Any advice for this?

[fishwrapper]

Is there a theme to this discussion?

- Which one of these guys would you feel most comfortable leaving your girlfriend with?

If one of them says they are gay, that question could turn awkward in a hurry.

I definitely think "Are any of you gay?" should be your first question.

Careful how you phrase it though. I would go with "No one here's a gay, right?"

Follow-up: "When your hands are under the center, what is going through your mind?"

 

[Pilot]

Really, I would tread very carefully with this idea. It could be cool, but it would really take the right mix of kids, format and questions. I think it will most likely devolve into a cliche-fest the likes of which no single quarterback would be able to produce on his own.

 

[Mighty_Wingman]

Really, I would tread very carefully with this idea. It could be cool, but it would really take the right mix of kids, format and questions. I think it will most likely devolve into a cliche-fest the likes of which no single quarterback would be able to produce on his own.

Quarterback A: "Y'know, I just want to go out there and give it my all."

Quarterback B: "Oh, no doubt."

Quarterback C: "Most definitely."

Quarterback D: "I just want to give all the glory to my offensive line, man."

Quarterback A: "Oh, yeah."

Quarterback B: "And God. And Jesus."

Quarterback C: "Most definitely."

If your high-school kids are anything like the ones in our area, this could go on for at least an hour.

 

[Mystery_Meat]

The only throwing most of the quarterbacks in my area will do is throw the game with their incessant fumbling and inability to distinguish opponents' jerseys from his teammates'.

 

[EE94]

Try to get the discussion working amongst the athletes themselves, as opposed to you being the centre asking all the questions.
Introduce some controversial, or even philosophical, topics - such as academics vs athletics, etc.
We did this with some Olympic athletes in our area and once the discussion got going, it went in myriad directions, mostly because of their thoughts.

 

[Mighty_Wingman]

Do what ESPN the Mag does and bring in some B-list singer or rapper to "vibe" with the athletes. It'll be great.

Oh, and ask 'em if they watch the Wire.

 

[playthrough]

It is closing in on cliche, but the pop-culture grid a la Sports Illustrated is very well-read. Would be an easy space-filler for you with seven kids interviewed.

 

[ADifferentOkie]

How long have you been a black quarterback?

I was hoping to be the first one to go there.
Honestly, I might ask them something along the lines of what position they would most like to try if they weren't a quarterback. Most high school males would love to be the starting QB, but these guys must have something they wish they could try that they haven't yet.

 

[Walter Burns]

Something completely off the wall, just as an icebreaker or to end on.
In news, we used to ask political candidates what their favorite Christmas present was when they were a child.

 

[Pilot]

Try to get the discussion working amongst the athletes themselves, as opposed to you being the centre asking all the questions.
Introduce some controversial, or even philosophical, topics - such as academics vs athletics, etc.
We did this with some Olympic athletes in our area and once the discussion got going, it went in myriad directions, mostly because of their thoughts.

Yeah, that's a good idea. Just do whatever you can to avoid:

"Well, my team worked hard this summer and we're really focused."

"Well my team REALLY worked hard and we're REALLY REALLY focused."

"My team is going to be giving 110%."

"The Cougars over here, we be ready AND focused."

 

[Diabeetus]

Ask whose got the best dance moves on the team.

 

[Tom Petty]

Something completely off the wall, just as an icebreaker or to end on.
In news, we used to ask political candidates what their favorite Christmas present was when they were a child.

god damn. tell me you forgot the blue font.

 

[Ike Broflovski]

I understand why you'd want to do this -- they're a captive audience -- but with all due respect, I think this is really a bad idea that you ought to forget.

You've kind of acknowledged that already -- what do I ask these guys? -- but I don't think it's going to result in anything readable. You might be able to do a roundtable with seven coaches or even seven teammates, but seven kids who don't know each other well is going to flop.

If you press ahead, please don't ask them **** like, "What's on your iPod?" I've seen these done, and they're just awful.

 

[Nathan Scott Phillips]

"Have any of your linemen stopped using steroids?"