College Football Spring Games: Eulogy for a once great tradition

College football spring games have become (like everything else in the sport) big business, and that fact has killed what was once a fine tradition.

Yesterday I sent out a tweet that I was considering skipping the Georgia Bulldogs G-Day spring game after it was announced that hip-hop artist Ludacris would be providing pregame entertainment at the event.

An understandably misunderstood tweet, as this had nothing to do with who was performing prior to the game, but the fact that it seemed necessary to have anyone perform.

The annual spring football games have turned into more hype and hoopla than grit and grinding, and the tradition that was once a fine rite of spring has summarily been extinguished. That, as much as anything else which has turned cynical in this sport, saddens me.

Were I asked to speak at the memorial service for college football’s once fine tradition, the eulogy would be recited as follows:

Here lies the spring game. Many of you never had the chance to know this once revered part of the preseason, and have only been raised on its bastard offspring that resides in stadiums around the country today.

The spring game was, at one time, an awakening. It was an opportunity for those who loved the game of football and who truly wanted to closely watch a scrimmage within the ranks to see what was to come in the approaching season. There were no banners, no public address announcers, no hashtags and no unnecessarily inflated attendance figures.

Apr 1, 2016; Ann Arbor, MI, USA; Michigan Wolverines safety Dymonte Thomas (25) makes an interception during the spring game at Michigan Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports /

There were enough fans and media on hand to make it interesting, and to make having a conversation about the team worthwhile, but not enough that the frenzy and mind-numbing fanaticism that comes with the season was running rampant yet.

The spring game was the opportunity to take in the ambiance of a stadium or campus, without the bothersome crowds and parking issues that understandably come once the season begins. It was when alumni could return with their children or children’s children, and casually meander through campus, showing them important sights and speaking to them of the lore behind many traditions.

The day was about the game. It was about watching the fresh new faces and the familiar veterans engaging in friendly, yet fierce battle on the field.

Sadly, now the spring football game has become a money-making event (even to the point of some programs charging admission). There are vendors, book signings, concerts, festivals, tailgating…all the things that belong in the season, not in the spring scrimmage. Some fans may rejoice in this athletic department skullduggery. Any excuse for a party. Any reason to say they’re “supporting the team”.

It’s clear the days of the relaxed atmosphere and purity of the spring football game are now gone, sad as that may be. Schools boost their images by exaggerating the attendance and making fun of the lack of exaggeration by other schools, all in the name of recruiting and building a program.

The Harbaughs, Meyers, Sabans and now Smarts in the college football world have warped and twisted what was once a warm welcome to the season into another big business proposition. Sell those jerseys, make those hype videos, bring those recruits in and show them our fans know how to really party.