H2o Posted April 7, 2021 Posted April 7, 2021 I remember him from his time @ FSU and the story about him with the Autistic child. Seems his life has taken a much darker turn after football. https://www.si.com/extra-mustard/2016/08/31/florida-state-travis-rudolph-lunch-boy-autism https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2021/04/07/ex-giant-travis-rudolph-charged-with-first-degree-murder/ Quote The Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office announced that Rudolph was arrested after a double shooting shortly after midnight in Lake Park, Florida. One of the victims was dead at the scene and the other was taken to a nearby hospital. 1
YoloinOhio Posted April 7, 2021 Posted April 7, 2021 How awful. I too remember his name for good reasons, until now.
TroutDog Posted April 7, 2021 Posted April 7, 2021 When I was down south I had quite a few guys work in my organization that had burned out at Alabama. The story was the same every time: they were treated like gold and all else was washed away. While I’m sure that’s intoxicating at the time, it sets these kids up for failure long term. My time there was pre-Saban so maybe it changed there. I hope. 1
TBBills Posted April 7, 2021 Posted April 7, 2021 2 hours ago, H2o said: I remember him from his time @ FSU and the story about him with the Autistic child. Seems his life has taken a much darker turn after football. https://www.si.com/extra-mustard/2016/08/31/florida-state-travis-rudolph-lunch-boy-autism https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2021/04/07/ex-giant-travis-rudolph-charged-with-first-degree-murder/ Lake Park... Not much good goes on there.
BruceVilanch Posted April 7, 2021 Posted April 7, 2021 26 minutes ago, TBBills said: Lake Park... Not much good goes on there. Florida...not much good goes on there. 1 1 2 4
Prospector Posted April 7, 2021 Posted April 7, 2021 1 hour ago, TroutDog said: When I was down south I had quite a few guys work in my organization that had burned out at Alabama. The story was the same every time: they were treated like gold and all else was washed away. While I’m sure that’s intoxicating at the time, it sets these kids up for failure long term. My time there was pre-Saban so maybe it changed there. I hope. It's probably more upbringing when they are young, and their influences while maturing... rather than a college paying for education and extending their passion to play football. 2
Hapless Bills Fan Posted April 8, 2021 Posted April 8, 2021 5 hours ago, TroutDog said: When I was down south I had quite a few guys work in my organization that had burned out at Alabama. The story was the same every time: they were treated like gold and all else was washed away. While I’m sure that’s intoxicating at the time, it sets these kids up for failure long term. My time there was pre-Saban so maybe it changed there. I hope. FWIW, I had a little bit of a DM exchange with John Brown earlier this season...I had asked him a question about an instagram comment he made about the "Sports Conveyer Belt" and he explained and we chatted a little bit about it. He was expressing fundamentally the same concern you outline above - that some colleges offer young athletes (particularly young athletes from single parent homes) a lot of material inducements to come play for that team. But it only lasts while their athletic talent can be "mined" from that team, then they get tossed aside, while not being set up for success in any other avenue of life I don't know which programs or teams he had in mind but from other things he posts he has several young relatives being recruited or about to be recruited and it's apparently a current concern 3
TroutDog Posted April 8, 2021 Posted April 8, 2021 9 hours ago, Hapless Bills Fan said: FWIW, I had a little bit of a DM exchange with John Brown earlier this season...I had asked him a question about an instagram comment he made about the "Sports Conveyer Belt" and he explained and we chatted a little bit about it. He was expressing fundamentally the same concern you outline above - that some colleges offer young athletes (particularly young athletes from single parent homes) a lot of material inducements to come play for that team. But it only lasts while their athletic talent can be "mined" from that team, then they get tossed aside, while not being set up for success in any other avenue of life I don't know which programs or teams he had in mind but from other things he posts he has several young relatives being recruited or about to be recruited and it's apparently a current concern My experience with these guys was heartbreaking. Good guys who were caught up being the ‘big men on campus’...believing they could do no wrong. Unfortunately, it didn’t work out that way for them and they ended up doing labor work. Incredible athletes and intelligent young men relegated to the dust heap.
thenorthremembers Posted April 8, 2021 Posted April 8, 2021 1 hour ago, TroutDog said: My experience with these guys was heartbreaking. Good guys who were caught up being the ‘big men on campus’...believing they could do no wrong. Unfortunately, it didn’t work out that way for them and they ended up doing labor work. Incredible athletes and intelligent young men relegated to the dust heap. This takes the personal responsibility out of the equation completely.
TroutDog Posted April 8, 2021 Posted April 8, 2021 32 minutes ago, thenorthremembers said: This takes the personal responsibility out of the equation completely. I don’t look at it that way. They knew they were responsible but they are bailed out doing things most of us have done when we were young thus the culture leads them down the path of, ‘there’s always an out’. It’s important to recognize what these young men mean to larger schools from a financial standpoint. All of them knew they had a chance and lost it.
HardyBoy Posted April 8, 2021 Posted April 8, 2021 (edited) 18 hours ago, Prospector said: It's probably more upbringing when they are young, and their influences while maturing... rather than a college paying for education and extending their passion to play football. A lot of these kids start getting recruited at 13 or 14 years old, or even younger at camps and such. You very well might be right it has to do with their environment during their youth...college football programs are a huge part of that. To say college football's direct influence only starts when they walk on a campus is disingenuous. Also, are you sure a lot of these kids really even love football? I imagine a lot actually resent it and feel like they are forced into it because they have the natural talent. You read all the time that you'd be shocked how many pro players don't care at all about winning and losing, so I don't think using the mlb pitcher who just retired at 28 or a player like Aaron Maybin as examples of players feeling like they are forced to do something they don't love is a stretch. Also, look at Andrew Luck or Greg Oden. Players who got injured a lot and the constant rehab and pressure to meet expectations of their physical skill set, which does not define a human being, but sadly with highly talented players that's often all we as fans can see...those guys having significant mental health issues because they just couldn't keep meeting the unrealistic expectations of others. Shoot, look at Michael Phelps...best swimmer ever, and the lack of being viewed as anything other than his physical self caused him a ton of mental health issues. It's extremely not cool to create systems where people are only reinforced for a single aspect of their humanity so they can make billions, particularly when that aspect will be gone for many of these players by max 25 (avg nfl career is maybe 3 years), and 90% of the people that go into the system won't even start at a D1 college, let alone make the nfl. Edited April 8, 2021 by HardyBoy typos 1
Southern_Bills Posted April 9, 2021 Posted April 9, 2021 On 4/7/2021 at 6:17 PM, BruceVilanch said: Florida...not much good goes on there. We can't all be locked up like NY.
iccrewman112 Posted April 9, 2021 Posted April 9, 2021 On 4/7/2021 at 2:49 PM, Don Otreply said: Florida man... Have you ever heard of the podcast dumb people town. They have a reference floridaman regularly.
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