As far as fans are concerned, athletes aren't human beings, they are things. If Florida's starting RG died today, after a brief period of pretending to mourn, all the Florida fans would care about is how good the backup is.

This isn't a Florida thing, it is true of every college and pro team. It is worse in football, but is true in most sports. The teams and fans couldn't care less about the long term health of the players. Once a player is no longer useful, he can be gotten rid of and not given another thought, like you would a nine-volt battery.

Totally correct...my question is, why should I care?...Tebow makes a decision to play a sport and will reap the consequences (both positive and negative)...If I decide to play squash and blow out my knee, should my intra-mural team mourn or get somebody to replace me?

Meyer has Tebow for another couple of months, if I were him, I'd suck him dry for whatever football he's got and next year he's going to have a new guy anyway.

I have to disagree with you guys. Former players generally enjoy a lifetime of goodwill from their team's fans, and they don't have to have been "stars", either. As long as they've stayed out of trouble, their playing experience will continue to open doors for them, both professionally and socially.

I think college football takes advantage of young men when they're not ready to make a good decision weighing the risks of life-long injuries against a brief moment at fame and a long shot at the NFL. And the "education" isn't a fair exchange. These guys don't have enough time to study, and I've known many of them. It irritates me to see smart young men and good students--despite the stereotype of the dumb jock--be treated as cash cows. And they work their rear-ends off.

Frankly, I think they should be paid. Lots. Because universities make lots on them.

Sure, it's their choice. But universities and coaches still make the big bucks while these guys get nothing more than that lifelong goodwill. Yeah. That's great. I worked with a guy who walked with two canes and he was only fifty. He'd been a defensive lineman. No one but the people he worked with knew how he'd come by those injuries, and he had been in the NFL. So there's your lifelong goodwill right there. People forget. Blown-out knees are forever.