This exchange struck a chord with me.
https://twitter.com/BudElliott3/status/1258052253157666817
Why do so many college football fans seem to have a love/hate relationship with the players these days? As much as some would proclaim otherwise, it’s not as if they’re any more selfish than the others who inhabit the same world. (And unlike those others, they at least have the excuse of immaturity.)
We hang on the edge waiting to see where they go and what they do once they get there, but are scornful of them in the next breath. It’s a little strange, no?
Get The Picture 
I think I get your point. To me the contrast is easy. We like ours. When we talk scornfully, it’s about everybody else’s
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Until they sit out of a meaningless bowl game to protect their pro prospects, anyway. 😉
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True
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Very true and why not? If you cheer for them as Dawgs representing your school, both on and on the field, why not hold them to the loyalty of the uniform that they wear?
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I’m about to mention Nazis and Communism. Y’all, don’t freak out —- hear me out….
I think when fans behave the way you describe it’s because they are (either consciously or sub-consciously) assuming they, the fans, would themselves behave “better” if they were in the same situation as the student athletes.
In a weird, not-directly-related way, it reminds me of how many people gasp and shake their heads and “don’t understand” how, say, regular German or Russian citizens could sit and watch their governments murder other citizens in WWII. These same people seriously underestimate the depravity of man and how quickly and easily humans equivocate and compromise their own morals — and willingly turn a blind eye to things they don’t want to see because it would require some real action from them (if they are going to act in accordance with their “principles”).
We moan and groan about how young people act like young people, but 98% of us would behave exactly the same way (and probably WORSE) as 98% of these young student athletes if we were in their same position. We pretend we wouldn’t because we want to be indignant and self-righteous about it all.
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So, all the Hippies were correct after all?
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It’s all about rejection and what we want, nevermind what is good or best for the players.
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