Another Heisman Trophy presentation has come and gone, and here I sit just a little more disillusioned than ever before. This goes far beyond just "sour grapes" for me. How does this happen every year? Why do we as college football fans put up with the same bullshit year in and year out? If defense wins championships, as EVERYONE will attest to, how is it that only one defensive player has one the award- and one that needed his special teams play and stats moonlighting as a wide receiver?
Ridiculous.
Congratulations to the 2012 Heisman Memorial Trophy winner, Johnny Manziel! instagr.am/p/TAENQIIlOM/
— Heisman Trophy Trust (@HeismanTrophy) December 9, 2012
This award is more like a political election with regional bias, age bias, positional bias, and well, massive bias. None of that is at all surprising when you factor in who actually votes for the Heisman, but it does raise the question of, "is this guy TRULY the best player in college football?"
The winner of this award rarely is.
The ease in the way that the voters and the media dismiss dominant defensive players each year is not only laughable, but criminal. Jadaveon Clowney not being in the same mix as Manziel, Te'o, and Klein should cause as much angst from those of us that are angry about Te'o not winning the award.
One thing that is impressive about the Heisman is the sheer genius in its marketing- and I'm not talking just by the Heisman Trust and its corporate sponsors. No, the real "beauty" of this thing is how the media uses this award to sell papers and get clicks on their websites.
The Heisman is the most debated and hyped individual award in any team sport at any level. The constant Heisman lists (many of which start today for 2013), the week in and week out adoration for gawdy offensive stats, and then the proclamations from everyone with a voice who their "leader" is at the moment has reached the apex of lunacy.
An example of this lunacy can be found in how John Manziel was being touted as a freshman and on the brink of making history. In truth, he is a red-shirt freshman, which makes him a sophomore, which makes him the second sophomore to win the award. See how tricky that can be? WATCH US MAKE HISTORY!!!!….
I sat and watched history being made up
At the award's peak hype level, writers feverishly publish articles stating the candidates cases, the probable winners, and then my personal favorite… the article stating how they voted and why.
It's a solid 2 weeks of coverage that could have vaulted Rick Santorum to the from of the Republican Party.
Get my point?
Politics. That's what this award has been about for a very long time, and the transparency of that fact is only getting clearer.
Yes, I wanted Manti Te'o to win and I still believe he is the best player in college football, and no one fits the description in the Heisman Mission statement better than Te'o.
None of that really matters. It's not the winners of this award that are at fault, but how and by whom they are chosen. This thing has gotten out of control on the stupidity scale. I was never one that put much stock into the Heisman race before, and at least now I can justify my thought process.
Until this award takes ALL PLAYERS into serious consideration, you can count me as one of those many disillusioned fans that just quit caring about it completely.
Well at least until another Notre Dame player is involved- you miserable, sadistic bastards.
