Good Read on the Cam situation.....

[GH2001]

...by a familiar author. Most of you can figure out who wrote this. Whether you agreed with him or not on other topics, I think he is spot on in his latest write up below. He wanted me to share this with all of you and anyone else I could think of in the innerwebbs world. GF - I think he also sent it to you with a few edits.

Let's assume for the moment Cam Newton did cheat on tests at Florida. We know he was arrested for purchasing a stolen laptop, that much is on the record.  He's hardly the first player under Urban Meyer to get in trouble at Florida.  He is one of a rather large group. Check the Gainesville police blotter. As of June 2010, there had been at least 28 players arrested on Meyer’s watch.

When Cam went astray at Florida, his father purposely chose to banish him to a remote community college far from the glitz and glamour of big time college football. He wanted his son to learn the hard way that actions have consequences, both positive and negative. Cam Newton himself has often commented on the isolation of Blinn Community college and how that experience humbled him.  For perhaps the first time in his life, Cam wasn’t a rock star. He wasn’t the center of attention. At Florida, where athletes are seemingly allowed to run wild, Cam followed the pack. And he paid. At Blinn, he learned there that life was not guaranteed to be easy. It's fair to say he returned a changed man.

When it came time for him to return to the large stage, has anyone considered that maybe, just maybe his father was hesitant for him to return under a coach who was a major part of the Florida culture that had been a bad fit for his son? That maybe he wanted him to play for a school willing to give him a fresh start and for a coach who has had no discipline issues and has a rep for being tough but fair?  That maybe he looked at the character of Gene Chizik who has had one player arrested in his two years on the Plains and decided that he was the kind of man who would make a good mentor for his son and help him to continue on the path of redemption.
 
There are myriad reasons players (and their parents) choose a school.  Not all are scurrious or tied to shadowy packages or fourth, fifth or sixth party rumors.
 
Maybe he looked at Auburn, where Chizik was in the process of signing one of the top recruiting classes in the nation and saw a chance for his son to do something really special.   I’m a graduate of Mississippi State and I have a great affinity for the school. But when you look at Auburn, a team ranked in the top 25 with high expectations, a campus with a 87,000 seat stadium, a history of championships, Heisman Trophy winners and  success and you compare that to Mississippi State, frankly there is no comparison.  If Cam Newton was my son and he was deciding between Auburn and Mississippi State, there’s no question where I would want him to go. Auburn, no offense to Mississippi State, is simply a larger and brighter stage.  Auburn is and always has been relevant to the football world.  Mississippi State only wants to be.

Why isn't this a redemption story about a kid who led a charmed life, succumbed to the culture that permeates Florida football and then stepped down the ladder to Blinn to become a man? 

This should be an inspirational tale, an illustration of the best that college football can be when it comes to shaping the life of the young men who participate in the game. It should not be a funeral dirge for the man or for the sport.

[eagleair89]

nice read.

The last paragraph says a lot.  Says a lot about how much "out on an island" Auburn is, has been and always will be.

People, in general do not understand Auburn.  Do not have the intellectual capacity or depth of the soul to understand Auburn.

People, in general, fear what they do not understand and out of fear resort to childish ridicule and personal attacks.

The last paragraph also speaks to the effect that this soap opera has on college football as a whole and more specifically to the health and solidarity of the Southeastern Conference.

Which leads me to this question:

Where is Mike Slive?  I understand not speaking out when the allegation was pay for play but when this latest round came out where was/is he?

In a blatant and naked attempt to do nothing more than smear a SEC student athlete while also violating federal law......where is Mike Slive?  Why does he not stand up for his conference?  Why does he not stand up for one of the student athletes that has made the SEC and Mike Slive very wealthy?

Where is the Commissioner?  My only hope is that he is working feverishly behind the scenes to reign this in and to send a strong message to those involved. 

My fear is that Mike Slive is actually hiding under his desk or fiddling while his conference, OUR Conference begins a slow burn into irrelevancy.

Don't think it can happen?  Quick name the last commissioner of the SWC..............................................

[djsimp]

Kevin went to Miss St?

[AUChizad]

Yup. He did.

Great read.

Kevin always had the rational Auburn fan buried within. Glad to see he's back, if not at least for that one post.

[JR4AU]

Yep, good read.  Spot on. 

[djsimp]

No doubt very good read. It sure would be nice for more of this to come out from the pens of other writers.

[GH2001]

Yup. He did.

Great read.

Kevin always had the rational Auburn fan buried within. Glad to see he's back, if not at least for that one post.

Hes a good dude. He was just real passionate about a lot of this stuff and just needed to see a good product on the field. I would like to see him come back to be honest. I think its safe to say that, aside from GreasyWanker, we are all on the same page now in regards to our football program and its direction. Yes, even Kevin.

We're trying to get this article out to more of the masses.

Yeah simp, he went to MSU. Thought you knew.

[djsimp]

Hes a good dude. He was just real passionate about a lot of this stuff and just needed to see a good product on the field. I would like to see him come back to be honest. I think its safe to say that, aside from GreasyWanker, we are all on the same page now in regards to our football program and its direction. Yes, even Kevin.

We're trying to get this article out to more of the masses.

Yeah simp, he went to MSU. Thought you knew.

Well, for one, I will try and help get it out too if help needed.
No, I really didn't know that.

[AUTiger1]

Yup. He did.

Great read.

Kevin always had the rational Auburn fan buried within. Glad to see he's back, if not at least for that one post.

I never thought Koas was all that bad of a guy.  He loved Auburn as much as anyone I know.  He was different and peculiar, but he could be rational.  I think he more than anything liked to poke at Chop and Chad just to get a rise out of them.  I think it made his day.

Good read....damn good read.