I learned much when I crisscrossed the country in 2004, blogging in all those cities. One gem is this — if you go against the popular opinion in media – even if you state the obvious – the media will turn their back on you. You either get on board, or kiss your positive media coverage goodbye. No matter what they taught me in journalism school and no matter how much journalists strive to be objective, everything they see, hear and report is siphoned through a big old, 120-250 pound, biased “carbon filter.”
I said “they” but I should say we. No doubt I too suffer from this human weakness. Case in point, tomorrow I will post an interview of Blue Oyster Cult leader Buck Dharma – whose soul now will live on for eternity as the voice singing in the famous SNL “More Cowbell” skit – “Don’t Fear The Reaper.”
Why do I write about music? Because I can’t finger a chord, or hit a note. How obvious! If I wanted power, and had none, I would write about politics – the current bastion of biased reporting. (Don’t get me started on the unproven, unknown and perhaps dubious nature of the current “golden boy.”)
And if I had never been skilled enough to make the team in sports … well … I would have become a sports writer and probably had the same lack of insight into sports.
So, if you never were chosen in playground football, and you never left the bench in a gym, how could you possibly understand the fast-paced inner workings of scrimmage? How could you know what goes on in the mind of a player, much less a coach? You couldn’t. You would refer to the best manipulated-by-PR-types statistics and rely on who has the best buffet in the pressbox.
Can you believe these guys … oh and now ladies too? Somewhere high in the pecking order, someone anoints a player and no matter how inaccurate, undeserved and without merit the decree might be — the rest of the sports writing phylum files in.
Case in point – Chase Daniel. He is obviously gifted, heroic and has tremendous leadership attributes (and a silly haircut). Sometime last month, the media decided Chase would be the next Heisman Trophy winner. OH get this – the sports media have also been enchanted by the “PR genius.” The school promoted Daniel on a View Master – the childhood photo sharing toy from yesteryear. Whew! I have only seen that gimmick about 5 times in my PR career … Pretty heady stuff. (Note to self – the media can be influenced with trinkets … even borrowed ideas …)
Well my dear fellow journalists, I have news for you. Did you watch OSU whip Mizzou last night? No, Chase Daniel is not the best player in the country. Chase Daniel is not the best quarterback in the country. Chase Daniel is not the best quarterback in the Big 12. And, my dear learned colleagues, Chase Daniel wasn’t even the best quarterback in the OSU-Mizzou game last night.
So, although it is more palatable to continue drinking the KoolAid and stuffing down the hometeam hotdogs (Daniel plays for Mizzou, where some of the best and most influential journalism received their credentials) … it is time to eat crow. Admit you were wrong and move on.
And now, shout out to last night’s network that aired the Missouri upset. Between plays, you featured two other quarterbacks who now have been anointed as other candidates for the coveted Heisman. Sam Bradford from Oklahoma and Colt McCoy from Texas. Both are phenomenal and deserving of accolades ad infinitum. However – big HOWEVER — the network, biased as it is, neglected to show the leading passer in the Big 12, who is the leading passer in college football. Can you believe this?
Well … one more news flash for you. Daniel, Bradford and McCoy are not the best in the Big 12 either. (Am I the only one who has noticed that McCoy looks like young Newt in the Lonesome Dove film epic?) The Sooner and the Longhorn do, however, operate the biggest, most powerful offensive machinery in the conference. (The analogy is this, does driving a Mack truck make you a better driver than someone in a dune buggy, if they cross the finish line first?)
So, “Brad” and “Mac” do have the biggest advantages — granted. But, alas, the Heisman is supposedly about individual performance. So, the sports media, being the misguided nation they are, confuse having all the advantages with having the most talent. (Also granted, Chase Daniel is surrounded with some of the best players in the game at Missouri.)
There is, however, one quarterback breaking all records known to man (and female sports media) with a ragtag bunch of leftovers whom other schools didn’t want (oh and one superstar, yet overrated receiver), at an unpopular little school on the dusty plains. His coach is so far advanced in his genius strategies that he totally offends and baffles the media – so they write him off.
http://www.depts.ttu.edu/athletics/passorcatch2008/
Last thought: it is not entirely the fault of the journalists. The media executives do weigh in and there is considerable emphasis placed on players who have the potential to bring in the most TV viewers.
That’s all. I will get off my soapbox. I will go back to writing about things of which I DON’T understand.
