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Sidelines Kalani Simpson |
Getting drafted doesn’t
equate to winningIN the not-quite-so-old days, the biggest date on the UH football calendar was always the BYU game. This, of course, was a sign that everyone had lost his or her way. Because as we all know, the most important moment in sports should be this one, the biggest game, the next one. And everything should be taken (all together now) One Day At a Time.
But no, it was obvious that nothing came close to whatever day BYU was in town, and it was wrong, but in a wonderful way.
Sometimes, all perspective should be lost.
But these days I'm worried that another day is creeping forward into undue prominence.
That the biggest date on the Hawaii football schedule might someday soon become this one.
Today.
NFL Draft day.
And that most definitely would not be a good thing.
Now, don't get me wrong. I'm not saying that this excellence shouldn't be celebrated, that it isn't cool that guys who wore green will now be making some. It's great that UH is once again (let's not forget that Dick Tomey had four-guys-drafted years twice) sending players to the pros in impressive numbers.
But, folks, this is college football here, and the goal shouldn't be to send guys to the Next Level, but to win WAC championships.
Today should be a nice byproduct, not the focus.
Hawaii's success in late April should be eulogized, but not overemphasized.
You need to watch out for this kind of thing. Take Texas. The biggest date on the Longhorns' football calendar isn't the Oklahoma game, or the Big 12 championship game. Not these days.
It's National Letter of Intent Day.
And it is said by gloating rivals, with great scathing sarcasm, that the Longhorns win the national championship every February.
I'd rather be famous in December.
I'd rather win the games.
Then there is the Boise State model. The Broncos don't get anybody drafted. One a year, maybe two if they're really lucky, and always on the last day (last year their best player was the 206th pick).
They must be short and slow and terrible at bench presses and vertical leaps.
They don't get to point at the TV on a Monday night and see a familiar name and feel that glow.
But Boise State doesn't seem to care that much about going pro. The biggest date on their football calendar is Every Saturday Night. And somehow, they win. They roll. They own this conference. They have the gaudy jewelry to prove it.
To me, that's a lot more important than who gets drafted when.
But I wrote about a year ago, asking fans which they would rather have, an impressive haul of high draft choices (as UH did in 2003), or a conference title but no mentions by Mel Kiper Jr. (see BSU). And there were e-mail responses that went along the lines of, Wow, that really is a tough one ...
No! It isn't!
And if it ever is, Boise State won't have much to worry about.
See the Columnists section for some past articles.
Kalani Simpson can be reached at ksimpson@starbulletin.com