Has NIL and transfer portal era tarnished enjoyment of Michigan State Athletics?

The new era of college sports has quickly become hard to keep up with. From NIL to the transfer portal, it isn't easy to know who is dedicated and who isn't. Michigan State Athletics has felt the positive and the negative of both.

The real question is has this new era tarnished the enjoyment of Michigan State Athletics?

Things in the college sports atmosphere are never going to be the same. NIL and the Transfer Portal aren't going anywhere, and like the athletes and coaches for that matter, the fans have to adapt to the ever changing landscape.

That is no easy feat, as many fans in Spartan Nation or any school's fanbase can attest to. It's become really hard to care about some of the athletes because they seem to come and go at will daily.

Which brings me to the point in all of this, has the portal tarnished the enjoyment of Michigan State Athletics.

It certainly has, because it used to mean something to suit up in the 'Green and White' and playing for the name of the front of the jersey. Now most if not all of the players on the gridiron or court are more focuased on the name on the back.

I'm not against Name, Image and Likeness, but what this has all turned into is nothing but free agency, without any rules.

There are far more college teams than the NFL or NBA, and those leagues have restrictions. Why is it so hard to have something preventing guys from theoretically playing for four different schools in a four-year period?

That is way overboard in my opinion.

This new era of college football and basketball isn't what I envisioned, and quite honestly is almost pointless to root for or even watch, especially if the team changes every single year, with guys coming and going through the portal.

Not to mention the way other teams can just poach players in the middle of the season. It's a joke.

I understand guys leaving if they aren't getting the playing time, are deep down the depth chart, or even a coaching change that just happened, but it isn't always greener on the other side.

Seeing guys that have been a part of the team for three years through the ups and downs and then just bolt because their getting some bigger money deal elsewhere isn't worth watching.

Not to name any names, but Spartan Nation just saw two of its starting defensive tackles bolt for money at Oregon and Miami, respectively.

If they truly cared about the name on the front of the jersey they would have stayed, but clearly, that didn't mean anything to them.

I'm a Spartan alum and will pull for the green and white until I die, but the enjoyment of these sports just isn't the same.

I'll bet I'm not the only Spartan fan or alum for that matter who feels that way. It is what it is.