Ben’s Sports Take: National Signing Day and the prostitution of America’s youth

I want to preface this post by recognizing the work that goes into covering college football recruiting. There are numerous reporters who spend 12 months of their lives dissecting the thought processes and mood swings of teenage football players—and, while that may seem weird, most of them do a great job. This post shouldn’t serve as a belittlement of their work, rather as an indictment of the field they cover and the absurd popularity it has garnered.

I don’t know how many of you can vividly recall your days in high school—whether it’s the number of decades that have passed since their conclusion or the amount of substances ingested during those few years that have fogged your recollection.

But regardless of your memory’s clarity, I’m sure we could all agree that the decisions you made, both right and wrong, during those four years (or five, six, etc.) failed to captivate the nation as much as the ones being made by hundreds of high school football players on National Signing Day—the first day they can sign a ‘Letter of Intent’ to play for the school of their choice.

Next Wednesday, hundreds of teenagers will put their signatures on a piece of paper, thus committing their services to a specific University’s football program. And thousands of middle-aged men nationwide will be hanging on every last drop of ink.

Sounds strange doesn’t it?