Powerful piece. I'm going out on a limb and guessing this guy won't be working for ESPN any time soon. I'm not sure Herbstreit is as biased as he said, but he sure made a good case. It was nice to see it get laid out in print. All that aside, I still can't complain about the coverage LSU got last year, though several other fan bases probably can. I think we got a lot of positive play. I didn't appreciate how they stayed on Miles even after he made it clear he wasn't going, but heck, drama sells, so they just helped create a little. They are in business to grab our very small attention spans. You can guarantee we will hear plenty about what a "troubled young man" RP is when our games are televised, and that will get old, but RP will just have to shut them up, just like Miles did. I don't know. This stuff bothers me less and less. If other fan bases are silly enough to believe everything they read about us, whoopdidoo. I will just keep enjoying Miles kicking all their butts.
Interesting but as so many have pointed out, it is often our own internal biases/thoughts that can impact how we see the information being presented. Here are some comments about Herbie from a Buckeye fan and one who follows the program closely: As for Judas, errr Herbie, he is persona non grata to a lot of former players and the Athletic Department. It started in '03 when Herbie went behind Tressel's and Geiger's back and went against their requests and interviewed Clarett live on Gameday (Washington game) without anyone's permission from the AD. That was the start of a strained relationship between Herbie and Ohio State and it has gotten progressively worse. I don't care about him not fawning over Ohio State, but I ask for him to be objective about all programs. The incident with the Clarett interview was the tip of the iceburg. How does an analyst get on national tv and say that no offensive recruit should come to Ohio State (this after a victory against NC State)? I don't care if it was Herbie or Desmond Howard, that is ridiculously unprofessional and it is damaging to a program. Has he dared say anything like that about any other program despite some other programs struggling at times? No. How about when he is going on and on about why Pryor should go to Michigan instead of Ohio State? I have never heard him talk about any other recruit and a specific school he should go to. Then to top it all off he says, "get ready for Maurice Clarett the sequel" after he commits. If he goes to Michigan or Penn State I can guarantee you he would not have said that and would have gone on about how he was the perfect fit for Michigan, but not mention any character concerns. How about the Alamo Bowl ambush by ESPiN that went on and on with unsubstantiated rumors and hearsay (which the NCAA found not true) and then concluded Tressel should be fired. Herbie, instead of defending tOSU and providing a different viewpoint, agreed on the air. Due to that ambush, Andy Geiger had to fall on his sword early. Where is the ESPiN coverage of other scandals at other schools and the calls for head coaches to be fired for transgressions because of a particular player? I don't hear Robert Smith or Clark Kellogg saying the things Herbie does and they don't fawn over Ohio State either. Herbie is still friends with players from the Cooper era like Eddie and others, but the players that come out of the Tressel era are tired of his schtick and attacks on Ohio State. When players hear anyone constantly bashing the program while they are in school you will grow to hate him. This isn't someone trying to make a splash in the local media. This is ESPiN and unfortunately ESPiN is influential with high school recruits. He bit the hand the fed him early by using his "family" status to get inside information and then splash it on ESPiN. All we ask is that he be objective with all teams.
Pointing out that Matt Hayes is a Florida homer and that: "I don't know how he can type... doesn't the mullet get in the way?" :rofl:
The author of that blog basically believes ESPN is anti-SEC and anti-South in general. Yet, I've read plenty of others who felt that ESPN was wrong for pimping the SEC all last year when it came to college football. In fact, I read a lot of people furious about the ESPN love-fest for the SEC last year. Didn't ESPN just broadcast the Spring Game (Orange vs. Blue) of the Florida Gators? I'm not a big ESPN follower, so it would be interesting to know what other program they have that done that for.
Great read. One question... Until this article, I missed the whole Herbstreit jumping up and down thing when OSU ran back the TD against Florida. Is that really true?
