Fantasy football

Sunday, Feb. 10, 2008 | 2 a.m.

There is something to be learned from the story of Fernley High School senior Kevin Hart, who made himself the subject of a national news story with his bizarre hoax.

Hart, a 6-foot-4, 305-pound offensive lineman, called a news conference Feb. 1 for what has been called “National Signing Day,” the first day the NCAA allows high school athletes to officially announce where they will play in college.

Signing day has become a spectacle, with news conferences, cheering fans and TV cameras to capture it all.

Hart’s news conference in the sleepy ranching town 30 miles east of Reno had all that. Students and media crowded into the Fernley High School gym to watch Hart announce his decision. He sat at a table before two baseball hats bearing the logos of his top choices — the University of California and the University of Oregon — and reached for the Cal cap, putting it on to cheers. Labeled a Division I prospect by a scouting service called Rivals.com, Hart said he had also been recruited by Illinois and Oklahoma State.

His high school coach gushed about what a big day it was for Fernley — he would be the first player from the school to go to a Division I program. The problem: None of the college coaches had heard of him.

Hart defended himself, saying he had been working with a freelance recruiter whom he had met at a football camp. He said money exchanged hands, and given the excesses and broken promises that have marred college recruiting, it sounded plausible.

However, a few days later Hart admitted it was a lie, saying, “I made up what I wanted to be reality.”

Hart’s foolish charade may be an indication that the emphasis Americans place on sports and the dreams of big paychecks have eclipsed reality. The lesson of Hart’s story is this: Many young athletes have been blinded to the fact that few ever accomplish their starry-eyed ambition, and adults aren’t helping them. Signing ceremonies, recruiters and scouting services serve only to fuel the unrealistic high school dreams of stardom and fortune. It’s time to return to reality.