College football writer gives up Heisman vote

I liked it because fuck the Heisman trust. My like or dislike for Dennis Dodd has nothing to do with my opinion of the story. If Lupica had written this story, I probably would have hated it, because it would have been at least 60 percent more whiny and 150 percent more smarmy.

 

Worse. They're tossing certain guys if they reveal their votes.

 

I don't bitch and whine as much as Norrin? I guess I have some work to do.

And, while I might agree he comes off as jaded, I think we should remember that he's given so many opportunities to do so.

In a pre-internet world, where space was at a premium, would anyone have even run this?

I would have just preferred a far less personal version of the story. I don't care about writers who didn't like their seat assignment, or didn't care for the tome of the coach's voice.

If there enforcing this policy for the first time, tell us that. Tell us you're not going to vote anymore. Report it a little. OK, so 9 guys didn't return your call. Are any other writers going to no longer vote? You obviously talked to some, since you know not everyone received the same letter.

 

Why would someone tamper with the Heisman vote? Has any ever been any proof that it was in the era where a fan would only see his or her newspaper columnist's vote, and that's it?

 

It just doesn't move the needle.

Today's news consumers are not impressed by the perceived travails of "those guys who get in for free and get fed and paid to watch games." This, like the APSE open letter about seating, comes off as whiny.

No one cares about the trials and tribulations of sports journalists.

 

This all brings up the issue of whether journalists should be newsmakers in the first place by voting for an award.

 

Why not?

It's just sports. They're not deciding who is president.

I would prefer the Hall of Fame vote didn't sometimes hinge on whether someone was nice to the press, but all of these types of things have to account for decision makers' self-interest.

 

I haven't cared about the Heisman voting since Gordie Lockbaum.

As for this column, I don't think Dodd will get much overall sympathy because the Heisman is an award that increasingly lacks prestige and mystery. I'm not sure most sportswriters, much less readers, really care about it anymore.

It's apparently not worth fighting for.

 

I vote we don't vote.

 

The column is inside baseball more suited for the APSE or the National Sports Journalism Center to discuss. The average reader doesn't care.