Record-setting Canadian QB Nathan Rourke goes Unsigned by NCAA schools: Why?

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Originally Posted by paulwoods13

I'm not disagreeing that success by Rourke might inspire Canadian kids to hope they can make it to the CFL. But let's not overstate it -- as long as football has been played, some kids have wanted to play QB, without regard for the realities of how few individuals actually make the pros. And I don't know of any evidence that the success of Black QBs in the CFL had any influence on Black American kids trying to play QB. There weren't many kids of any colour in Florida or Texas or California paying attention to Canadian football in the 1970s and '80s.

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I think the biggest factors in more black kids playing QB down south were desegregation, and the good-old-boy coaches getting squeezed out if they weren't smart enough to adapt.

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Originally Posted by paulwoods13

And I don't know of any evidence that the success of Black QBs in the CFL had any influence on Black American kids trying to play QB. There weren't many kids of any colour in Florida or Texas or California paying attention to Canadian football in the 1970s and '80s.

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Some black QBs disagree and Black Studies profs disagree. "Moon's success inspired aspiring Black QBs to consider playing in Canada and use it as a route to the NFL".
"The fact that he played up is huge" Montreal QB Vernon Adams said. "For him to accomplish so much here then reach the NFL and set the path for us, is just awesome. It's something I look up to as motivation."
' “As a business, the CFL recognized it could also benefit from having black quarterbacks by providing them the opportunity to play. Of course, the first QBs who were successful also paved the way for those who came later. Equally significant, the overall success of the black QBs disrupts the myth of their capabilities,” said Karen Flynn, associate professor of African-American studies at Illinois.'

Disrupting the myth of one's capabilities whether based on race, nationality, height etc. does encourage others to follow in the footsteps of those who have broken down barriers.