It is that time of the year and I am not talking Christmas, Hanakuh, Kwanza, or whatever other consumer driven holiday your religion might celebrate. I'm talking College Football Bowl season. I get so excited when this time of year comes around. I'm like a little kid who just saw his penis become erect for the first time. THAT excited. But before I start blowing my load all over the tv for the next 3 weeks or so we need to tackle one issue that I have had with this College football season. That issue stands at 6'6 and weighs roughly 245 pounds. That issue would be Auburn quarterback, Cam Newton.
This Saturday is the presentation of the most prestigious award in all of College Football, the Heisman Trophy. Yeah yeah yeah, I know. Cam Newton put the Auburn Tigers on his back and has single handedly led them to the #1 ranking and a chance to play for the National Championship in the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl. The kid is arguably the best athlete in the country. What chaps my ass though is how corrupt the NCAA has become the past decade. Cam Newton's father, Cecil Newton, has been accused of soliciting his son's talents to colleges when he was playing in Junior College a year ago. Cam had his mind set on transferring to Mississippi State but reneged on his decision because his father was receiving payment, allegedly, from another institution. Cam ended up at Auburn, tore shit up, and naturally started being accused of these violations.
Before all of these allegations surfaced, I thought Cam Newton was the best player in College football and I firmly believed he was winning the Heisman. Aside from Andrew Luck, who I believe is the true Heisman winner now, no one was even close in the running. The NCAA conducted their investigation and came to the verdict that Cam Newton was ineligible to play the week leading up to the SEC Championship game. As we all expected, Auburn appealed the decision and Cam Newton was then declared eligible to play against The University of South Carolina. The NCAA's reasoning behind their change of mind was that Cam Newton wasn't aware that his father was shopping his services to schools. What a hot crock of shit. The NCAA pretty much chubby whacked America and College football in the face by saying this. In an earlier report, a representative from Mississippi State claimed that after Cam Newton made his decision to attend Auburn, he called Miss State and apologized saying he couldn't turn down the Tigers because "The money was too much". WHAM! Yep, that was the NCAA's crank leveling you right in the jaw.
What I don't understand is after the whole Reggie Bush scandal at USC, how does the NCAA and Heisman voters even consider a candidate who comes with all of this baggage? Look at Stanford quarterback, Andrew Luck. He has taken a program that was pretty much in College football pergatory and brought them back to prominence. Andrew Luck is so far, the projected #1 pick in the 2011 NFL Draft. In my opinion, this cat is the next elite NFL quarterback. Aside from tearing it up on the gridiron, Luck is excelling in the classroom and serving as a model citizen. He is everything, in my opinion, the Heisman Trophy should embody. So one should ask, "What is College football turning into? Is it an amateur sport or is it slowly becoming one of the largest businesses in the country?". I would have to say a little bit of both. If you look at it closely, people are making lots of money off of these amateur athletes (Schools, apparel companies, Cecil Newton, etc.). I don't have any problem with a person trying to make a buck. My problem is if all of these schools are making all this money then why can't the players get a taste of some of that cheddar? Oh because they are getting a free education? That is bullshit. I hardly consider Matt Leinart's Basket Weaving 101 course at USC an education. I mean these coaches who are bringing in these stud players and winning conference championships and Bowl championships are getting significant pay raises. Why not pay the players that are contributing to this winning?
I am all for a kid going to school and receiving a proper education if they are on scholarship. But you can't sit here and say that is what really is happening at some of these schools. Don't get me wrong, some of these student athletes are doing it the proper way (Andrew Luck). They are taking on a full schedule of legit college courses all while attending practice and then studying not only their playbook but also their text books. But when you have guys Reggie Bush, Cam Newton, and other blue chip players who are killing 3 years of time while they wait for their first year of pro eligibility to kick in, it just isn't fair for the ones who are taking advantage of their opportunity at hand.
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| Your soon-to-be Heisman Trophy Winner's mugshot |
Disclaimer: For anyone who thinks I am going against my journalistic intergrity by writing in favor of Andrew Luck and knocking on Cam Newton, you all are wrong. I'm a fucking blogger, I wouldn't know journalistic integrity if it took a running start and kicked me square in my ball bag.
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