Colleges selling fan access to post-game press conferences? Hell, everything else is for sale; why not this, too?

The University of Oklahoma is opening a Pandora's Box. Expect other schools to follow suit. I'm fine with it.

So now colleges want to monetize post-game press conferences. Well, one does -- specifically the University of Oklahoma, which is offering two oh-so-lucky fans the glorious opportunity to sit in on pressers after two games this upcoming season. The price point is $461.61 for the Illinois State game and $692.11 for the Michigan game. So instead of celebrating your team’s win with your buddies, maybe going back out to the post-game tailgate, fans can hear some of the most boring, uninspired chatter known to mankind.

Q: What happened on your quarterback’s pick-six in the second quarter?

A: Yeah, I’m not sure, I’ll have to watch the tape.

Thrilling.

The other day, I went to one of my recording apps on my phone and started deleting old interviews. There must have been several hundred, maybe thousands – I’m still deleting – and it occurred to me, I’ve fully transcribed about two dozen of them. The truth, as any reporter or athlete/coach will tell you is, press conferences are mostly filled with rote, cliché questions and rote, cliché answers. (Unless you have a Rex Ryan or the late Jim Irsay at the microphone.)

While I may not fully understand why fans want access to post-game press conferences, I honestly don’t have a problem with it. I’m not going to sit here and say reporters ought to get compensated (although it would be nice). I would have issues with fans in the press box – fans tend to cheer and, as we all know by now, there’s no cheering in the press box – but if you stick two people in the back of the interview room, it’s no skin off my back.

The truth is sports has been giving fans a peek at the post-game press conferences for years. Teams routinely stream important pressers to their fans. You watch the NBA post-game show and they’ll show a few minutes of the give-and-take. Check out ESPN, same thing, more press conferences. The NFL sells tickets to Media Day at the Super Bowl. It’s no longer the sole domain of writers and team members. Hasn’t been for a very long time.

Reporters demand transparency, so it would be hypocritical of me to say that we should deny fans and viewers access to the repertorial sausage-making. Let them see how we operate. Let them hear the questions and the answers. We’re not splitting the atom here, right? And I think they’d find out, we’re asking the right questions, but often, too often, we get stonewalled. Too many football players have been trained to distrust the media. You can decide whether that’s appropriate or not.