollars parents hemorrhage into these programs. And for what? Are their children ultimately better off for it? Will they look back on their childhood with fondness and gratitude? It remains to be seen. Meanwhile I’m left shaking my head in speechless shock at the 10yo pitcher who screamed “SHUTUP!!” at his father (and coach) as he walked away after striking out. And his father laughed it off because it was his third game that day between the two teams he plays for and clearly the kid needed some space. He’s TEN. What have we done?
Here is what I will say. If I had a son who wanted to play sports. I would use sports as a vehicle to teach him the value of hard work, fair play, and sacrifice.
I learned to coach because I cared about the kids. I learned the drills to develop skill level because the kids made sacrifices and I didn't want to let them down.
I used my time as a coach to teach all of the character traits and discipline that I would want my own son to embody. If they went to college–great! If the played pro sports–wonderful! That wasn't my goal. Every single kid could be a father. Very few can play professionally. I chose to coach to help make good fathers, sons, brothers, and friends... and we had fun playing along the way.
There is a bridge to character there, but that bridge is distinct from worshipping sports.
Amen! Thank you for this discussion. It has helped me to think even more. I want more than anything to build my children into men and women of God. I pray they have coaches who think like you! (Thankfully my daughter’s softball coach takes this approach. She was ready to quit last season, but her new coach used an encouraging, character-first approach that completely changed her mind. We need more coaches like that!)