Minnesota Football Recruiting: VOTE on the future of the Fleck oar recruiting post photo

National Signing Day is behind us. As we enter the next recruiting cycle, we have an important decision to make: To keep or not to keep the photo of head P.J. Fleck posing with an oar as our main photo for commitment posts. There are people who stand on either side of this issue, both among the contributing staff here at TDG and within our community of commenters, and it’s not a decision that any individual should make on their own.

Here are the basic arguments for and against the photo, for your consideration:

The case for: If we’re being honest with ourselves, college football recruiting is a circus and investing any of your energy into the decisions of 18-year-olds is absurd and kinda creepy. We write about it here because we have to in order to provide complete coverage of Gopher Football. It’s the nature of the beast at this point. But if we’re going to write about it, we can’t lose sight of the fact that it’s sort of silly. And no other photo will be to capture that as effectively as this glorious photo of a grinning Fleck brandishing an oar branded with his signature mantra. Also, GoAUpher would sink into a deep depression if that photo were to be exiled from TDG.

The case against: There is no question that college football recruiting has spiraled out of control. It’s a complete circus, with entire sites built around the concept of tracking the decision-making of high school students across the country. You’ll find no counter argument from me. And I respect the intent behind the Fleck oar photo. But I believe it has run its course. There is more than one photo capable of capturing the absurdity of college football recruiting. To limit yourself to a single photo is to hold a very narrow view of the world. Change is good, and if the people of TDG agree, I’d also like to involve them in the process of selecting a new recruiting commitment post photo. Because I believe there are several worthy successors out there, waiting to be found.

So please weigh in below! The poll closes on Friday, Feb. 15 at 5 p.m. CST.