Poseur: a person who pretends to be what he or she is not : an affected or insincere person (per Merriam-Webster dictionary).
As of Monday, despite his team’s loss to Kansas, Travis Hunter is still the betting favorite to win the Heisman Trophy. But, I believe he should be disqualified for arrogance and stupidity. Hunter has done it multiple times this year and I do not care to dive into each of his “me over team” indiscretions. Just the one this past Saturday that set a new standard for tone deaf. Even Mr. FishDuck took a moment from his fun at Monster Casino to discuss his shared displeasure with me.
For those who missed it, his team was trailing 23-14 in the third quarter against a mediocre Kansas Jayhawks team in a game that Colorado ultimately lost 37-21. Hunter scored a touchdown, then, in my humble estimation, he did the unthinkable.
He struck the Heisman pose.
That’s right; in a situation in which one should not strike the Heisman pose, he struck the Heisman pose.
In the aftermath, here are some text responses I received from friends and fellow college football fans:
“I saw that. What an idiot.”
“They (Colorado) really deserved the L after that.”
“He’s so annoying.”
“What a fool, gotta love it.”
“Dips—.”
“Oh, of course, to heck with the team, it’s all about him.”
‘‘“He ‘Heisman’d’ it’ with a deficit? Unbelievable.”
It is like a pretty girl at a bar repeatedly slapping you across the face for an inappropriate comment you made, and then you bragging that she had her hands all over you. On the gridiron, it reminds me of when a defensive back celebrates, taunts, and trash-talks after a hard hit he delivers on a wide receiver who had just burned the defense for 65 yards. “Ummmmmm… what are you celebrating there, buddy? You just gave up a huge play.”
I am sure he is a fine young man. I’m not here to attack him personally, I am here to comment on a brief moment of behavior on the football field. I am not here to be a grumpy old curmudgeon. I am not here to make some grandiose, holier-than-thou, declaration on the declining state of today’s youth. And, I am not here to be some old-fart, get off my lawn, enlarged prostate, bitching and moaning, “Ya know, back in my day,” type of cranky and out-of-touch gray-beard (yeah, I just turned 50).
But, I am here to say, “That was ridiculously freaking lame-ass stupid!”
In contrast in 1991, leading by 14 points, Heisman front-runner Desmond Howard of Michigan struck the pose on a punt return that solidified a win against Ohio State to cap off a 10-1 season that sent the Wolverines to the Rose Bowl. (Husky receiver Mario Bailey delivered an appropriately timed mocking of Howard’s pose in the Rose Bowl in which the Huskies dominated.)
That is an example of when to do it, with a big lead in a meaningful last game of the year. The idea of doing it when you are trailing in the third quarter against a sub-.500 team is absurd.
I am now wholeheartedly rooting against Hunter to win the award. Colorado plays last-place Oklahoma State this Saturday and I will be rooting hard for the Cowboys. It would be so sweet if they took the Heisman away from Hunter and the Buffs.
I have a feeling that even if he is the leader in the eyes of many Heisman voters, he is no longer their “favorite.”
Darren Perkins
Spokane, WA
Top photo credit: Video
Natalie Liebhaber, the FishDuck.com Volunteer Editor for this article, works in technology in SLC, Utah
Share your thoughts about this team in the only free, “polite and respectful” Oregon Sports message board, the Our Beloved Ducks forum!
Related Articles:
Darren Perkins is a sales professional and 1997 Oregon graduate. After finishing school, he escaped the rain and moved to sunny Southern California where he studied screenwriting for two years at UCLA. Darren grew up in Eugene and in 1980, at the tender age of five, he attended his first Oregon football game. His lasting memory from that experience was an enthusiastic Don Essig announcing to the crowd: “Reggie Ogburn, completes a pass to… Reggie Ogburn.” Captivated by such a thrilling play, Darren’s been hooked on Oregon football ever since. Currently living in Spokane, Darren enjoys flaunting his yellow and green superiority complex over friends and family in Cougar country.