According to the Broadway musical Hamilton and history books, when England’s General Cornwallis surrendered to General Washington at Yorktown, the British troops marched to the tune of the old drinking song “The World Turned Upside Down.” I never thought I would long “for the good ol’ days,” but lately I have felt as if the world has been turned upside down.

It began last May when I attended the fifth-grade graduation of one of my granddaughters, or the “Bridging Ceremony,” as the school called it, marking the transition from grade school to middle school. When did graduation ceremonies at all levels become a thing? Now we even honor kids who “graduate” from preschool.

At the end of the ceremony, the school showed a slideshow of baby and current photos of each fifth grader. It also listed what each child wanted to be when they grew up. I was surprised by two of the most common dreams: a professional athlete and a YouTube influencer. I understand the dream of being a professional athlete. I suppose I once had a similar dream. But when did becoming an internet influencer become a thing?

But it’s a thing now. I just heard that, for example, Arizona State University created a new major for influencers. It offers a Bachelor of Arts degree in “Content Creation” and describes the program as follows: “Students will learn to create powerful content across video, podcasts, social media and working platforms, all while building their brand and mastering the art and science of digital influence.” So maybe some of those fifth graders’ dreams will become a reality.

When it comes to athletics, though, I hate to burst dream bubbles, but the odds of becoming a professional athlete are stacked against a fifth grader. To make it to the pros, an athlete must first earn a spot on a high school team, then on a college team. The odds of that vary by sport. According to the US Department of Education, at the Division I college level (the most competitive), a high school baseball player has a 1-in-43 chance of making a college roster. A high school basketball player has only a 1-in-110 chance of playing Division I college basketball. A high school football player has better odds at 33-to-1. The worst odds are in tennis, at 155-to-1. But the odds of making a pro roster are even worse. A high school baseball player has only a 1-in-829 chance of playing in the Major Leagues, a basketball player has only a 1-in-1,920 chance of playing in the NBA, and a football player has only a 1-in-554 chance of playing in the NFL. In short, regardless of the sport, the chances of any high school athlete becoming a pro are far less than one percent. And it’s worse for women, as only 1 in 3,086 high school-aged women athletes makes it to the WNBA.

I recently watched two basketball movies. The first, The Mighty Macs (currently streaming on Prime Video),[i] is the true story of how a small Catholic women’s school, Immaculata College, won the first women’s college national basketball championship. Led by their soon-to-be legendary coach, Cathy Rush (played by Carla Gugino in the film), the tiny school, which lacked even a gym on campus and had little support from the school’s administration, kept beating much larger schools with more established programs. Here is the film’s trailer:

It is an inspiring story about how anything can happen when we commit to a dream through belief, hard work, trust, teamwork, and exemplary coaching. That is how it should be. But now, even in youth sports, it’s less about the team and more about reaching the next level. I see parents hiring personal coaches for their sons and daughters as young as six. To succeed, kids must join “club” teams of elite athletes (and pay ridiculously high fees). Sadly, by an early age, kids are told they must specialize in a single sport and play it year-round, or the competition will leave them behind. This new world of youth sports excludes potentially amazing athletes who can’t afford the costs of playing on a club team and often leads to burnout in young athletes by the time they reach high school. When did we stop playing sports (and different sports) just for the fun of it?      

That first win by Immaculata College was no fluke. In her six years there, Coach Rush’s teams made the Final Four every year, winning the women’s collegiate national championship in 1972, 1973, and 1974. During those six years, Rush compiled a 149-15 record. She was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2008.

In the film Hustle (currently streaming on Netflix),[ii] I watched how talent, combined with an internet presence, led to a pro basketball career. Pro basketball scout Stanley Sugarman (played by Adam Sandler) discovers an amateur basketball player on the streets of Spain. Bo Cruz is bursting with talent, but because he is unknown, no pro team gives him much of a look until he becomes a social media phenomenon. Here is a scene from the film:

Perhaps Hustle is just a modern-day illustration of the old-school maxim that it’s who you know that matters more than what you know. And one of the best ways to become known is through social media. Without that internet presence, Bo Cruz would still be playing on the streets of Spain. Although a fictional tale, Hustle mirrors the truth of today’s world, where there is a place for social media influencers.

But even college sports have been turned on their heads. Under the legal principle that athletes own the right to their name, image, and likeness, college athletes are now being paid for their play. And many college athletes earn more at the college level than they ever would as pros, assuming they could even make a professional team.

It all began when Ed O’Bannon, a UCLA basketball player, saw his image in a video game. The NCAA used O’Bannon’s image in its video game without his consent or compensation. He served as the lead plaintiff in a class-action lawsuit against the NCAA. On July 1, 2021, the US Supreme Court ruled in his favor, marking the first time a student-athlete could profit from their name, image, and likeness. College sports were suddenly turned upside down.

Initially, student-athletes who already had an internet presence profited the most. For example, in 2023, Olivia Dunne, a gymnast at LSU, earned an estimated $9.5 million, mostly from online product endorsements. Angel Reese, a basketball player at LSU, was not far behind, with an estimated $9 million. But Dunne and Reese had already established internet brands, and most student-athletes focus more on their sport than on growing their online presence. Now, though, every student-athlete at every Division 1 university will make something from their name, likeness, and image. However, most of them are not able to secure those million-dollar deals. The average college student-athlete earns around $21,000 from their name, likeness, and image. But if you are a football player in the SEC, your average compensation is $565,000. So, many football players at other schools hope to move to the SEC to receive those financial rewards.

Enter the transfer portal.

College athletes are now free to move from school to school every year. Those who do well at a small college might move up to a larger college the next year. If they do well at the next level, they might transfer to a larger college and do so year after year until they are playing in one of the five so-called power conferences. Who can blame them? Once, a college coach at a successful program could have their pick of the best high school players. But now, those high school players say, “Thanks, Coach, but what’s in it for me?”

Who can blame college coaches for recruiting players from other schools? The University of Michigan won last year’s men’s NCAA National Championship with six players who joined the team via the transfer portal. Only two players with significant playing time could be considered “home-grown.” 

Growing up in Salt Lake City, I once dreamed of playing basketball for the University of Utah. I still tell myself I could have done that if I were 6’4” instead of 5’10”. Dreams die hard. But I would never have played for Utah’s biggest rival, BYU, no matter what incentives BYU might have offered me. That world is gone now. In short, there is little loyalty in today’s world, except in politics, where loyalty to the President or the party reigns supreme. I get it. If you’re an athlete, you want to take advantage while you still can. 

Ironically, Ted Cruz, a Texas senator and an arch-conservative, is trying to “fix” college sports through government regulation. This is coming from a man who has repeatedly campaigned to keep government out of business, and college sports is big business. Some universities have been fighting to retain their star players for more than a year. They have their athletes sign contracts that include clauses requiring them to repay some of their NIL money if they transfer to another school. But those clauses are rarely enforced, as coaches like to poach from other schools as much as they hate being poached from (although I recently read that Ole Miss is suing two of its former football players who transferred to LSU).

And that is what the world has become, not just in sports. Somewhere along the way, we have lost our ability to listen, understand, and compromise. The world has become “What’s in it for me?” from the President on down. The world is different now, and I yearn for some of the old ways. Or maybe I’ve just become a grumpy old man.

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[i] The Mighty Macs:

• Production Company: Quaker Media
• Director: Tim Chambers
• Writer: Tim Chambers and Anthony Gargano
• Starring: Carla Gugino, Marley Shelton, and Ellen Burstyn
• Release date: October 21, 2021

[ii] Hustle:

• Production Companies: Happy Madison Productions, Kirschenbaum Productions, and Roth Films
• Director: Jeremiah Zagar
• Writer: Taylor Materne and Will Fetters
• Starring: Adam Sandler, Queen Latifah, and Juancho Hernangomez 
• Release date: June 8, 2022