Smitty City

How is Brady Quinn the best choice? I'm an Irish fan, but there's no way he's been as good as Troy Smith, or as important to his team. The system makes the QB at ND. If you throw 50 times a game you're going to get big numbers. Smith was more efficient and came up bigger in big games (ie: Michigan and Texas).

McFadden is a better athlete and also meant more to his team. I mean, he was Arkansas' entire offense! And they were competing for a BCS bid! Without McFadden, how many games does AK win, 2 or 3? That's the measure of a valuable player.

Also, the Heisman means squat. Quinn won a couple of the other "best player" awards. Why does the Heisman mean so much?

BTW-- the best punter for 2 years in a row, winner of the Ray Guy award, is at Baylor. If the Heisman means something, then that must mean something too.

First of all, the Ray Guy award does mean something. It's an award for the best college punter. The reason it gets not publicity is because no one cares who the best punter in the nation is. There is no reason to compare Heisman with Ray Guy.

Second, is the Heisman for the best player or the M.V.P...or the best player for the best team? The answer to that question is imperative for proper evaluation. Problem is...there is no definitive answer. In fact, some voters have admitted that what these athletes do off the field weighs in their decision.

And lastly, to answer your question - the Heisman means so much because of what the media has done for it. It is not a position award (like Ray Guy and Unitas). Supposedly, it is for the best college player...period. That is why it is so important.

With these things in mind, consider this quote from Bill Pennington is his book, "The Heisman"...

"Can anyone, for example describe what the National Football League's Most Valuable Player Award looks like? How many people can close their eyes and conjure the image of baseball's Cy Young Award? Quick, if you win the Indianapolis 500, what do you win? These are prizes, professional accolades for a task well done. They are not symbols, and by themselves they hold no mystique. They cannot be seen with eyes closed like the Statue of Liberty. They evoke no special meaning, offer no astract but undeniable allure. They are not a piece of an American athletic timeline, nor do they connote iconic fame or everlasting fraternity in an exclusive club. The mind's eye cannot see these awards because they do not represent an image of America at its best. Now close your eyes and picture the Heisman Trophy. The form is easy to conjure, a graceful, fluid pose that is football past and football present in one dignified figure. It is sculpture, peerless in American sport, with a beauty of motion and a sense of the sport it honors ... The setting for this seventy one year cultural narrative is college football and all its Sabbath-like, end of the week congregations in cathedrals draped in ceremonious colors. This is a place of ritualistic fight songs and traditional chants, marches, and slogans, where rivalries are transferred by generations and coaches are treated like tribal chiefs. With spiritual and transcendent connections, college football is like a religion in America. The Heisman Trophy winners are its mythic gods. They are the kings of the richest, most disparate, loyal dominion in American sport. Handed the Heisman Trophy, they are royalty forever set apart, an eminence that most used to achieve grander accomplishment."

dang smitty!... now THAT is what i call a comment.

That said, I never saw Brady Quinn ahead in any polls throughout the season. In fact, he almost completely dropped out of the race after the Michigan debacle. Troy Smith was #1 almost start-to-finish.

Off-the-field, Troy Smith gave the most intelligent interviews I think I've ever heard from any football player. The kid might do jack squat in the pros, but he'll sound good doing it.

And I refuse to think of Gino Toretta or Jason White as "mythic gods."

Any way that LT doesn't get NFL MVP this season?

I guess you're right...when you force yourself to be completely objective, Quinn isn't the man. But...if the Heisman should go to the best player (not the M.V.P.)...again the best player...you must give it to McFadden. Troy smith was incredibly classy, and I believe that ultimately the right decision was made, though these discussions are fun. I do believe that Quinn will be the first pick.

I couldn't agree more with Gino and Jason White. There are a few others that fit into that non-god status...Eric Crouch for example.

LT for president. I couldn't believe Marty's words about him at the post-game press conference. He epitomizes the way the game should be played, on and off the field. No doubt about the MVP. He might be the best "football player" I have ever seen in my lifetime. You?