Saturday, December 13, 2008

Watching the Heisman

So I'm sitting here on a Saturday night watching the trophy ceremony for a college football award that used to mean something...the Heisman ceremony. I say used to because this trophy is officially a joke. Not only do they invite only 3 people this year, but they don't have any seniors at the ceremony. Absolutely terrible. I'm all for an underclassman winning the award, but it almost makes this thing a joke. It used to be an award that was given to someone who earned it not just over a season, but a career. And not a career putting up video game statistics against weak defenses (**cough*big12*cough**). Players earned it through performances in big games, leadership on and off the field, and an unrelenting competitiveness that made that person indispensable to his team. This year...it's a joke.

One year ago, there was genuine concern that a sophomore could win the award and what that would do to the integrity of it. Obviously, Tim Tebow deserved that award and put up ridiculous numbers to back up his performance. My problem comes directly after that happened. Almost immediately, the talk started of a repeat and the consensus was that if he didn't top his 2007 numbers...he couldn't win it again. Then the Big12 turned into a joke of a defensive conference, and all of a sudden players in a BCS conference were putting up huge numbers. They are Heisman locks right? Wrong.

If one player in that conference was putting up such huge numbers, then he clearly would deserve to win it. But in the Big12, at least 3 players (McCoy, Bradford, and Harrell) put up video game numbers...and a majority of the offenses were running up yardage totals. In a sense, you were the odd man out if you weren't putting up stats in that conference, rather than standing out for those stats.

If you can't tell by now, I don't think McCoy or Bradford should get the Heisman. But it's not all about their stats not being legit. It's just that, a certain player did something that none of the others did, he did this.... (feel free to skip to the 2:15 mark)


You don't see that leadership in many people...and you don't see that type of pledge get backed up as well as Tebow backed it up. The man dominated. He showed leadership and exceptional ability that was not matched this season. He deserves the Heisman...again.

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