<p>actually, LA did produce them. Did Reggie not win the heisman at SC? And did Kobe not gain notoriety playing for the Lakers? Anyway, whatever, point is, LA is bigger than Springfield. And you'd have to be nuts to argue against that lol. join the facebook group Domers of 2012 by the way!</p>
<p>No, we produced Kobe so that he could be known by those who matter and so he could get drafted out of high school.</p>
<p>While you may well believe that California is the center of the universe, the point I was making was not a comparison of the size of the competitive pool. The point I was making is that to make all-state second team or all district ANYWHERE involves a lot of outside competitive club, weight training, etc. commitment. I was talking about a time management issue.</p>
<p>By the way, the very best athletes come from wherever the genetic sources happened to be living at the time the athlete was born and raised. That could be the cornfield or the beach. No region of the country has an exclusive on the gifted--athletically, musically, academically, or in any other way.</p>
<p>Personally, I love living in Missouri. I live in a town of about 14,000, about 50 miles west of St. Louis. </p>
<p>I wouldn't necessarily make it a practice of dissing people's hometowns or states at a genuinely national university like Notre Dame. Just a helpful hint from someone who was there long ago, and has one there (and one on the way to there) now... Californian Domers need to be housebroken, so to speak--the humbling typically occurs the first time the temps dip below 40 F, and they are maxed out in about a hundred pounds' worth of parkas, shivering... This is when the Midwesterners and Northeasterners get a good laugh...</p>
<p>By the way, some of my very best friends from ND were Californians...</p>
<p>well, I'm glad your friends were in fact housebroken. That's good news for the rest of us I guess. And I'm glad you get enjoyment out of watching us freeze a few months out of the year, because we get equal enjoyment out of watching all you mid-westerners and east coasters melt when it is over 100 degrees here every day for the entire summer. Besides, I never dissed anyone's state. I said that "Sure it is a fantastic achievement...I KNOW it is an honor to make all-state anything." I've never made all-state. I came close in soccer one year, but the next year got an injury that kept me out for the season, so there went those hopes. So I'm not questioning anyone's ability. Maybe it is just one of those things where you have to live here to see it. I know St. Louis is supposed to be a beautiful city with lots to do. I've just never heard anyone say "Hey, did you hear about so and so from Washington U? He's in the running for the Heisman!" And I don't even like USC, so don't think I'm trying to suck up to them.
Lastly, my original argument was that the competition for all-state is tougher in larger states (I also mentioned NY and FL, so I wasn't saying CA was 'the center of the universe') than those with lesser populations. This is a friggin' fact man! Not to spoil your fun, but our honorable-mention all-state athletes still often get recruited by major D-1 programs. I am just using CA as an example bc I live here, but the same goes for FL and NY. Because of this, I was saying that admissions counselors might not put as much weight on someone being all-state from Illinois than, say, Florida. I know this because I have close family members who are admissions officers for Princeton and Dartmouth, and they stress this point to applicants. It is no different than graduating #1 in your class from a small public school or #1 from Exeter. Which one do you think is harder? Anyway, whatever, I have a feeling you are going to refuse to even consider my perspective, which is fine. I think you really have to live here to see it. Everyone thinks where they live is the best. That should be good, shouldn't it? That must mean we live in an awesome country, if people living in every state love it. But honestly, if people have such an issue with Californians, why do so many of you move here?</p>
<p>ummm it's probably more humid here, in Philly than it is in Cali. You have no idea.</p>
<p>I only have issues with Californians who diss on other's states or accomplishments. Read back through what you've posted and maybe you'll see what I mean. I've not disputed your points about the difficulty of being all-state in a larger state than a large one, on the whole. I am, rather, disputing the notion that the athletes from other parts of the country, on an individual basis, are somehow lesser. Again, there's been some great athletes who have come from places people have never heard of...</p>
<p>By the way, those D-1 scouts are looking for exceptional talent, wherever it is from. There are some remarkable athletes who have been born and bred in Missouri, and pretty much every state on the map. Also, not many athletes from Washington U are going to be in the running for the Heisman, as it is not a D1-A school, nor does it offer athletic scholarships. That would make it pretty tough, wouldn't it?</p>
<p>Bottom line is that those of us in flyover country are pretty proud of where we are from, too... I guess that's something you will learn--or not learn--in time. Sometimes I forget that I'm posting amidst lots of teenaged kids here. </p>
<p>Actually, the point I was originally making had nothing to do with the whole "my state is bigger than your state" thing. It had to do with a college entrance system that seems to have raised the bar so high as to strip a lot of the pleasure of just being a kid, in favor of racking up absurdly packed resumes. The admissions director at MIT gained many accolades for having raised this issue to the forefront. Too bad it turned out she had forged her own qualifications...</p>
<p>I personally think the system is very screwed up, and does your generation a great disservice...</p>
<p>first off, in regard to the person who posted before you, no, I don't have any idea. It doesn't get humid here, just hot and dry....Now, for you, I never said only great athletes come from Cali. They come from everywhere, obviously. I may not be a genius, but I'm not as stupid as you obviously think. I have never been to Missouri, so I will not judge states I haven't seen. Is CA nice? Yes, I love it. Does it have its bad parts? Yes, it's called south-central LA. And, you are correct, this never was about which state was bigger, as you will see from the original post. I did read through my posts, and I don't think I dissed anyone. I give credit where credit is due, something which maybe you haven't learned yet. I never questioned anyone's work ethic or accomplishments, and my post was intended to bring up a different point, one of admissions officers, for the gentleman who posted this thread. Anyway, I'm way over this subject. Can we PLEASE just agree to disagree?</p>
<p>"But if this person is from Illinois or something that could explain it. Outside of Chicago is there anyone really to compete with? I mean that honestly, not sarcastically, so if you read this and are from Illinois, don't take offense to it. It's just that it is probably easier to be all-district in Illinois than CA or FL or somewhere like that."</p>
<p>"ok, well let me tell you that it is SO much harder to make first team all state in CA, NY, or FL than Idaho, Nebraska, Wyoming, I think you get the point. It isn't size differential, its population. CA and NY have more people than Missouri and Illinois combined probably. Sure, it is a fantastic achievement. But, just to use CA as an example, athletes have to compete with people from Los Angeles, San Diego, and San Francisco, three cities ranked in the top 8 largest nationally. Illinois has Chicago, corn, and more corn. And who knows about Missouri....snow?"</p>
<p>"actually, LA did produce them. Did Reggie not win the heisman at SC? And did Kobe not gain notoriety playing for the Lakers? Anyway, whatever, point is, LA is bigger than Springfield. And you'd have to be nuts to argue against that lol."</p>
<p>First of all, I completely understand your perspective, vc08. I read this thread thoroughly. I just think that the way you presented your viewpoint rubbed some people the wrong way. It just sounded like your argument was delivered with a haughty tone. The first quote was indeed fine because you told the audience to take no offense; it was the concluding point of your view. However, the second quote displayed an indirect stab at other suburban and even perhaps rural states with stereotypical prejudice. The third quote was on the subject of athletes who'd succeeded in California and became superstars. What you said sounded as though California itself gave birth to these athletes and raised them. These athletes are hometown heroes to various cities they're from, and they certainly honed their skills with pratice and hard work as young men in those cities. California was definitely the place where they rose to fame and glory, but it wasn't the place where they can call birthplace. So California wasn't the sole reason why they became famous.</p>
<p>"I give credit where credit is due"</p>
<p>The credit should also be given to these towns that raised these athletes, right?</p>
<p>I just wanted to point out why your perspective created misunderstanding between ddjones007 and you.</p>
<p>"...I never said only great athletes come from Cali. They come from everywhere, obviously." I did give credit to the towns that raised them. Even if Reggie was born in San Diego (I'll admit that that was my mistake in the first place. I'd forgotten that he went to Helix High and was confusing him with another athlete), that's still in CA. I will take any blame for what may have been viewed as offensive, though I do believe if you re-read what I wrote I complimented smaller states for their strengths (take note on St. Louis...'beautiful, entertaining'). Also, for the four-hundredth time, I did not single out CA as being the 'best' state, but rather also mentioned New York and FL, states which regularly produced top-notch football and basketball players. I did use CA as an example bc I live here and that is the state I am most familiar with, but my argument goes for any heavily populated state.
I will say that I do not appreciate being preached on by ddjones007. However, I refuse to lower myself to a lower level by criticizing his writing and satirical comments like some of you have done to me (I really don't care, just making a point), so I'm just gonna go out with class on this one. Jeez, I hope not everyone at ND is against CA though, otherwise perhaps I should look elsewhere!</p>
<p>The original poster is claiming in this thread to be a member of Walsh HS. On the Harvard board, he is claiming to be a member of St. Edwards HS. And if you go on the Walsh athletics website, you will find that their QB is not even on the track team.</p>
<p>Also, it is not possible to star in three sports, maintain perfect grades, edit a school paper, and do 20 other activities. Unless you have a machine that allows you to be in four places at once.</p>
<p>Taking all of this into consideration, and the fact that he randomly brought up fraud poster ND4life, makes me believe that this poster is ND4life.</p>
<p>Yeah, NDhopeful2012 is a fraud.</p>
<p>Like fantosme said, there's too many inconsistencies, which have been discussed on the Harvard thread above. Take a look.</p>