Well, howdy there! Let’s jaw about this Orange Bowl thing, the 2023 one, you know? Them young fellas playin’ football, big game, lots of hoopla. But some of ’em, they ain’t gonna be there. Optin’ out, they call it.
I tell ya, it’s like this. You got these college boys, playin’ their hearts out all season. Then comes this bowl game, the Orange Bowl this time. Big deal, right? Used to be, everyone wanted to play. Now, some of these young’uns, they decide, “Nah, I’m good.” They skip it. Why? Well, that’s what we gonna talk about.
- One thing’s for sure, some of these boys are thinkin’ ’bout the NFL. Big money, you see. They don’t wanna get hurt in a game that, well, maybe don’t mean as much to them as it does to the fans or the school.
- Then you got this whole playoff thing. If your team ain’t in the playoffs, some fellas just ain’t as fired up, you know? They worked hard all year, thinkin’ ’bout the championship. If that ain’t happenin’, well, some just lose their steam.
This year, 2023, it’s a real hodgepodge. Some teams got a bunch of opt-outs, others not so many. I heard tell that Florida State University, bless their hearts, they got a whole mess of players not playin’. Their receivers, the fellas who catch the ball, yeah, them boys are gone. Heard they wanna go to the NFL. Can’t blame ‘em, I guess. Gotta make a livin’.
Now, this ain’t nothin’ new. Kids been optin’ out for a while now. Protectin’ themselves, they say. Don’t wanna risk gettin’ hurt before the draft. Makes sense, I reckon, but it does make you wonder ’bout the game, you know? Is it still the same when your best players ain’t there?
Georgia, though, they seem to be doin’ alright. Heard they ain’t got as many opt-outs. Maybe them boys are just itchin’ to play, or maybe they just ain’t as high up in the draft pickin’s, who knows? But it sure makes you think about who’s gonna win, don’t it? A team with all its stars, or a team missin’ a bunch?
It ain’t just the offensive fellas neither. Sometimes the defense, them big guys who hit hard, they opt out too. It changes the whole game, I tell ya. You spend all season plannin’ and schemin’, then boom! Half your team’s gone. It’s like bakin’ a cake and then findin’ out you ain’t got no flour.
I heard some folks sayin’ it ain’t fair. They say these players got scholarships, they owe it to the school to play. But these young fellas, they got their whole lives ahead of ’em. Gotta make the best choices for themselves, even if it means missin’ a big game. It’s a tough one, I tell ya.
This optin’ out thing, it’s part of the game now, like it or not. Coaches gotta adjust, players gotta step up, and us fans, well, we just gotta watch and see what happens. It ain’t always pretty, but it sure is somethin’ to talk about, ain’t it? And that’s what makes football so darn interestin’.
So, when you’re watchin’ this Orange Bowl, or any bowl game for that matter, just remember them boys who ain’t there. They made a choice, a tough one probably. And the fellas who are playin’, well, they’re gonna give it their all, opt-outs or no opt-outs. That’s just the way it is. And that’s all there is to it. Football, it changes, you know? Just gotta keep up.
Tags: [Orange Bowl, Opt Outs, College Football, Florida State, Georgia, NFL Draft, 2023]
