The Golden Rule for Fans On National Signing Day
As the college football recruiting season is at its peak, I thought I would remind fans of the golden rule.
Recruiting season and National Signing Day can be a whole lot of fun for both fans and recruits. All across the country, young men will be making a choice that will forever change their lives. Some of them have dreamt their entire life for this decision.
Young men, ranging from 17 to 18 years old, will choose a school that they and their family believe is the best fit for their life goals. It’s a wonderful time for these hard working guys.
Now some of these recruits will have your school of choice on a list of their choices. It turns out that just because your team is on his list, doesn’t guarantee anything. Thus, it is best at this time to NOT get your hopes too high that your school will be the destination of the player.
There will even be recruits that are from your state but will choose a school that is out of state. Does this mean that recruit hates you and your proud heritage? No. The kid may have found that the program in your state was not a great fit for his life goals.
Each year, fans all across America will do the exact opposite of what I just said and will be let down because their school was on a list or the kid was from their state. They will hear the news and reach for their phone to hop on
their social media accounts. This is
where the GOLDEN RULE comes into play.
Do Not Tweet Recruits!!
So you have been following this kid on twitter and now he’s broken your heart. What do you do? You begin to write a message of how you have been betrayed. About how the young man will fail because he didn’t remain loyal to his home. To your home.
STOP! Now before you hit send, press the back button and when prompted, discard the tweet. Do not save it to drafts to wait until later to send it. No, let’s just go ahead and discard that tweet.
Why Follow the Golden Rule?
The Golden Rule of not tweeting recruits is helpful for several things. First of all, it saves you from looking depraved, classless, and overall a bad person. This in turn also keeps your mentions nice and peaceful instead of people telling how you’re a bad person. This option is much more pleasant.
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Secondly, the Golden Rule actually helps your team. By not tweeting recruits in a fit of rage, other recruits see that you’re a calm civil fan base and makes your school look more appealing. There have been kids that decommitted from a school because of fans being ridiculously abusive to their friends who chose to go to a different school.
You don’t get paid to recruit. If a kid chooses a different school, there could be all kinds of reasons you have no idea about at play. It is also good to be mindful that this is a day they have dreamed of for years, so don’t ruin a day that is supposed to be celebrated by taking a decision personally.
Is There An Exception To The Rule?
The Golden Rule will help you, your team, and your team’s fan base look a lot classier than you probably really are. Creating the image of civility helps kids and their families in their decision. Whether it be a kid committing that day or next year, there is nothing bad that comes out of you NOT being mean to an 18-year-old kid.
There are only two exceptions to the Rule. The first is if the recruit announces that they have received an offer from your school. In that case, congratulate him on his achievement and then move on. No need to talk trash about his other offers or anything of the sort.
The second exception is of course if they commit to your team. As soon as the letter of intent is received by your team’s staff, someone will tweet that fans should welcome so-and-so to the whatever team family. At that point, unleash all the welcoming you want. That is ok.
Must Read: How A Fan's Recent Decision Can Hurt The Program
The perfect companion to the Golden Rule is to remember that today is about kids and their futures. Heading into signing day, let’s all remind our friends and family of the Golden Rule, and have a fun day getting players that will probably transfer or be on the practice squad. Have a great signing day! Woo pig!