Dear Mo,
In lieu of your successful endeavor to enter the 2004 NFL draft, I, a college student, would greatly appreciate your time in answering several questions.
It is on behalf of college students everywhere hoping (and I stress hoping) that their college degree will serve as a ticket to a financially secure and stable life, that I ask that you answer with honesty and utmost sincerity.
After all, it was you that felt the need to rebelliously buck the system set forth by an established and almost inconceivably wealthy conglomerate monster: the National Football League. It was you that became so fortunate to forgo a college education, excuse me, a free college education in exchange for the NFL spotlight and bloodsuckers and gold diggers that will surely ensue.
You see, I like many other college students, have student loans, drive a 14-year old automobile, and work a part-time job just to scrape by. What we are curious about is at what point did you discount the importance and value of a college degree? Most of us (probably all of us) would love to drop everything right now and enter into our chosen field without ever having to finish the four or five years the "system" has deemed necessary.
We want to buck the system as well. Tell us, how did you do it?
When did you realize that you and your family were better served taking advice from Jim Brown opposed to Academic Advisors? And what made you decide that four years was too long to wait to begin raking in millions? Please, tell us your train of thought.
How were you ever able to live with the notion of playing the game you love for four years in a 100,000-person stadium, in the most storied conference in college? And how were you able to tolerate the camaraderie, passion, and un-commercialized aspect of NCAA football - football that is as pure as freshly fallen snow compared to the league that lies ahead? Perhaps it was that there was nothing to be learned from a coach of Jim Tressel's caliber? After all, you know what's right for you.
As a die-hard college football fanatic from September through December, I am under the impression that the football atmosphere you cannot wait to be a part of is significantly less exciting and emotional that the atmosphere you cannot wait to leave.
How did you bear all the emotion?
We are all so envious of the money, the fame, and the life you are hoping to obtain. We all would love to opt out early and leave the role of the poor college student to someone else. And if you are successful, we will enjoy watching you on Sundays for years to come.
Oh yes, one more thing. Don't ever fret about blowing out a knee or shattering a hip that will turn you into an NFL washout as quickly as you washed in.
Don't worry, it won't happen to you. You were right in leaving college early. Why would people such as yourself need to enrich their mind, all the while enriching college sports?
It isn't like you will need to contribute to society with that money when you retire at the ripe old age of 32. And to think some doctors are just getting started at that age. Suckers.
Which leaves one more question. How were you ever able to survive college as a Division I standout for the most popular game in America as long as you did? My God, it must have been tough.
Sincerely,
A student and college football fan
