Saturday, July 25, 2009

Daily Fail: Steve Spurrier & ESPN

Charlie Klein

Which SEC coach would have the audacity not to vote for Tim Tebow for a pre-season All-SEC first team spot!?!?! The ESPN coverage devoted to this almost comedic 'whodunnit' rivalled the attention the all sports network gives to Brett Favre.

Specualtion abounded that Lane Kiffin, Tennessee Volunteers new coach, was the coach thad did not vote for Tebow. After all, it fit with everything else Kiffin has done since he began making a mockery of the once storied football program at Tennessee in November of last year. On one particular occasion Kiffin accused Florida coach Urban Meyer for violating NCAA rules by contacting a recruit while he was on the UT campus when in actuality Kiffin violated SEC rules by his comments. All of that aside, it was not him.

SO WHO DID IT!?!?!

Steve Spurrier, final answer. After showing every other coach saying that they were not the ones who picked Ole Miss QB Jevan Snead over Tebow, ESPN finally gave us all the answer that was as satisfying as seeing the Crawford dunk on LeBron James. Spurrier was at a total loss as to how he managed to mess up the balloting for the preseason All-SEC team but apologized to Tim Tebow calling him one of the best Florida quarterbacks in school history. Spurrier's explanation was that the ballot had been filled out for him and that he did not give it a good look before signing off on it.

This whole story boggles the mind in more ways than one. First, it brings into question how accurate the USA Today Coaches' Poll is or is not. What if Spurrier had voted Oklahoma instead of Florida number one without even knowing it, just in the same way he voted for Snead instead of Tebow? Second, why is this such a big deal? Tebow himself said that it will not motivate him any more than he already is to do well. Tebow is not just going to tear up the Gamecocks because their coach was enough of a cock not to vote for him. Third, we all know who the best QB in the SEC is, so why is a pre-season all-conference team that important. No one remembers who was on last year's so who really cares who is on this year's? In the end it just shows the amount of hype that ESPN can give to the most unimportant of stories.

After all, Spurrier famously admitted that he really is not that much of a thinker, preferring to be referred to simply as 'the old ball coach.'

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