Posted on 01/02/2007 10:52:27 AM PST by mainepatsfan
The Night College Football Went to Hell
Trash talk, the BCS, corporate sponsorships... It all began 20 years with Miami-Penn State
by Michael Weinreb
Two decades later, and the real world has been kind to the quarterback, even if no one can remember his name. He lives in what can only be described as a sprawling manifestation of the American dream, an enormous stucco house on a tree-lined cul-de-sac in a tony New Jersey suburb. He has a wife, and he has four children, and he has a den with a wet bar and a pool table, and until recently, when corporate restructuring rendered him a temporary stay-at-home father, he had spent 18 years as a star at Merrill Lynch.
John Shaffer. The name, like the way he played quarterback, is bland and forgettable, which is why few people outside of the state of Pennsylvania even recall it anymore. When he graduated from Penn State as an academic All-American in the spring of 1987, he had a national championship ring and a reputation as a solid citizen who had no legitimate shot of making it in the National Football League. He went to training camp with the Dallas Cowboys as an undrafted free agent. By the end of August, he did something that many football players could never muster the courage to do: He asked to be cut. He had a degree in finance, with an internship waiting on Wall Street. He had another life to start.
Maybe, he says now, he could have hung around for a couple of years, could have made a roster as someone's second or third option, could have spent that time aspiring to be something he'd probably never be.
(Excerpt) Read more at sports.espn.go.com ...
Back when Florida State actually had an offense.
I'm not a sports expert, but am a knicks fan.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charlie_Ward
Ward could have played in the NFL, NBA or MLB, he was a truly gifted athlete. Good man too, he did a lot of charity work in the NYC area during his time there.
The buildup to that Fiesta Bowl had the same feel to it as Ali-Frazier I. It also had similar results. The loser of the contest was the template for things to come while the winner's extraordinary efforts are largely forgotten.
Charlie Ward won the Heisman in 1993 and was drafted in the first round by the Knicks that next spring/summer.
Ok so now I know who to blame for all this BCS Bullsh*t.
>>How is this possible? An NCAA Division I QB can have a national championship under his belt and not get drafted?<
If he either didn't pass much or was short...
I remember watching that game with my dad at home. Sorta one of the first things we did together after my mom died.
I'm pretty sure Craig Krentzel of Ohio State (2002) was not drafted.
Krenzel was drafted by the Chicago Bears in the 4th, maybe 5th round of 2004.
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