quote:
I remember my first post way back when ---- I named it "Tennessee Stud". (A play on words from a song title by a singer named Tennessee Ernie Williams).
I'll bet you meant Tennessee Ernie Ford rather than the playwrite Tennessee Williams. But another interesting topic might be called "A Stud Named Desire"
Seriously, I have often wondered why people visit here. I think on some level they want to know how good their kids are. How do they measure up? After my son signed in November of 2004, I wanted to know if there were others like him because there were not a lot from our area. Not only did I find out there were others like him after discovering this place, I found out some kids were getting full rides
Thus, humility is not hard to find here
Humility is only part of the story however. I have also found that words often do not convey an accurate or complete picture of the way things really are. Some like to mention their kids started varsity as freshman for example. I wonder if they would have started at my son's high school which was over 4400 kids at the time for grades 9-12
Some tell how their kids have played up their whole lives. Then, I see many of these same kids enter college a year or two after mine has and some are about the same age as my son
It begs the question, who has been playing up and who has been playing down?
Many tell how their kids are being recruited by the ACC, SEC, the Big-12, or the Pac-10 then end up signing in a lesser conference or lower division and then explain later there was a better fit. Why all the hype then? Similar things with the draft and the recruiting forums. People seem to want to ask the same questions over and over to see how uniquely talented their sons might be. What does that letter from the SEC school mean? Was it personalized in some way or was it sent because I attended some showcase? Many kids I could swear were going to be high draft choices by the pre-draft questions and inuendo (e.g., scouts spent two hours at our home) and then ended up undrafted. Sure there are explanations afterwards but what actually happened?
What is my message? I love this place and the many people that I have come to admire and the friends that I have come to know here. It is a social outlet for me. It is a great learning tool and imho almost all the questions have been asked and answered already - many times over. Bob Howdeshell is a genious imho.
I am glad we did not know of it before my son had signed however. He and I formed our own plan and we executed it. Knowing about all the other kids who may have been ahead of us would have only detracted from our plan and I am convinced would have added undue stress to our lives. Obviously, others feel information is the key and that would have "relieved" stress in their situation by knowing how things work beforehand. To each his own in this great country of ours.
This place is a great resource and a great place to meet some very nice and interesting people. Don't be intimidated by everything you read here however. It rarely (if ever) lives up to all that is "hyped." If you can see past that, there are many baseball-loving individuals that will genuinely share in any joy that comes your way and sincerely empathize with you when there are struggles. Some players it seems never struggle and when you come across someone like that, tip your hat to them and know there is much more to baseball than words on a message board.
