Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Matt Fodge


 * The following discussion is an archived debate of the proposed deletion of the article below. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as the article's talk page or in a deletion review).  No further edits should be made to this page.

The result was   KEEP Consensus is that it Meets minimum notability requirements but article does need sourcing Mike Cline (talk) 20:38, 8 March 2010 (UTC)

Matt Fodge

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This player does not meet WP:ATHLETE, and nothing sugests he meets any other potential notability criteria. He has not yet competed in a professional game. PackerMania (talk) 20:51, 1 March 2010 (UTC)
 * Weak Delete per WP:ATHLETE. He didn't even train with Dallas, let alone play. -- Dennis The Tiger   (Rawr and stuff) 20:59, 1 March 2010 (UTC)
 * Changed !vote to weak per the award. I will monitor and see if there's other consensus before further alteration. -- Dennis The Tiger   (Rawr and stuff) 15:10, 2 March 2010 (UTC)
 * Changed !vote to keep per the discussion at Articles_for_deletion/Justin_Brantly. If we can find a way in, I'll take it. =) -- Dennis The Tiger  (Rawr and stuff) 15:39, 3 March 2010 (UTC)
 * Keep The Ray Guy award goes to the best punter in the entire nation. Winning this award makes him notable. What does the nominator have against punters? RF23 (talk) 00:10, 2 March 2010 (UTC)
 * Comment I've got nothing against punters, they are just first on the list. The Ray Guy Award goes to the best college punter. If the person never makes it in the pros, they are not notable per WP:ATHLETE.  Once this guy even take one snap in the pros, he will eternally have my vote to keep an article. Until then, unless he does something notable not related to his football playing, he is not notable. and as Dennis the Tiger noted, this guy has not even yet trained with an NFL team. Why does RF23 have a sweet spot for undrafted free agents who have never played? PackerMania (talk) 01:31, 2 March 2010 (UTC)


 * Note: This debate has been included in the list of Athletes-related deletion discussions.  -- • Gene93k (talk) 01:54, 2 March 2010 (UTC)
 * Note: This debate has been included in the list of American football-related deletion discussions.  -- • Gene93k (talk) 01:55, 2 March 2010 (UTC)
 * Keep The Ray Guy Award is one of the major awards in college football. Even if he never plays in the NFL, he is notable for his accomplishments as a college football player.  A search of the NewsBank database reveals numerous articles focusing on Fodge.  These include: (1) "Player to watch, Oklahoma State's Matt Fodge," USA Today, November 28, 2008, (2) "Fodge gets kick from notoriety," Augusta Chronicle, January 23, 2009, (3) "OSU's Fodge will play in East-West Shrine game," McClatchy-Tribune Regional News, January 16, 2009, (4) "Hang time helps Fodge earn honor," Augusta Chronicle, December 12, 2008, (5) "Oklahoma State's Matt Fodge captures big honor," McClatchy-Tribune Regional News, December 12, 2008 (6) "If OSU's punter Matt Fodge doesn't play, it's a good thing," McClatchy-Tribune Regional News, November 12, 2008, (7) "Fodge continues to be one of nation's top punters," Stillwater News Press, September 26, 2008, (8) "Fodge waits for moment: The OSU punter has only punted eight times so far," McClatchy-Tribune Regional News, September 25, 2008, (9) "Fodge waits for moment," Tulsa World, September 25, 2008, (10) "Welcome to my world: Punter Matt Fodge," The Oklahoman, August 3, 2008.  Cbl62 (talk) 03:43, 2 March 2010 (UTC)
 * Comment - Winning the award does make it a very close call; being called the best at any position by selectors of a notable award is a big deal (even if not viewed as best by the All-America voters). It still doesn't strike me as as big of a deal as making the pros when athletic performance is the only factor (if he also won other non-athletic/non-athletic-related awards that might not individually make him notable, I would certainly agree they should all be coinsidered together as notable). Anyway, half of the articles you cite are forward looking ("Player to watch" & "Fodge waits for moment"). There is a difference between real news stories and preview articles or columns. Why the rush? If he makes a team it is a no brainer. Every year he fails to, the case would seem weaker still. Why not userfy until he does? PackerMania (talk) 04:03, 2 March 2010 (UTC)
 * It doesn't matter whether he ever plays in the NFL. College football players who have been the subject of significant, non-trivial coverage qualify under general notability standards even if they never play in a single NFL game.  Cbl62 (talk) 04:24, 2 March 2010 (UTC)
 * Comment Brought this up in another AFD, but no response yet. According to PackerMania, you are only notable if you play in the pros. According to this theory, Jason White (American football) or Graham Harrell or Ernie Davis would be not notable. None of them have ever played a game of NFL action. Yet they all played collegiatly (very well i might add) and make it in based on awards they won which make them meed WP:GNG. RF23 (talk) 22:03, 2 March 2010 (UTC) EDIT: See: Articles_for_deletion/Justin_Brantly


 * Keep. I believe prior consensus has found that a high profile college athlete meets WP:ATHLETE, and winning the top award for your position in college football I believe makes you high profile. This article needs references, but speaking from a pure notability perspective, I say keep.—NMajdan •talk 14:48, 4 March 2010 (UTC)
 * Keep - per major college football award. matt91486 (talk) 20:18, 4 March 2010 (UTC)
 * Keep Ray Guy award is a significant award and results in widespread recognition. Article needs editing and sourcing, tho...--Paul McDonald (talk) 21:17, 6 March 2010 (UTC)


 * The above discussion is preserved as an archive of the debate. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as the article's talk page or in a deletion review). No further edits should be made to this page.