ACR 352 retweeted
Travel ball → transfer culture
High school → reclass culture
College → portal chaos
This didn’t suddenly appear.
It’s been coached since kids were 8 years old!
This is why, as an athlete, you believe in yourself. If you allow others to tell you what you can and can’t do, You will never reach your potential. Giving up on yourself should never be an option.
130 schools said no.
He led the losingest program in college football history to a national championship anyway.
Fernando Mendoza was a 2-star recruit from Miami.
He tried to walk on at his hometown school. They passed.
So did FIU.
So did FAU.
So did everyone else.
At 17, he was sitting in his bedroom, crying over a silent recruiting inbox—after driving to 18 camps with his dad and sending highlights to more than 100 programs.
Not one FBS offer.
His only option? Yale. No scholarship. No NFL path.
Everyone told him to be “realistic.”
“Know your place.”
“Be grateful.”
He didn’t listen.
Because Mendoza understood something most people miss:
The worst outcome isn’t failing.
It’s never getting the chance to try.
Two weeks before signing day in 2022, his phone rang.
Cal needed a body. One offer. Out of 134 schools.
He took it.
He arrived as the third-string quarterback.
Spent a year on the scout team.
Lost his first four starts.
Got sacked 41 times behind a broken offensive line.
Still got up. Every time.
Then Cal brought in a transfer instead of building around him.
So Mendoza left the only school that had ever said yes.
He transferred to Indiana—the losingest program in college football history.
People laughed.
“Career suicide.”
“Graveyard program.”
“Nobody wins there.”
One coach told him something different:
“I’m going to make you the best Fernando Mendoza possible.”
That was enough.
Mendoza wasn’t just playing for football.
His mother has battled multiple sclerosis for 18 years.
Before every snap, he thought of her.
“My mother is my why.”
Indiana went 16–0.
Beat six Top-10 teams.
Won their first Big Ten title since 1945.
Mendoza threw 41 touchdowns.
Won the Heisman—first in school history.
First Cuban-American to ever do it.
Then came the title game.
Miami. Near his hometown.
Fourth-and-4. Season on the line.
Quarterback draw.
The kid 134 schools rejected spun through defenders and dove into the end zone.
Game over.
Indiana—national champions.
The losingest program became the best team in America.
All because a 17-year-old refused to believe “no” was the end.
Rankings don’t decide your ceiling.
Gatekeepers don’t write your ending.
Being overlooked isn’t a verdict—it’s a starting point.
Sometimes all you need is one shot…
and the courage to bet on yourself when nobody else will.
Don’t quit.
Credit: Barclay Mullins
So @Lane_Kiffin, how were you gonna coach this team through the CFP again? But it’s all about the players.
Shortly after Pete Golding and Ole Miss finished an upset of Georgia on Thursday, a source told Mark Schlabach to expect some "fireworks," as LSU coach Lane Kiffin decides how many of his assistants can remain with the Rebels for the CFP semifinal. spr.ly/6012C9g1C
If he wanted to coach this team and continue the success of the program, he wouldn’t have entertained another job.
If Lane doesn’t become HBC at UF(if even been offered), who do you get? I feel it will be a surprise hire just like previous. 1(Franklin) of the others mentioned is unemployed, but not sure he would take it if even offered. Who ya got?
ACR 352 retweeted
Adults:
Within 5-10 years after our kids graduate HS, most will become spouses, homeowners, parents, employees, business owners, etc.
Be careful of making the outcome of youth sporting events bigger than it is. It’s part of their growth. It’s part of their experience. It’s part of their process. That’s really it.
Keep it all in perspective. Breathe, control YOUR emotions and enjoy this temporary phase in THEIR life. It will be over before you know it.
Athletes: are you taking ownership in yourself, your team, and culture? Coaches should not have to ask for your hustle, attention, effort, accountability, leadership, focus or attitude. These attributes come from you. It’s not on your coach.
Non starting HS athletes: where’s your focus? Don’t focus on those that are ahead of you. Focus on the opportunities given to you. Practice or game, act as if it’s the biggest moment of your career and execute it to the fullest. Prove your worth. Dominate it!
“Not for profit” academic institutions are legalized $ laundering schemes.
Hospitals receive a much higher reimbursement than physicians for identical services.
These are called facility fees and are the reason why any service done at a hospital is insanely expensive.
The majority of hospitals are nonprofit and they claim they shouldn’t have to pay any taxes because they need the money for charity care.
In reality hospitals use these special fees and tax exemptions for:
1. Super Bowl advertising
2. To buy up independent medical practices and drive
Up health care costs
3. To pay exorbitant administrative salaries
Nonprofits provide less charitable care than for profit hospitals and they charge more for a hospital bed.
It is time to stop overpaying for hospital care, we need:
1. Site neutral payments- no more facilities fees
2. End the nonprofit hospital grift, if you can pay for Super
Bowl advertising, you can pay taxes!
@ahahospitals @SpeakerJohnson @DutchRojas @realDonaldTrump @notaproviderMD @mass_marion @ViewsProfit