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December 13, 2005

Novice View of the Heisman

The Heisman trophy is given at the end of the football season to "the most outstanding college football player". The votes are made by the media and sepatrated by region.

Each Section within the United States has 145 media votes, totaling 870 media votes across the country. Additionally every former Heisman winner, 52 presently, has a vote as well. In 1999, The Heisman Trophy agreed to develop a special program to allow the public at large to become part of the balloting process by permitting one (1) fan vote eligible in the overall tabulation. This program continues in 2005, bringing the total number of voters for the 2005 Heisman race to 923.

This year Reggie Bush, a running back from USC, won.

I noticed two things this year in the run for the Heisman. Maybe I was paying more attention since Vince was in the running. I was watching Texas when Ricky won, but I had less of a clue then as I do now.

1. Reggie Bush had tons of hype from ESPN and other media. When watching the football shows the announcers seem to include the word Heisman in the same sentence as Reggie. Pete Alfono of the Star Telegram also agrees:

He was beaten by the sheer weight of publicity generated for a great player in a glamorous media capital that knows how to promote people with star quality. (full op-ed here)

Pete Fiutak, who thought that Bush should have won, talks about the importance of the media:

Honestly, how many times did you watch Young play this year? You saw the Ohio State game, maybe part of the Texas A&M game and possibly the first half of the Big 12 Championship, but Young simply didn't get the all-around exposure Bush did, and he didn't have the panache of "Mr. 619."


2. Bush may have had the President's last name, but Vince Young is getting the same treatment as the President does by the media. The sports talk shows and the boards that my hubby reads are all a buzz about Vince's reaction to loosing. Many people who don't like Texas are calling Vince a whiner. The only quote I could find from Vince when asked about not winning are listed below.

"Right now, I feel like I let everybody down," said Young, who might have been the most downcast Heisman finalist in the award's 71 years. "My teammates, my family, the city of Austin, the city of Houston. I let everybody down."
"I'm a little upset right now," Young said, not trying to hide his disappointment. "Right now, I feel like I let my guys down. I feel like I let my family down. I feel like I let the city of Houston [his hometown] down. That's how I am."
"I just felt like I didn't represent my team, my family or my fans," Young said. "Reggie Bush is a great athlete. He won, so I'm happy for him."

Has anyone talked about or made a big deal about this?

Asked about Young's disappointment, Bush's response included: "That's not my problem."

Again, the media and people in general, pull what they want to hear from what people say. Or maybe what they expect to hear.

I am no where close to throwing stats, facts, or good reasons on who should have won. But I do think that this years Heisman run may have shown the effects of biases.


Posted by on December 13, 2005 07:59 PM |

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Comments

No way. No way. Have you seen Reggie Bush play? That boy may be the BEST football player I have ever seen. Ever.

The hype was true. This kid is good.

Hype plays into the voting EVERY year. This year Reggie got over 85% of the votes. The biggest margin in Heisman voting EVER. That's not just hype.

Vince Young needs to quit whining. He lost fair and square.

Posted by: caltechgirl | December 14, 2005 02:51 PM