Does what people post make a difference in a recruits mind?

[SpeedsterX]

I posted this on another site but wanted your opinions as well.

I have seen this question debated before on other sites. Does what we say and discuss as (mostly) amateurs or "armchair quarterbacks" REALLY affect the thinking or decision making of top recruits?

Many say, "Hell no! They don't read these forums and they know that we, as fans, are dumb and don't really mean the things we type/post".

Some just don't care I guess.

Do these "kids" really not read the forums and Internet boards? Do they really know not to take the comments or words, sometimes posted by 14 year olds who not have yet the maturity to realize the power of words or 40 year olds drinking behind a keyboard???

e.g.

Post: "Hey, I heard Omar is rethinking his decision"

Reply: "Who cares about that fat , we don't need him. Looked slow anyway"

Etc., etc., etc...

I, for one, really didn't but I am sometimes that 40 year old guy drinking behind a keyboard! LOL! :lol:

I have come to realize that the "power of the pen" (or laptop in this case) can really make an impact. It really can mean something. It really can make a difference in the real world.

Take '09 QB recruit Jordan Luallen words for instance,

(Not Premium)

This quote reveals alot!

"I asked him if it bothered him that his abilities and performance gets questioned on a public forum like The Indiana Gridiron Digest. “Sure it is hard to read that somebody doesn’t think you’re really good AND IT BOTHERS YOU. But then you get that ‘I’ll show them attitude,’” he responded."

Some don't think what we (we=any poster on any site) makes a difference of what recruits think when we post. Some think that they don't read this stuff and/or they don't care.

Well, this quote just goes to show that it can mean something in the mind of a recruit and I, for one, should be careful what I post about my feelings or opinion of these kids.

We fans can and do make a difference in minor things and sometimes very important things.

Just something to think about, thanks for taking the time to suffer through this diatribe! LOL!

 

[daytonirish]

It does to some entent. Someone posted an article by the father of a Ky. basketball commit and how upset they were when after a bad game in got on the Ky site to find the quote fans of Ky bad mouthing his son and calling out what kind of skill he really had. Robert Blantons father is a poster on another N.D. site, and some players and prospects have said they do sometimes look at the tam sites.

 

[SoCalDomer]

I know for a fact there are a few family members of 09 prospects and current team members who have accounts on here.

and i know GG has mentioned that family of recruits and (then) current players have come on here in the past. and those are just the ones who set up accounts. think about how many people look on the boards as guests.

so negative posts can and do affect a recruit.

i encourage everyone to not let the semi-anonymous nature of the internet cause you to post something you wouldn't say out loud in a restaurant if the recruit/player's family is sitting at the next table. and then, if you're the kind of person who would say negative or rude things anyway, to learn restraint.

 

[stonebreakerwasgod]

It may not matter to us, but it does to the recruits, family, and friends. Heck, I have a hard problem talking bad about players who don't choose us, much less those that show interest, or actually Irish.

 

[ACamp1900]

I can say for sure that some recruits, some HS coaches and some parents have all been on this site before while the prospect in question was being recruited by ND, some of the mods (such as myself) and a select group of others have been fully aware of of this, and I am sure some have visited while thier presence was completely unknown to the board ... I also know of one case where a recruit soured on a school for the most part because of what he read on that schools fan message boards...


so I'll say what I have said before...

PLEASE keep that in mind while posting....

 

[ACamp1900]

And yes we do have former players on the board... a couple of the semi-regulars that I know of are former players...

 

[Ultimate Penn St. Hater]

i encourage everyone to not let the semi-anonymous nature of the internet cause you to post something you wouldn't say out loud in a restaurant if the recruit/player's family is sitting at the next table. and then, if you're the kind of person who would say negative or rude things anyway, to learn restraint.

I totally agree.

 

[stonebreakerwasgod]

I had a feeling MontanaIrish was actually Joe. He only posted once, and then he left after I told him that he didn't do enough in the Cotton Bowl. I guess you are right Acamp.

 

[SoCalDomer]

I had a feeling MontanaIrish was actually Joe. He only posted once, and then he left after I told him that he didn't do enough in the Cotton Bowl. I guess you are right Acamp.

i thought he left after you bested him at a game of wits

 

[stonebreakerwasgod]

Well, he didn't like the fact that I said his wife was milfalicious. But that was totally taken out of context.....at least that's my version.

 

[HereComeTheIrish]

Well, he didn't like the fact that I said his wife was milfalicious. But that was totally taken out of context.....at least that's my version.

:jawdrop:

 

[MirageSmack]

I also follow UK. They had a 4* recruit (rare for them) who went to prep school due to grades. Normally those kids go on to the school they committed to originally, but he did not, and went to Bama instead the next year. His #1 reason was all the crap he saw about his grades on catspause.com, and it made him change his commitment, which he can do if he is in prep school. It may have been a smokescreen, since Saban had just been hired, who knows. But to answer the OP, I do think it can sway a kid, but the Jeanie is out of the bottle and it will never go back in.

 

[quiksilver253]

what recruits do you all know of that have visited or made an accout on this board. someone told me emeka nwanko

 

[grantphilly]

why post something derogatory about someone you only know (or think you know) because of a recruiting web site? Like my momma always told me if you don't have anthing nice to say keep your mouth shut!

 

[IrishGrizz]

Good comment, Fo rest. Bambis Mom had the same sentiment. Moms know whats best.

 

[ACamp1900]

what recruits do you all know of that have visited or made an accout on this board. someone told me emeka nwanko

Yeah I believe I remember him being one as well... I can think of two other current players from the last two years worth of classes being on or thier parents being on at times of the top of my head... Dever and Newman... but it is my understanding in most cases players and players family memebers like to be unknown... now going back to the original post, why do you think that is???

 

[JeremyND07]

So calling someone slow and overrated when he decommited from ND was wrong...I think many of us have said this before!!!!! Posters on here tend to think anyone that does not commit to ND is overrated ie. Pryor...all goes back to drinking a little too much koolaide in my opinion!