Why Are People So Captivated By The Heisman?

College football is by far my favorite sport.  Fall Saturdays in the midwest are something that I've cherished for as long as I can remember.  Football starts at noon and ends well after I've gone to sleep.  I love everything about the sport, except for the stupid Heisman trophy.

Every year, everybody with an opinion on sports seems to want to talk Heisman.  It starts as soon as the previous year's bowl season ends.  The articles flood message boards and websites.  Preseason Heisman watch lists pop up seemingly everywhere.  Then, by October, most of those lists look ridiculous.  Last year the hot name was Jevan Snead of Ole Miss.  Todd McShay, aka Mel Kiper with less product in his hair, guaranteed Snead to be a first rounder.  Many of the top 10 preseason Heisman candidate lists included him.  There was only one significant problem; Snead wasn't any good.  Granted, he had a 2 to 1 touchdown to interception ratio, but he was never accurate (55% completions), didn't have a huge arm that makes up for that lack of accuracy, and was somewhat of a baby (transferred from Texas because he couldn't beat out Colt McCoy).  Despite all of this glaring evidence that he was a QB with little experience, a shaky history, and a subpar skillset, people were lead to believe he had a chance of hoisting that worthless trophy at the end of the year.  Instead, Snead stumbled to a 20 touchdown, 20 interception junior year and declared himself eligible for the NFL draft.  Like a midget in line at the amusement park, Snead was overlooked.  This is but one glaring example of why I can't stand the Heisman hype.

Denard Robinson in action against Notre Dame

This season people have been captivated by Denard Robinson's gaudy statistics on a subpar Michigan team.  As the only true threat in Michigan's ground game, Robinson was responsible for nearly all of Michigan's yardage through the first five games.  He was exciting, electric, and everything the talking heads look for early in the season.  In fact, Bob Kravitz, of the Indianapolis Star declared Robinson to be the Heisman winner after Michigan's victory over an awful Indiana team; regardless of what happened the rest of the year.  Really, Bob? The problem is, Mr. Kravitz wasn't alone.  On ESPN's college GameDay we were blitzed with statements like "right now, it's Robinson and everyone else."  Until last week, Michigan played a group of teams with defenses that would struggle in flag football against overweight line cooks.  Missed tackles were the rule, not the exception.  This type of hype is profoundly stupid, and reeks of lazy reporting.

Granted, Robinson's stats through five games were incredible.  Hell, I'm a Michigan fan.  It was fun to watch.  However, I watch every Michigan game, and from Robinson's first pass in week one to his third interception in their loss to Michigan State last week, it was very clear that he takes chances in the passing game and his throws often come late and behind his receivers.  The Herbsteits of the world didn't seem to want to point that out.  In fact, most of the pundits were in awe of his accuracy.  Listen, it's not difficult to complete 70% of your passes when most are three yards.  He's a heck of a player, but he's not the most outstanding player in his conference, let alone the nation.

Not only does the hype get tired and stale, but even the winners of the award increase my apathy towards it.  First of all, 69 of the 75 winners, including 18 of the past 20, have played either quarterback or running back.  The stated mission of the Heisman trust is "The Heisman Memorial Trophy annually recognizes the outstanding college football player whose performance best exhibits the pursuit of excellence with integrity."  So, college football fans are supposed to believe that over the past 75 seasons, the best player in the country happened to play in the backfield 69 times?  It's beyond my comprehension why this is called "the most prestigious award in college football."  Someone find Gino Torretta and ask him if that trophy is anything more than a glorified paper weight.  I'm sure Wachovia Securities was very proud to "draft" a Heisman winner. 

At the end of this season, a few quarterbacks and running backs will gather in New York.  Perhaps a token receiver or cornerback with zero chance of winning will get a seat next to them.  Many will watch.  For a couple of hours prior to the announcement Chris Fowler will interview their coaches and talk about their unique background stories.  The winner will shed a tear during his speech, the camera will pan to the runners up who will begrudingly applaud the latest member of this "fraternity," and Sportscenter will have it's lede for the morning.  You'll just have to excuse my lack of excitement.