Young men with extremely good common sense and judgement realize that being a fish out of water, an odd duck, swimming upstream against the tide is extremely difficult and very often self-defeating. If you go to "football u" - many of the people you spend a tremendous amount of time with - your teammates - do not care about getting an education, actually getting up in the morning and actually going to class and actually studying. They only want to play football, get ready for their multi-million dollar NFL contracts, go out at night and PARTY.
You tell your teammates you can not go out with them tonight because you have got to study. At "football u," you are a wuss, a geek, an outsider, you don't fit. If you are a great player they will TOLERATE you despite the fact you are a brainiac. If you are not a great player, your teammates will let you know you don't belong and question why you are there. You will not be happy.
Famous last educational words - "I know that 'football u' does not have a very good graduation rate, that their players - even if they do get degrees - do not get meaningful or valuable degrees, and that their players do not generally go onto successful careers outside the NFL, but I will be the exception, I will ignore the environment all around me and I will be an outstanding student who will put in the long hours of studying and work necessary to accomplish this, while my teammates are out having fun, partying and "dating" lots of women."
The coaches at "football u" do not care about your education. You are a football player. Coaches will punish you if you schedule any class or do anything academically that interferes with football. All the bs coaches told you about "football u's" great degree program in (fill in the blank) evaporates whenever academic demands of the degree program conflict with football and you have to abandon that program.
Wise parents who want their sons to have successful LIVES understand this. At Notre Dame, you are expected to go to class, to study and to succeed academically. At Notre Dame, if you do not care about getting an education, actually getting up in the morning and actually going to class and actually studying you are the fish out of water, an odd duck, swimming upstream against the tide. If you just want to play football, get ready for your multi-million dollar NFL contract, go out at night and PARTY, you will be a outsider and you will not fit at Notre Dame. Wise parents understand that having their son attend a university where academic success is demanded, is the norm and is expected greatly increases their son's chance for succeeding academically and having a successful life.
