Friday, August 10, 2007

Matchup 15: Reggie Bush vs. Jeff Gordon

REGGIE BUSH--CREDENTIALS

  • Heisman trophy winner
  • Won national championship at USC
  • Numerous endorsements
  • Helped lead the historically-bad Saints to their first NFC Championship Game
  • But so did Drew Brees, Deuce McAllister, Marques Colston, Jammal Brown, Will Smith and Sean Payton
  • Like Matt Leinart, beneficiary of the ESPN/USC Hype Machine
  • Considered by ESPN to be a can't-miss superstar and the guaranteed first pick in the 2006 NFL Draft
  • He went 2nd
  • ESPN already treats the #1 pick in that draft (Mario Williams) as a bona fide bust because they didn't take Reggie Bush
  • Deuce McAllister, not Reggie Bush, was the Saints' leading rusher
  • Vince Young, not Reggie Bush, was the Offensive Rookie of the Year
  • Vince Young, not Reggie Bush, carried his team to the BCS National Championship in the 2006 Rose Bowl. Some people also argue that Young should have won Bush's Heisman too
  • ESPN virtually ignores stories about his mom being given a house while he was at USC
JEFF GORDON--CREDENTIALS
  • Current points leader for the 2007 NASCAR season
  • Four-time NASCAR Winston Cup/Nextel Cup champion
  • Has won 79 races
  • Is the "golden boy" of NASCAR, like Derek Jeter in baseball and Tom Brady in football
  • Cornerstone of NASCAR's efforts to expand its fan base beyond the South
  • Has his own soft drink
  • Frequent fill-in for Regis
  • Resented by some "traditional" Southern NASCAR fans (and Dale Earnhardt Jr. fans) because of his media and marketing attention
  • Has a squeaky-clean public image
  • But he left his wife and married a supermodel
  • Some people argue that this image also lets him get away with aggressive (maybe even dangerous) driving. That kind of stuff is more believable when a "jerk" like Tony Stewart does it
  • Sang "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" at (as he called it) "Wrigley Stadium"
  • Half of ESPN's over-simplified NASCAR coverage (Who will win this week's race: Jeff Gordon, Dale Earnhardt Jr., or somebody else?)

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