Sometimes people can surprise you.
For instance, I logged onto my computer this morning fully expecting to find Nebraska football fans flaming Bubba Starling's late-night decision to sign with the Kansas City Royals instead of reporting to the Huskers football camp.
Sure, the 18-year-old made the choice most of us would, agreeing to a $7.5 million signing bonus that ranks as the richest in Royals history. The fact that he grew up in a suburb of Kansas City and will be playing for his hometown team as the Royals try to reverse their fortunes made it even easier.
But as you may know, people on the Internet have a tendency to get a lot angrier over much less. With Scott Boras serving as Starling's agent and the super athlete even reporting to the Huskers' autograph day earlier this month, there was a potential for some hard feelings to develop.
Boras' aim, of course, was to make the Royals believe the No. 5 pick in last June's draft was considering becoming the highest draft pick since J.D. Drew to say "thanks, but no thanks" to the team that selected him. The Huskers were a convenient vehicle to help drive some doubt into Dayton Moore's mind, so you'd understand if some Nebraskans felt like their state's flagship team was being used.
But credit should go to the Husker fans ? who are oft recognized as some of the classiest in sport ? for handling Starling's snub with reason. From the program to the papers to the message boards, everyone seems to understand that landing Starling was always a long shot, but a risk worth taking if baseball negotiations broke down.
Said Nebraska coach Bo Pelini:
"In the end, Bubba was in a win-win situation regardless of his choice, and we respect the decision he has made. I personally will root for Bubba in every game except when he plays against the Indians!"
Nebraska fans already have some experience with this type of disappointment. In 1999, Carl Crawford was recruited by the program to play quarterback, but opted to sign with the Tampa Bay Rays instead. There are also a lot of Royals fans in Nebraska and they'll likely get to watch Starling at Triple-A Omaha before he hopefully moves on to play with former Husker Alex Gordon down in Kansas City.
They did get to fantasize about Starling stepping under center for a long while, though, as the Royals' deal wasn't finalized until five minutes before Monday night's deadline. There was a lot of interest in the negotiations, too, as "Bubba Starling" was Google's top trending search term for awhile on Monday.
In the end, though, the deal got done as expected. In fact, the only first-round pick to snub his pro team was Tyler Beede, who will head to Vanderbilt instead of the Toronto Blue Jays.
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