Brilliant, Mike. I teach at a boarding school where everyone, even Bailey Zappe, goes to a four-year College. You've perfectly captured the zeitgeist of families' attitudes toward early adulthood.
One observation to extend your metaphor - Zappe's mom usually *believes authentically* that he is just as good as, maybe not Mahomes, but certainly Allen. He just needs the right tutor, and teachers who grade fairly rather than to their ridiculously biased "rubrics." A few more summer brush-ups and he'll be acing Physics 302 (advanced quantum). Come *on*, Baliey, you need to practice your differential equations! No wonder so many college students drink to excess.
That's ... terrifying. We get some delusional/privlege-addicted parents in suburban public schools too. But it's more a matter of Zappe REALLY wanting to go away, and mom and dad wanting it too, mixed with this weird feeling that a year or two in county college will turn the kid into a Morlock.
We lack good 18-22 year old "long leash" life experiences besides college that really satisfy the young person's need for both more freedom and an affordable bridge into adulthood.
The Australians all (seemingly) send their kids off to travel the world while working as bar / wait staff for a couple of years. I'm not sure how successful that process is, but I suspect it at least teaches them that (a) minimum wage jobs suck and (b) there are different ways to do things than here at home.
It's a real challenge to help young people navigate the gap between "18-and-finished school" and "25-and-ready to pursue a career". Sorting out the intersection between "what you enjoy" and "what you can do" is messy and without any path you can direct them towards with a high degree of confidence. I suspect most parents spend those 7 years just hoping "please don't let there be any car accidents or pregnancies".
I spent my early twenties in the military, which has a lot to recommend it, but it's certainly not for everyone. But if you approach it as "I'm going to learn a lucrative trade, get out in three years, and immediately step into a great job," you can absolutely do that, and with no student debt to boot. Again, not for everyone, but I'd suggest that any family at least look into the idea, however briefly. I'm still a few years away from having these conversations with my daughter, and frankly I'm going to try not to think about it until then. Thus far she's uninterested in the entire concept of college, but teenagers are nothing if not fickle, so we'll see.
Our local vo-tech schools have lots of programs that funnel directly into the county college, which in turn funnel into Rutgers-Rowan-TCNJ-etc. So a kid can be taking an electrician's shop at 14 and have a clear path all the way up to electrical engineering. Some of my kids' friends are thriving in that route. But lots of my peers remember vo-tech from 35 years ago as a holding cell for kids who got in trouble at Catholic school
I wish we’d had this when I was in middle/high school 25-30 years ago. My parents had to fight the school just to let me take metal shop and honors physics my senior year - they originally scheduled the one instance of each class at the same time. It’s like they’d never heard of production engineers, which need exposure to both.
My daughter’s an enthusiastic RAF cadet (I’m in the UK now). I think it’s still likely she’ll take the college route, but she’s very conscious it’s given her more choices than her friends.
Signing up was a peer-to-peer recommendation about which I was initially doubtful but now I’d agree that it’s worth being open minded.
I agree. I'm tempted to go so far as to say that a year or two of mandatory military service for 18 year-olds would be good for most of them (including my son, when he gets there), but since I didn't have to go through mandatory military service myself (and I went straight to university, skipping the military), I'm not qualified to advocate that for others.
This is sheer brilliance! The kind of insightful analysis you can't get anywhere else. Not a single statistic or contract term mentioned; yet better capture the challenge NFL teams face when it comes to the QB position.
Wonderful piece. Hits a little too close to home: my son is 15, entering soph year of HS, and I winced several times while reading.
Quibble:
> The 49ers are also illustrating that the grass isn’t always greener
> in the cheap quarterback/expensive roster neighborhood.
The Niners don't seem like any kind of cautionary tale. Been in the NFL's Final Four 4 times the last 5 years, playing in two Super Bowls. Only the Chief's grass is greener.
But can't you say the 49ers somewhat lucked into that?
Their plan was for Trey f'in Lance to be their QB. Brock Purdy turning into knock-off Tom Brady is pure luck. THey spent significant assets and money and draft capital on JImmy Garrapolo but it's Purdy who's been the guy for two years.
I do agree the REST of the plan has worked out very well as despite the misguided investments they've still built the best non-QB roster in the NFL and that's been the real reason for their success.
So...I think I've maybe ended up agreeing with you?
It's crazy the Niners traded first round picks for a draft bust while wasting cap space for on a meh QB who can't seem to unlock Davante Adams... and are still making it to a SB after that. Because of a 7th round afterthought. If anyone at all knew what Purdy was he wouldn't even be available to anyone drafting out of the top 10. Luck is undefeated.
I want to emphasize that my comment was a teeny quibble about one sentence in a piece I think was wonderful. It's preseason: I have to get my "well actually" reps in as part of ramping up for the regular season.
I remember listening to a sports radio debate on when New England would have actually drafted Brady, if they knew he was going to be what he became.
There was a lot of speculation about how late they could get him without any risk of losing him. But, come on…if they really knew he was gonna be TOM BRADY, they’d have traded whatever it took to get to the top spot, right?
What a horrible way to use a time machine, getting too cute and finding yourself stuck with Chris Redman.
Yeah, this brought back memories: me going to trade school, second mortgage to pay for son's college, the community college route (and loan) for daughter. Let me guess why NFL journalists don't do pieces about the teams' cap guru vp: because the subject reminds them of what they have to do with their kids, and it's too painful.
LOL. It's because the cap guru rarely grants interviews. The "talkers" like Howie and Kwesi (who delightfully goes on and on) often get written about.
The only "painful" part is hearing a child say, "maybe I will pursue journalism too!" Which hasn't happened here, not in the last year, I tell you what!
Of course this has nothing whatsoever to do with my being a lifelong Packer fan but you just compare Love’s first year with Mitch? Lol
Dak has never shown anything remotely like clutch playoff game winning skills but Jerry fills that stadium, receives a ton of TV money through an ever increasing salary cap and his net worth quadrupled since Dak appeared. Don’t see the college tuition analogy there at all. Jerry’s dilemma is same as with Romo. Good enough to fill seats and storylines plus Jerrys bank account not good enough to win the big one.
Tua is another classic Bama mediocrity with slightly better than average athletic skills.
Don’t think any of their “parents” are very worried about paying tuitions or wedding singers.
Dak is like the owner's son on the company's executive fast-track, but who tops out as a middle manager. Not a disaster by any stretch, but still disappointing, given the financial and emotional investment.
Here's hoping Love will prove himself a worthy student of the game, and "graduate" with honors.
He's got a good head on his shoulders, and he's spent the off-season working on his footwork. And he and the Packers seem well-matched.
More shall be revealed! If nothing else, Love is an improvement on late-career Aaron Rodgers, in both football and non-football ways. If he has some growing pains this year, I'll be able to stomach it.
Whereas the Bears fans are hoping against hope that they've *finally* got a worthwhile QB. And the Vikes don't know what they've got in McCarthy.
I expect the Lions to win the NFC North this year, fwiw. But who knows!
I want to second the idea of a J.P. and backyard BBQ. That's what my wife and I did, and we're still together after 22 years. (Why, yes, I AM a financial analyst; what makes you ask?) We have a senior and sophomore in high school, so the college negotiations have begun in earnest.
Quarterbacks have become outfielders or pitchers. Toss a shit ton of money on the table to get them signed and not worry about the $45 million they will be owed when they are 43 and can't hit a ball more than 300 feet or get a pitch about 86 mph.
Of course, the NFL non-guaranteed contract makes it a little different...
Brilliant, Mike. I teach at a boarding school where everyone, even Bailey Zappe, goes to a four-year College. You've perfectly captured the zeitgeist of families' attitudes toward early adulthood.
One observation to extend your metaphor - Zappe's mom usually *believes authentically* that he is just as good as, maybe not Mahomes, but certainly Allen. He just needs the right tutor, and teachers who grade fairly rather than to their ridiculously biased "rubrics." A few more summer brush-ups and he'll be acing Physics 302 (advanced quantum). Come *on*, Baliey, you need to practice your differential equations! No wonder so many college students drink to excess.
That's ... terrifying. We get some delusional/privlege-addicted parents in suburban public schools too. But it's more a matter of Zappe REALLY wanting to go away, and mom and dad wanting it too, mixed with this weird feeling that a year or two in county college will turn the kid into a Morlock.
We lack good 18-22 year old "long leash" life experiences besides college that really satisfy the young person's need for both more freedom and an affordable bridge into adulthood.
The Australians all (seemingly) send their kids off to travel the world while working as bar / wait staff for a couple of years. I'm not sure how successful that process is, but I suspect it at least teaches them that (a) minimum wage jobs suck and (b) there are different ways to do things than here at home.
It's a real challenge to help young people navigate the gap between "18-and-finished school" and "25-and-ready to pursue a career". Sorting out the intersection between "what you enjoy" and "what you can do" is messy and without any path you can direct them towards with a high degree of confidence. I suspect most parents spend those 7 years just hoping "please don't let there be any car accidents or pregnancies".
I spent my early twenties in the military, which has a lot to recommend it, but it's certainly not for everyone. But if you approach it as "I'm going to learn a lucrative trade, get out in three years, and immediately step into a great job," you can absolutely do that, and with no student debt to boot. Again, not for everyone, but I'd suggest that any family at least look into the idea, however briefly. I'm still a few years away from having these conversations with my daughter, and frankly I'm going to try not to think about it until then. Thus far she's uninterested in the entire concept of college, but teenagers are nothing if not fickle, so we'll see.
Our local vo-tech schools have lots of programs that funnel directly into the county college, which in turn funnel into Rutgers-Rowan-TCNJ-etc. So a kid can be taking an electrician's shop at 14 and have a clear path all the way up to electrical engineering. Some of my kids' friends are thriving in that route. But lots of my peers remember vo-tech from 35 years ago as a holding cell for kids who got in trouble at Catholic school
I wish we’d had this when I was in middle/high school 25-30 years ago. My parents had to fight the school just to let me take metal shop and honors physics my senior year - they originally scheduled the one instance of each class at the same time. It’s like they’d never heard of production engineers, which need exposure to both.
My daughter’s an enthusiastic RAF cadet (I’m in the UK now). I think it’s still likely she’ll take the college route, but she’s very conscious it’s given her more choices than her friends.
Signing up was a peer-to-peer recommendation about which I was initially doubtful but now I’d agree that it’s worth being open minded.
I agree. I'm tempted to go so far as to say that a year or two of mandatory military service for 18 year-olds would be good for most of them (including my son, when he gets there), but since I didn't have to go through mandatory military service myself (and I went straight to university, skipping the military), I'm not qualified to advocate that for others.
This is sheer brilliance! The kind of insightful analysis you can't get anywhere else. Not a single statistic or contract term mentioned; yet better capture the challenge NFL teams face when it comes to the QB position.
Pure gold!
I snuck a few contract terms in there. ;) And thanks!
Wonderful piece. Hits a little too close to home: my son is 15, entering soph year of HS, and I winced several times while reading.
Quibble:
> The 49ers are also illustrating that the grass isn’t always greener
> in the cheap quarterback/expensive roster neighborhood.
The Niners don't seem like any kind of cautionary tale. Been in the NFL's Final Four 4 times the last 5 years, playing in two Super Bowls. Only the Chief's grass is greener.
Best,
Jim
But can't you say the 49ers somewhat lucked into that?
Their plan was for Trey f'in Lance to be their QB. Brock Purdy turning into knock-off Tom Brady is pure luck. THey spent significant assets and money and draft capital on JImmy Garrapolo but it's Purdy who's been the guy for two years.
I do agree the REST of the plan has worked out very well as despite the misguided investments they've still built the best non-QB roster in the NFL and that's been the real reason for their success.
So...I think I've maybe ended up agreeing with you?
It's crazy the Niners traded first round picks for a draft bust while wasting cap space for on a meh QB who can't seem to unlock Davante Adams... and are still making it to a SB after that. Because of a 7th round afterthought. If anyone at all knew what Purdy was he wouldn't even be available to anyone drafting out of the top 10. Luck is undefeated.
The 49ers situation is too complicated to cram into an off-to-college metaphor!
Agree. But you brought them up first, man! 🙂
I want to emphasize that my comment was a teeny quibble about one sentence in a piece I think was wonderful. It's preseason: I have to get my "well actually" reps in as part of ramping up for the regular season.
I remember listening to a sports radio debate on when New England would have actually drafted Brady, if they knew he was going to be what he became.
There was a lot of speculation about how late they could get him without any risk of losing him. But, come on…if they really knew he was gonna be TOM BRADY, they’d have traded whatever it took to get to the top spot, right?
What a horrible way to use a time machine, getting too cute and finding yourself stuck with Chris Redman.
Yeah, this brought back memories: me going to trade school, second mortgage to pay for son's college, the community college route (and loan) for daughter. Let me guess why NFL journalists don't do pieces about the teams' cap guru vp: because the subject reminds them of what they have to do with their kids, and it's too painful.
LOL. It's because the cap guru rarely grants interviews. The "talkers" like Howie and Kwesi (who delightfully goes on and on) often get written about.
The only "painful" part is hearing a child say, "maybe I will pursue journalism too!" Which hasn't happened here, not in the last year, I tell you what!
Good luck with your offspring! Tell them to become electricians or plumbers--that's where the real money is.
Absolutely. I have a nephew who trained as an electrician. You can't outsource that. Yet.
Of course this has nothing whatsoever to do with my being a lifelong Packer fan but you just compare Love’s first year with Mitch? Lol
Dak has never shown anything remotely like clutch playoff game winning skills but Jerry fills that stadium, receives a ton of TV money through an ever increasing salary cap and his net worth quadrupled since Dak appeared. Don’t see the college tuition analogy there at all. Jerry’s dilemma is same as with Romo. Good enough to fill seats and storylines plus Jerrys bank account not good enough to win the big one.
Tua is another classic Bama mediocrity with slightly better than average athletic skills.
Don’t think any of their “parents” are very worried about paying tuitions or wedding singers.
Dak is like the owner's son on the company's executive fast-track, but who tops out as a middle manager. Not a disaster by any stretch, but still disappointing, given the financial and emotional investment.
Here's hoping Love will prove himself a worthy student of the game, and "graduate" with honors.
He's got a good head on his shoulders, and he's spent the off-season working on his footwork. And he and the Packers seem well-matched.
More shall be revealed! If nothing else, Love is an improvement on late-career Aaron Rodgers, in both football and non-football ways. If he has some growing pains this year, I'll be able to stomach it.
Whereas the Bears fans are hoping against hope that they've *finally* got a worthwhile QB. And the Vikes don't know what they've got in McCarthy.
I expect the Lions to win the NFC North this year, fwiw. But who knows!
Paying a mortgage into your 60s? We should all be so lucky ;)
/Xennial
No lie. Just bought a house at 37. I’ll pay it off just in time to die.
Goddammit Mike, this hit too close to home in about 4 different ways.
I want to second the idea of a J.P. and backyard BBQ. That's what my wife and I did, and we're still together after 22 years. (Why, yes, I AM a financial analyst; what makes you ask?) We have a senior and sophomore in high school, so the college negotiations have begun in earnest.
So where does Trevor Lawrence fit into this analogy?
Quarterbacks have become outfielders or pitchers. Toss a shit ton of money on the table to get them signed and not worry about the $45 million they will be owed when they are 43 and can't hit a ball more than 300 feet or get a pitch about 86 mph.
Of course, the NFL non-guaranteed contract makes it a little different...