THE URBAN PEACH GUEST WRITER... Redmond Wheeler Flemming
My Great Friend, College Basketball Teammate AND College ROOMMATE Redmond Wheeler Flemming weighs in on how his favorite football team does not get the respect they deserve...AUBURN. ENJOY.
MEDIA AND THE HYPE MACHINE
Last night's victory over the Gamecocks left the great town of Auburn, Alabama rocking. After much post game celebration with friends and family, it was time for bed and to again escape from reality (with the first occurring earlier that night after Cam “Scootin” Newton's 52 yard sprint down the sideline- Unreal speed!).
Now, it is a common Sunday tradition of mine to browse the various SEC headlines around the internet, with my main source being ESPN.com. I try my best read stories covering all teams, but I will admit there is definitely an initial attraction towards articles covering Auburn's previous days.
Similar to the articles that followed last week's Auburn-Clemson game, “professionals” at ESPN have found a way to once again disassociate Auburn from a winning program. Sure, they acknowledge the fact that Auburn had numerical advantage over South Carolina on the scoreboard, and that they are therefore declared “winners,” but there is an obvious shot at the integrity of Auburn's win.
Here is one quotes that proves to be particularly bothersome:
“The Tigers trailed Clemson 17-0 late in the first half last week before winning in overtime on a missed field goal. They escaped again without needing the lucky break.”
1) (Still harping on Clemson) Auburn did not win on a missed field goal. Auburn won because they scored points in overtime. Clemson's missed field goal did NOTHING but prove that it is difficult to make a trivial field goal in overtime under Jordan-Hare's pressure.
2) Similar to last week, Auburn did not win, they just “escaped.” Yeah, right. You don't escape with 334 rushing yards and school breaking records from Cam Newton.
3) “lucky break” -Auburn is not talented, they are just lucky. Auburn does not hit hard on defense, just ask Kyle Parker (who still might be stumbling from his game against Auburn). Auburn's defense did not force Steve Spurrier to ditch Garcia and go to freshman quarterback Connor Shaw in crucial moments of the game. And when the freshman panicked under the pressure, Auburn did not force two late turnovers, either. Yeah, right.
Is Auburn perfect? Not even close. Are they a great program that wins football games? Yes. At moments, have they been equally as impressive as any other team in the nation? I say yes. Yet, most importantly, are they treated as a top tier program? Not to the media... check this section of Chris Low's article out:
“Alabama and Arkansas both had their moments when they resembled championship football teams. The difference was that Alabama finished like a champion, coming back from 13 points down to hand Arkansas a bitter 24-20 defeat at Razorback Stadium.”
What a joke! Finish like a champion. Did Alabama not get lucky that Mallet threw picks on his final two possessions? Was it finishing like a champion for not going up on the scoreboard until the 4th quarter? Get real. And what has Arkansas done this year that is completely deserving of all their hype? Didn't they previously go a pretty unimpressive 3-5 in the SEC? I'm not saying that these are not two great teams, I'm just saying their portrayal by “unbiased” media is very unfair and is designed to promote particular teams to the college hype machine. Auburn, lucky? Yeah right.
War Damn
Bigwheel
Good article...but alabama winning on the road against arkansas is WAYYY more impressive than Auburn winning at home against Carolina. Alabama did not get lucky that Mallett threw 2 picks. Alabama forces Mallett into bad decisions just like they did last year when they manhandled them 31-7. I went to Auburn and South Carolina so im not biased at all in my opinion. Auburn is a very good football team and I think the winner of their game wins the west. Auburn with maybe 1 loss and bama undefeated. I know you like Auburn but cmon man. Bama is strong and has the best coach in any sport at any level.
ReplyDeleteLife long Auburn fan, safe to say hes a little biased
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteI guess I need to clarify my argument a little bit.
ReplyDelete"Did Alabama not get lucky that Mallet threw picks on his final two possessions?"
It's more of a hypothetical shot at the article calling Auburn lucky. I completely agree that Alabama FORCED Mallet into turnovers by means of pressure, just as Auburn similarly FORCED USC into doing the same.
All I am saying is that the media can GREATLY influence how a team is portrayed. It's this same influence that dictates preseason rankings, promotes a positive/negative image for recruiting, and ultimately decides who is a "top program." It's the same influence that makes a team like Notre Dame great every year, even though they may not be nearly as deserving.
And who ever mentioned anything about impressiveness of a victory? This impressiveness, is it measureable, or is it just a gut feeling similar to that rumble in your stomach after downing some gameday loaded nachos? It obviously was not back in 2004...
Bring me a man that's not biased, and I'll stand there all day staring into blank space saying, "Where is he?"
I agree with your statement on the Media. Great example with ND. I hate ND with a passion bc of all the LOVE they get for not being significant since the late 80's early 90's really.
ReplyDeleteAuburn was just screwed in 04. No other way of saying it. Screwed royally. No way OK should have played in that game and you are right, media played a role in that.
Heres hoping USC can pull off a miracle and beat bama!