Dear Athletic Directors: Your Heisman Campaign Is a Waste of Money
by T.H. on Jul 1, 2010 10:46 PM EDT
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PrintWhen I read today that Florida State was starting a Heisman campaign for quarterback Christian Ponder, my first thought was, "Well that's a waste of money." Not that Ponder isn't talented enough to win a Heisman – he tore up UNC's secondary last fall, after all. It's that spending money to make sportswriters "aware" of Christian Ponder is ridiculous. If he's going to win the Heisman, it'll require FSU to being in strong contention for the national championship come December. And if they're that good, everyone will know who their quarterback is.
You may not think the performance of last year's abysmal Seminole defense would be particularly relevant to Ponder's chances for an individual award, but you'd be mistaken. The last Heisman winner to play for a team ranked lower than 15th was Ty Detmer in 1990; since then there have been only two winners whose team had more than two losses were Ricky Williams in 1998 and Tim Tebow in 2007. The ACC still doesn't present the level of competition where you can win the Heisman while dropping that many games. So save the postcards. If Ponder is going to reach that level, the sportswriters will figure it out.
(For the matter, the whole concept of a campaign for an award before the season starts is rather silly. In this day and age of constant ESPN coverage, no player of that caliber will get by unheralded. And any voter who may be swayed by a media packet in July needs to turn their vote over to someone who pays attention.)
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All Relative
What makes them “a waste of money” in your opinion? If the guy doesn’t win the Heisman? Then that means every campaign but one is a waste of money at some point.
What about the jerseys sold, tickets bought, t-shirts bought or any other revenue generated through the ventures?
Its all relative, if you see this as one single goal then great you can poo poo the publicity efforts, I see it as akin to every other “get ready for the season” promo that schools do. If FSU sells some extra tickets, jerseys, gets some more exposure and eyeballs on games then not only is it good for the program its good for the ACC.
Also, never forget that its not purely media. Its also a popularity contest and winning the masses. Its tough to win if people don’t know who you are until October.
Lastly I’m sure Toby Gerhart and Ndamukong Suh would have loved to get Heisman hype pre-season. Then instead of having to “get on the map” in the first half of the season then fight an uphill battle with a late Heisman push; they’d have been nationally known from jump. They finished high up in the race and both didn’t get their Heisman campaigns ramped up until well into October while the Tebow, McCoy machines were rolling pre-season.
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by InTheBleachers on Jul 2, 2010 6:17 AM EDT via mobile reply actions
Its a Waste a Money
Because it won’t move the needle of Heisman voters in one iota. Nor, for that matter, is it going to generate any revenue, as I can’t see there being an uptick in Christian Ponder jersey sales because the AD decided to send out some postcards. FSU fans will pile in and lay down their money based on how he plays, and their preseason excitement probably isn’t being moved by the shocking opinion that the school thinks their quarterback is good.
Let me put it this way. You now know there’s a Heisman campaign for Christian Ponder. Are you planning on watching a minute more of FSU football now than you were last week?
Any mass campaign yeilds results based on numbers, so yes, someone who wasn't paying a ttention to Ponder at all will take more notice as the season unfolds.
Also it will bring some attention and ultimately revenue to the program.
PS It’s already been on College Football Live, and being written about everywhere. I’d say if your measuring success by increased visibilty rather than a heisman win… which is much more realistic… mission accomplished.
Giddy-up!
Is every school pushing its quarterback to win the Heisman?
I just Googled “2010 heisman campaign,” and the only ones that came up (that were actual news-y items, not fan posts — e.g. “Ricky Dobbs for Heisman!”) were for Ponder and Jake Locker.
The school is putting its money where its mouth is by betting ad money on Ponder. People take notice, whether that’s logical or not. To a certain extent, I think it does make sense for casual ACC fans to pay more attention to Ponder because of FSU’s push. Conference homers will be monitoring Ponder anyway, of course.
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I'm an actual football fan
I watch football regardless. I’m going to pay attention to Ponder regardless, I know who he is going into the season and have been aware of him since he was recruited by FSU so I’m not the same as other folks.
Yes, I do believe there are people who will watch more because FSU has a marquee quarterback. It is the same reason ESPN/ABC/CBS/Fox etc say “Christian Ponder and the Noles take on Jacory Harris and the Canes” and other “player focused” game leads.
And as I said, the campaigns are just as much about media awareness of candidates as it is public awareness.
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by InTheBleachers on Jul 3, 2010 7:57 AM EDT up reply actions
A Couple of Points to Separate Out Here
One, broadcasters are going to make games player focused regardless. FSU hasn’t put together a Heisman campaign in the last ten years, but that doesn’t stop the promos from focusing on whatever big name is currently lighting up. I don’t think the amount of attention devoted to Christian Ponder is going to change a bit because of this campaign.
Second, the fact that you were going to pay attention to Ponder regardless is kind of point. Anyone paying attention at this point already knows who he is. Anyone not paying attention at this point… isn’t paying attention at this point. They’re not going to know any more about Ponder than they already did, because they’re watching baseball. Or competitive eating. Or whatever.
I think Heisman Pundit’s analysis of Jake Locker’s campaign falls along similar lines:
Can Locker win the Heisman? Normally I’d say no, but given the wide-open nature of this year’s race and the quick-shifting moods of the Heisman electorate in the digital age, I think he has a shot. Toby Gerhart nearly took home the Heisman last year and his team didn’t exactly challenge for the national title. With Locker widely seen as a top NFL talent, the idea that he is the nation’s best player won’t be too far fetched. But a lot of things have to go his way. He’s got to have a monster season statistically while helping the Huskies get to a decent bowl. He’s got to lead UW to big wins over the likes of Nebraska and USC. And he has to hope that none of the other candidates from more high-profile teams catch fire.
If a player – especially a quarterback – for a BCS team is going to be Heisman-worthy, he’s going to have to play well enough that it’s impossible to not know who he is, at which point the postcards in July are superfluous. If he doesn’t, no amount of hype is going to help him.
My point was that I know Ponder
Because I am not just a peripheral fan. When you can bring a guy on for an interview as Heisman hopeful, pre-season Heisman candidate etc that holds more cache with the general public. I’m balls deep in college football so I know guys like Dwight Dasher, Daniel Thomas and Armon Binns who might not be “heisman candidates” but are great players.
The point is folks not immersed in the college football world on a daily basis use these campaigns as something to sink their teeth into. Jake Locker is a prime example his draft status helps make him known, this East Coast media trip is to get him at the forefront of folks mind entering 2010 instead of him emerging a la Gerhart from a season ago. Him doing the ESPN carwash, the photo shoot with SI and ESPN the mag, the radio spots are what take average sports fans and put a name in their head entering the year.
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by InTheBleachers on Jul 6, 2010 6:33 PM EDT up reply actions
I am not sure what your major is but....
advertising works…thats why people do it.
I think DeAngelo Williams
Heisman campaign worked, if not for the Heisman, for getting him hyped up and drafted really high despite playing in a shotty conference with shotty defenses. Tech ran some small promotions for Calvin in 2006 but nothing too terribly serious. Sometimes it’s a good way to hype up a player without causing a big NCAA stir. You can get a guy drafted higher, which in turn helps your recruiting.
I write stuff From the Rumble Seat.
Apparently they're only successful if the player wins the Heisman though
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by InTheBleachers on Jul 3, 2010 7:58 AM EDT up reply actions
I'll Admit, Memphis Might Be a Different Story
But FSU isn’t Memphis. Absolutely nothing at Florida State is going to slip by under the radar. Feel free to change my post title to “BCS Conference Athletic Directors” if you so desire.
The only reason I can see to run a preseason campaign for your player among the BCS schools is to make him feel like you have as much faith in him as all the other schools putting forth campaigns for their players. The whole thing is an arms race with no point. Let the players succeed on the field, then lobby for their trophies.
I'll Put It This Way
If we had anything close to a Heisman candidate at UNC I’d want them to push him hard. Send him to Bristol, make the rounds at ESPN headquarters, have him sit in on ESPN Radio and First Take and do the SI photo shoot. Any chance we get to put his name, qb/rb/wr from UNC and the interlocking NC in front of recruits, pollsters, fans etc then do it.
Maybe you think this is just an A to B situation where A is campaign and B is “win Heisman.” I don’t see this as that black and white. Maybe it has no effect to you because a guy with a massive campaign hasn’t won the award and that may be true. For me I look at the other consequences as part of the total effect. If a recruit commits, a fan is converted, a game is put on television, a jersey is sold on the strength of pushing the UNC product and a player specifically I’m all for improving the program.
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It's Not That I See It as Black and White
I just think you’re really overestimating the effect that these promotions have on people who aren’t paying attention in July. It’s not that I don’t think this will win someone the Heisman, it’s that I think compared to how the guy actually plays, any effect from summer hype is so trivial as to be within the noise. Everyone keeps saying this is what’s required now, but I think for quarterbacks at big name schools, it just isn’t the case.
T.H. doesn't need the site because he saw this live
Ponder lacks arm strength? Think again.
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