Wide receiver Trebor Pena leaving Syracuse football hurt. Lately I haven’t felt like I have the passion I once had for college sports. I am not angry at him, his family or the Syracuse staff or anyone in particular but I can’t help feeling lost because this isn’t as fun for me as it once was. It’s taken me a while to want to write this and share it so please allow me to explain.

I’m not a Syracuse University alumni. I was raised in Bridgeport, NY before moving away at 16 and only moving back home a few years ago.

I don’t just like Syracuse…as you can see above, I LOVE Syracuse and have always considered Syracuse home. I may have lived in 5 states and Germany but nothing felt more like home to me than Syracuse. I love Tully’s, Hofmann Frank’s, CNY pizzerias and bakeries, soft ice cream on a warm day, fall weather and apple picking and anything that represents Syracuse including Syracuse University and sports.

I’m also a fan of the New York Mets, the Pittsburgh Penguins, the Buffalo Bills & Carolina Panthers and Bundesliga soccer. But none of those compare to the passion and love I’ve had for Syracuse in part because it represents my home.

But for most of my life, Syracuse University and college sports also were so different than pro sports. Players committed to play there for the next 3-4 years and fans like me loved watching their passion and commitment.

My thoughts on the transfer portal in college football.

For the last two seasons, I have written posts about players to watch or who I think will have great seasons and one name always at the top of my list is Trebor Pena. I love that guy and watching him improve year after year was so much fun. I also was a huge fan of watching players come to Syracuse and develop into pro players or at least better than they were when they started. Guys like Rakeem Christmas, Rick Jackson, Alec Lemon and Trebor Pena. Those were the guys I felt like I wanted to root for even more.

Now let’s also get something straight, the fact that for years there was a joke about players getting too much cream cheese on a bagel and being punished by the NCAA for a violation was for valid reasons. Players weren’t allowed to cash in while others profited off of them and that was borderline criminal. They faced so many limitations, fearing penalties all the while getting up at 6 am to fit in practice or gym sessions before class and then maintain both a playbook and their class books and assignments to stay eligible for both.

And players who wanted to transfer if it didn’t work out somewhere or a coach left, had to often sit out a whole season even if that coach could coach right away or even if the player just needed to be closer to home or something wasn’t right at that school.

So I get it. I think there should be some leeway for players to get what they want in life. They should be able to take care of their family & themselves if someone sees their value. And they should be able to say this situation wasn’t what I was promised when I got here, without penalty.

But let’s also be fair to the fans too, many of whom have a bigger passion for college sports than professional because of their love of their alma mater, their home town and/or that college sports was different.

The constant changeover and discussions about finances and raising money in a time when many are struggling to get by themselves or holding on to their passion is a lot to also handle. You want me to buy season tickets, buy merchandise and also contribute to NIL groups while the price of everything in life keeps going up even when most people’s paychecks don’t?

You can’t expect people who, in my case, had watched something for over 40 years (I’m 52) and having to accept such a drastic change. You can’t just expect me to wake up and say that while I understand the reasons, the whole world is changing and I have to just accept it.

And while fans should not under any circumstances feel comfortable personally attacking players or administrators, it’s not easy accepting change. It’s hard to wake up one day and the guys you hoped would be here for another year or even two or three are gone. And now that player you loved and got excited for left for another team, sometimes even in your own conference.

At the end of the day, players are like anyone else and simply want to be happy and provide the best they can for themselves and their families. We have to understand that and I definitely do. I have kids that age and I’d want them to be happy and do what they want to.

And fans want to find that one thing that brings them joy in a world where drama and chaos are abundant and escape reality. Sadly, now the reality is that in the current landscape, there is little feeling of having that safe space to relax anymore because of the transfer portal and NIL and colleges doing anything they can, fairly or unfairly, to gain an advantage.

And if you as a program can’t afford to back up a Brink’s truck, you’re now a feeder system for those who do and your fanbase will be left struggling to find ways to care as much as they once did when it doesn’t seem like others do unless the price is right.

And look, Trebor Pena and every player have a right to make the best choice they can for their future. And we’ve heard Syracuse Head Coach Fran Brown’s response to his leaving and his feelings in general about those who want to leave.

And this one hurt me personally because I have been a huge fan of Trebor since he started here on special teams and constantly showed he was improving when he was healthy and made a positive contribution to this program. Heck I think the last couple years I’ve written about him as one of the guys I expected most to make the biggest impact next season for a reason.

And I am not mad at Trebor or Coach Brown or Syracuse. Everyone is simply doing what’s best for them and I get it. I HATE the drama that surrounds it too but I get it.

But I also can’t help but wonder if this new college sports landscape, as it is right now, has become too much for me and maybe other fans to be as passionate about as we once were. And you can’t just ignore the feelings of those fans who liked it a certain way but now have to adjust. As for me, well right now I honestly am struggling to adjust and be as passionate as I was because it’s not the way it was when I fell in love with it, and I don’t know how much I want to invest in it anymore compared to what I once did.