The Heisman Trophy Ceremony

If you are like me, you were supremely disappointed with the Heisman ceremony on Saturday night. Not only was it void of nearly any objective, intelligent football commentary, but it has also become like so many other things in college football, another money making scheme. It is more and more blatantly obvious to me that sports journalists (if you can even call them that), and even sports coverage in general, are more interested with creating and spinning stories than actually presenting factual, pertinent information from which the general public can base their own perceptions and opinions. I guess it really isn't that different from other types of journalism though.

I'm not particularly disappointed that Brady came in 3rd in the Heisman balloting. If you don't win, it really doesn't matter what place you finish and I knew going in that he wasn't going to win. The fact that he only got 13 first placed votes is darn near a crime against humanity but he'll go top five in the draft and make a zillion dollars. Troy Smith, on the other hand, might not even be drafted as a quarterback. It's interesting to me (just like the article I sent out last week illustrated) that the Heisman voting has turned from the most outstanding player to the best player on the best team. I've said it all along, no player with a supporting cast like Troy Smith, Matt Leinart, et. al. has can legitimately be considered the most outstanding player in college football without proving week in and week out that they are the most dominating player on the field. Look at the several past Heisman winning quarterbacks. They never did jack in the NFL because the reason they were any good in college was primarily due to the other players on the field and the level of competition they played. Smith will be no different.

What upsets me most about this year's Heisman trophy presentation, experience, etc. was best illustrated by one of Fowler's comments during the actual presentation ceremony. He said something along the lines of "it's hard to find something bad about that kid" in reference to Quinn. I immediately turned to my best friend sitting next to me. We were both thinking the same thing, only he said it first..."can't say the same thing about Smith now can we." Don't get me wrong, by recent accounts and the way he has handled himself this year, Troy Smith seems to finally be understanding the responsibilities that come with his status and success. He needs to conduct himself in such a way that he always keeps in mind what he represents and the type of roll model he is. Brady Quinn even said it in his little interview portion of the Heisman ceremony. But Smith shouldn't get a pass on all of the actions in his past that are much less than reputable just because he had a tough childhood. Additionally, Troy Smith should never have taken a snap over the past two years. If you accept money for playing college football you should be finished, plain and simple. That isn't a grey area of the rules. That one is cut and dry. It's quite disappointing that someone who is guilty of that can be chosen as the winner of college football's most prestigious award and to represent it on the stage Smith does.

The thing I was really pleased about is the fact that after last night I really can't imagine a better ambassador of ND football than Brady Quinn. He is a gentleman, he is respectful, he is the model of a student-athlete, and he is a great poster-boy for ND football. Be thankful he had the opportunity to get the publicity he has had and behave the way he has behaved. It speaks volumes of ND, Weis, and the type of football program we have.

I hate the fact that USC and OSU now have the same number of Heisman trophy winners we do. What's worse, until we get much better (by the current standard of voting) we won't get another one for quite some time. We have a few playmakers on the roster and coming in next year but until we consistently win big games (via a strong supporting cast) we won't be able to meet the qualifications for another winner.