College Football: A Reflection of American Society

College football is in a unique place. More money is being thrown around than ever as restrictions around transferring and player compensation have loosened. Sports media has become more focused on clicks as opposed to the game they’re reporting on. Patience within fanbases seems to be disappearing; one bad game causes fans to call for players to be benched or for coaches to be fired. Combine the off-the-field changes with the ever-evolving play on the field, and the game just doesn’t feel the same. American politics has followed a similar path over recent years. Promises seem to be delivered less and less. Our leaders talk a big game, but things don’t feel like they’re getting better for the average person. Are we stuck in a downward spiral both on the gridiron and in Congress?

Gone are the days of the traditional “student-athlete”. On top of full-ride scholarships, players can now receive additional compensation from universities for their play. In a lot of cases, this seems fair. Players put their bodies on the line and universities make millions, or even hundreds of millions, off of them. However, the chaos that has occurred as a side effect of the changes to transferring and player compensation is unlike anything the college football landscape has ever seen. In cases where elite players (and elite paychecks) are involved, such as Nico Iamaleava’s bizarre transfer to UCLA, football completely falls out of focus as they chase the biggest possible payday. Recent off-seasons resemble the NFL more than the college days of old as players are leaving schools at the drop of a hat in order to sign the biggest deal, with some reaching as high as $6 million. They’re not even pretending to be students anymore.

It’s hard to claim that there’s no sense to the changes that have taken over with college football over recent years. Why wouldn’t a player try to make as much money as they can? The universities make so much off of them, isn’t it only fair they get paid for their contributions? Is it really that different from sliding cash under the table like they used to do? Those are all valid questions, and at the end of the day, we’re still talking about football. Unfortunately, money-chasing isn’t reserved for football players.

Politicians aren’t known for their honesty and good will, but it’s becoming clear that many of them are using their positions solely to augment their income. Nancy Pelosi has engaged so obviously in insider trading that a plethora of online trackers exist that follow her every trade. David Kirkpatrick of The New Yorker claims that Donald Trump has made $3.4 billion over his second tenure as president of the United States. They’re not even pretending to be in it for the good of the people anymore.

It’s easy to find things to complain about. While negative trends in our society deserve attention, we must also realize that we aren’t in an irrevocable state of despair. Let’s look at Florida State’s football program, for example. A historically bad 2-10 season in 2024 had fans questioning whether or not the program could ever return to form. Instead, Boston College transfer Thomas Castellanos has led FSU to an undefeated start just as shocking as the 2-10 season was. The Seminoles (undefeated at the time of writing), have vaulted all the way up to 7th on the AP poll after week 3. Without the addition of Castellanos and other key transfers such as Gavin Sawchuk and Duce Robinson, Florida State may still have been figuring out how to get back on the road instead of treating 2024 as a mere speed bump.

Over the past few decades, countless activists have called for efforts to counteract climate change. Many figures used to support these arguments are concerning, and rightfully so, but a slight decline in the popularity of these movements has occurred in part due to their success. Climate change isn’t solved by any means, but progress continues to be made. Researchers from UC San Diego have successfully tested a biomimetic material that boosts coral reef settlement by more than 20 times. States such as Connecticut and Maine are making efforts to reach net zero carbon emissions by the mid-21st century.

While there are legitimate concerns plaguing American society from football to politics, good work is being done. It may be quietly happening in the background, but change comes in many flavors. The frustrating state of affairs of the early 2020s may end up being no more than a bad season that’s looked back on as an anomaly. If we’re patient and stay ready for a chance to turn things around, we might just be a few transfers away from being a winning nation again.