It's Heisman Week- And I Don't Care
I'll never forget December 12th, 2009. I was in Coleman Coliseum for the basketball game when the Heisman ceremony began streaming overhead. The Heisman Trophy has long been thought of as college football's most prestigious individual award. And until that night, had always eluded The University of Alabama. So when they announced running back Mark Ingram as the winner, the crowd erupted!!! Watching his tearful acceptance speech reminded me how momentous this must be for a young man. Imagine being inducted into a fraternity of men that include the likes of Doak Walker, Roger Staubach, & Herschel Walker? That's gotta rank pretty highly on anyone's life accomplishment list...
The Alabama fanbase had an enormous sense of pride watching a Bama player FINALLY win the Heisman Trophy. And historically, I've had a tremendous amount of respect for every Heisman winner, no matter the school he represented. But the actions of The Heisman Trust in recent years haven't just forced me to lose respect for the award. It's made me flat out not even care at all.
The first sentence of The Heisman Trust's mission statement says, "The Heisman Memorial Trophy annually recognizes the outstanding college football player whose performance best exhibits the pursuit of excellence with integrity". This Saturday night, we will watch this coveted award be even further tarnished for the 4th straight year. Recent history proves that strong finishes trump everything. Bodies of work have been replaced by Heisman moments. And integrity clearly isn't even considered anymore. Somewhere along the line, the system became broken.
In the hell that was the fall of 2010, the nation watched Auburn University & Cam Newton give the NCAA a big SCREW YOU. Pretty much everyone outside the 334 area code knows that Cam Newton was paid for his phenomenal year that ultimately resulted in a national championship. Was Cam Newton the best player in college football in 2010? No question. But did he have integrity? Well, Mr. Webster defines integrity as "a firm adherence to a code of especially moral values: INCORRUPTIBILITY". Newton showed everyone that his moral compass is in serious need of repair by taking money illegally & then lying about it all season long. And for every person who says innocent until proven guilty, nothing was proven, etc. Let me remind you that OJ did kill his wife & Al Capone was a mob boss. Heisman Trust, strike 1.
The following year, Robert Griffin III was awarded the Heisman. Admittedly, other than being a pretty terrible husband, I'm not aware of any debauchery while he was at Baylor. Of course, I didn't know who the hell he was till November. And when Heisman finalist Trent Richardson was just hanging out in Tuscaloosa with no game on the schedule, Griffin showed up & showed out in the final game of the season. Due to the influence of ESPN & the twitterverse, this win clearly shows that the Heisman Trophy has gone from looking at season long accomplishments to what have you done for me lately. Heisman Trust, strike 2.
In 2012, The nation was introduced to the enigma that is Johnny Football. Not much attention was paid to his trouble with the law. Nobody talked about his atrocious performance against LSU. On November 10th, Johnny Manziel went into Bryant Denny & beat Alabama. That night, a star was born. Yet again, the Heisman winner was made in a single game in November. Heisman Trust, strike 3.
Florida State quarterback Jameis Winston will unquestionably be awarded the Heisman Trophy this year. I'll tune in. Not because I give a single shit about the Heisman anymore. But to support University of Alabama quarterback AJ McCarron. Many voters stated that they wouldn't penalize Winston because of the rape charges he was cleared of earlier this month. Okay. I won't argue with that. But while McCarron was busy visiting sick children in hospitals & basically just being a badass person, Winston was running trains on young girls with his teammates. While McCarron was leading his team thru the brutality that is the SEC schedule, Winston was padding his stats against schools like Bethune Cookman & Nevada.
Saturday, a young girl & her family will watch her attacker win an award that will secure his future financially & immortalize him forever. I bet another young girl, Starla Chapman, will be watching, too. Her godfather, the man by her side while she fought cancer, is also a finalist for the Heisman Trophy. He's a heck of a football player & a damn fine man. And he doesn't stand a chance against Winston. And that's the saddest part of all...
Thanks for stopping by, y'all!!! Roll Tide!!! Roll AJ!!!
The Alabama fanbase had an enormous sense of pride watching a Bama player FINALLY win the Heisman Trophy. And historically, I've had a tremendous amount of respect for every Heisman winner, no matter the school he represented. But the actions of The Heisman Trust in recent years haven't just forced me to lose respect for the award. It's made me flat out not even care at all.
The first sentence of The Heisman Trust's mission statement says, "The Heisman Memorial Trophy annually recognizes the outstanding college football player whose performance best exhibits the pursuit of excellence with integrity". This Saturday night, we will watch this coveted award be even further tarnished for the 4th straight year. Recent history proves that strong finishes trump everything. Bodies of work have been replaced by Heisman moments. And integrity clearly isn't even considered anymore. Somewhere along the line, the system became broken.
In the hell that was the fall of 2010, the nation watched Auburn University & Cam Newton give the NCAA a big SCREW YOU. Pretty much everyone outside the 334 area code knows that Cam Newton was paid for his phenomenal year that ultimately resulted in a national championship. Was Cam Newton the best player in college football in 2010? No question. But did he have integrity? Well, Mr. Webster defines integrity as "a firm adherence to a code of especially moral values: INCORRUPTIBILITY". Newton showed everyone that his moral compass is in serious need of repair by taking money illegally & then lying about it all season long. And for every person who says innocent until proven guilty, nothing was proven, etc. Let me remind you that OJ did kill his wife & Al Capone was a mob boss. Heisman Trust, strike 1.
The following year, Robert Griffin III was awarded the Heisman. Admittedly, other than being a pretty terrible husband, I'm not aware of any debauchery while he was at Baylor. Of course, I didn't know who the hell he was till November. And when Heisman finalist Trent Richardson was just hanging out in Tuscaloosa with no game on the schedule, Griffin showed up & showed out in the final game of the season. Due to the influence of ESPN & the twitterverse, this win clearly shows that the Heisman Trophy has gone from looking at season long accomplishments to what have you done for me lately. Heisman Trust, strike 2.
In 2012, The nation was introduced to the enigma that is Johnny Football. Not much attention was paid to his trouble with the law. Nobody talked about his atrocious performance against LSU. On November 10th, Johnny Manziel went into Bryant Denny & beat Alabama. That night, a star was born. Yet again, the Heisman winner was made in a single game in November. Heisman Trust, strike 3.
Florida State quarterback Jameis Winston will unquestionably be awarded the Heisman Trophy this year. I'll tune in. Not because I give a single shit about the Heisman anymore. But to support University of Alabama quarterback AJ McCarron. Many voters stated that they wouldn't penalize Winston because of the rape charges he was cleared of earlier this month. Okay. I won't argue with that. But while McCarron was busy visiting sick children in hospitals & basically just being a badass person, Winston was running trains on young girls with his teammates. While McCarron was leading his team thru the brutality that is the SEC schedule, Winston was padding his stats against schools like Bethune Cookman & Nevada.
Saturday, a young girl & her family will watch her attacker win an award that will secure his future financially & immortalize him forever. I bet another young girl, Starla Chapman, will be watching, too. Her godfather, the man by her side while she fought cancer, is also a finalist for the Heisman Trophy. He's a heck of a football player & a damn fine man. And he doesn't stand a chance against Winston. And that's the saddest part of all...
Thanks for stopping by, y'all!!! Roll Tide!!! Roll AJ!!!
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