http://blog.newsok.com/berrytramel/2010/11/05/heisman-trophy-how-do-you-vote-now/
Heisman Trophy: How do you vote now?
Posted by berrytramel
on November 5, 2010M at 8:56 am
Auburn quarterback Cam Newton stands in a firestorm, and now I’ve got a question for all those who applauded the stripping of Reggie Bush’s Heisman Trophy.
Who do you vote for now?
Newton is the leading candidate to win the 2010 Heisman. But now former Mississippi State quarterback John Bond has accused a former teammate, Kenny Rogers, of claiming to represent Newton and wanting $180,000 for Newton to sign with Mississippi State in what Bond said Rogers described as a cut rate, since he would demand $200,000 elsewhere.
In this Oct. 23, 2010, file photo, Auburn quarterback Cameron Newton (2) runs for a first down in the fourth quarter in their NCAA college football game against LSU at Jordan-Hare Stadium in Auburn, Ala. Newton had 217 yards rushing in the 24-17 win. (AP Photo/Dave Martin, File)
I don’t claim to know what happened. There is very little I wouldn’t believe. If this can happen at Southern Cal, where the general culture is “let’s go to the beach,” it can happen in the SEC, where the general culture is “let’s kill Alabama.”
But how will this affect the Heisman? The Heisman Trust and the general public spoke loudly. Bush was not worthy to keep his Heisman.
I thought that was a bogus stance; the Heisman Trophy does not represent virtue and anyone who ever thought it did swims in naivety. The Heisman represents the most notable college football player in a particular season. Not necessarily the best, although remember the blind squirrel. I thought the Heisman avalanche against Bush was rooted in anger toward a system that so rarely penalizes the offenders. Bush was penalized, mostly by shame, but college football and its fans were penalized, too. Now we know we can’t trust a Heisman vote. This is the Heisman winner until scandal do us part.
Now we get the case of Newton, with scandal brewing, to some degree, before the vote. So now what? Do we vote — well, me, not you; I don’t vote — for a player who might later be found driving down Reggie Bush Boulevard? Do we vote for Boise State’s Kellen Moore, since Idaho is not on the tour for player agents of blue-chip recruits? Do we declare Newton too stained and leave him off the ballot, then wait for the finding of wrongdoing that might never come?
Welcome to the latest Heisman mess.
This is why removal of Heisman Trophies from the history books and the mantels of certain winners was a bad idea. The fans get cheated. The process becomes convoluted.
Rather than accept the Heisman for what it is — a somewhat-charming tradition/popularity contest that helps define the idiosyncratic nature of college football — we had to make it into a morality play. Rather than say this is one area that’s strictly about the field, strictly about ballplaying, we had to say Reggie Bush was ineligible on the field, so no Heisman for him, as though those touchdowns he scored didn’t count, and those games USC won never happened, and those cheers by the Song Girls never pierced the LA smog.
Call it a Cam of worms.
Heisman Trophy: How do you vote now?
Posted by berrytramel
on November 5, 2010M at 8:56 am
Auburn quarterback Cam Newton stands in a firestorm, and now I’ve got a question for all those who applauded the stripping of Reggie Bush’s Heisman Trophy.
Who do you vote for now?
Newton is the leading candidate to win the 2010 Heisman. But now former Mississippi State quarterback John Bond has accused a former teammate, Kenny Rogers, of claiming to represent Newton and wanting $180,000 for Newton to sign with Mississippi State in what Bond said Rogers described as a cut rate, since he would demand $200,000 elsewhere.
In this Oct. 23, 2010, file photo, Auburn quarterback Cameron Newton (2) runs for a first down in the fourth quarter in their NCAA college football game against LSU at Jordan-Hare Stadium in Auburn, Ala. Newton had 217 yards rushing in the 24-17 win. (AP Photo/Dave Martin, File)I don’t claim to know what happened. There is very little I wouldn’t believe. If this can happen at Southern Cal, where the general culture is “let’s go to the beach,” it can happen in the SEC, where the general culture is “let’s kill Alabama.”
But how will this affect the Heisman? The Heisman Trust and the general public spoke loudly. Bush was not worthy to keep his Heisman.
I thought that was a bogus stance; the Heisman Trophy does not represent virtue and anyone who ever thought it did swims in naivety. The Heisman represents the most notable college football player in a particular season. Not necessarily the best, although remember the blind squirrel. I thought the Heisman avalanche against Bush was rooted in anger toward a system that so rarely penalizes the offenders. Bush was penalized, mostly by shame, but college football and its fans were penalized, too. Now we know we can’t trust a Heisman vote. This is the Heisman winner until scandal do us part.
Now we get the case of Newton, with scandal brewing, to some degree, before the vote. So now what? Do we vote — well, me, not you; I don’t vote — for a player who might later be found driving down Reggie Bush Boulevard? Do we vote for Boise State’s Kellen Moore, since Idaho is not on the tour for player agents of blue-chip recruits? Do we declare Newton too stained and leave him off the ballot, then wait for the finding of wrongdoing that might never come?
Welcome to the latest Heisman mess.
This is why removal of Heisman Trophies from the history books and the mantels of certain winners was a bad idea. The fans get cheated. The process becomes convoluted.
Rather than accept the Heisman for what it is — a somewhat-charming tradition/popularity contest that helps define the idiosyncratic nature of college football — we had to make it into a morality play. Rather than say this is one area that’s strictly about the field, strictly about ballplaying, we had to say Reggie Bush was ineligible on the field, so no Heisman for him, as though those touchdowns he scored didn’t count, and those games USC won never happened, and those cheers by the Song Girls never pierced the LA smog.
Call it a Cam of worms.
