I'm new to this blog, but since I've been here, I've noticed a lot of hate for Kirk Herbstreit, as if he's some kind of traitor. That negative attitude really surprises me. Personally, I'm kind of proud of the fact that the face of college football on ESPN is a former Buckeye. So, I figured I'd give you folks the opportunity to convince me. Present your evidence, counselors! What is it in your minds that makes Kirk Herbstreit so despicable?
Here are some points in his defense:
- Herbstreit clearly displays his abiding affection for his alma mater on national TV. (Example: whenever Game Day comes to Columbus, he brings his kids onto the set at the end of the show decked out in Buckeye jerseys.)
- Yes, he moved to TN. But I have kids, too. So I understand his need (as a father) to shield his kids from the kind of negativity that some of the worst "fans" heaped on him when he went out in public. If I was basically being stalked by angry fans, I'd consider moving away from them, too.
- Yes, he repeated some of the false charges levied by George Dohrmann. But why wouldn't he believe the reporting of a Pulitzer prize winning journalist? How could he have known that Dohrmann was throwing his credibility away in a hit piece whose sole motive was character assassination? (Remember: Herbstreit is a commentator and an announcer, not a journalist himself.)
- Yes, I wish somebody - anybody - had had the guts to defend OSU and Jim Tressel when everyone - and I mean everyone - at ESPiN was trashing them. But, let's face it, Herbstreit couldn't be that person without completely losing credibility with his colleagues and all non-Ohio viewers.
So, with all that in mind, please convince me why Herbstreit deserves the derision that he is showered with on this website. Present your evidence, Prosecutor.
I actually like Herbstreit. I think he's good at his job. I think he's pretty smart. He's usually pretty well-informed.
So this doesn't fit, with a smart and well-informed guy:
This is the least forgivable thing in Herbstreit's case. Damned right, Herbie should know better than to accept anything on face value from a George Dohrmann (or a Detroit Free Press, or a Mike Downey, or a Michael Rosenberg, etc.)
btw: I was never convinced that Herbstreit moved away from Columbus to somehow get away from OSU fan-hostilities. And I won't believe it, until proven otherwise.
First of all he stated that Tressel shouldn't have recruited players like Pryor and Clarett, which was ridiculous, they were two players that were literally sought after by everyone in the nation.
The second issue was he stated that he wouldn't want his kids to play for Jim Tressel and Ohio State. What other OSU Alum would say that on national tv?
The third issue was his dropping OSU three places after they beat Arkansas in the Sugar Bowl. There is no logic that could explain that.
Several times during the tatgate scandal, and Tressel scandal he bought into the hype, trashed Tressel, and the football program. Robert Smith nor Chris Spielman did this. They remained level headed and reported and discussed about the situation without criticizing the university in the manner that Herbstreit did. Herbstreit did this, whereas with the Auburn issue he never jumped on Auburn, and also with this UNC issue why has he not jumped on them?
Another problem was the pissing contest he got into with Terrelle Pryor. He argued with, and tried to demean a college age kid. This made him looked stupid and immature. Possibly the saddest thing about the whole feud was the fact that Pryor actually made Herbstreit look like a fool.
I don't agree with anything that Herbie has said or done over the past few years with regards to Ohio State or the state of Ohio, but I will not and cannot begrudge him for moving. I think more than anything that move was for his kids. In Ohio his kids would be known as: Kirk Herbstreit "ESPN pundit, former Ohio State QB, potential fake Buckeye" 's kids. Somewhere else it's: "Your daddy is a sports pundit on ESPN with frosted tips!" 's kids.
Fans of anything aren't exactly rational, just take a look at the 'Bama fans, or any soccer fans in Europe/Mexico/Anywhere but the US.
all i'm sayin is 0-1 against scUM. guy just sucks.
theDuke
Ok, William, you got me with this one:
I never heard that, and if he actually said it, then he is guilty as charged. The rest of the points against him are just errors in judgment - not enough to deem him a traitor. But the point in the block quote above... as a Buckeye fan, that one really stings. It definitely goes above and beyond just repeating Dohrmann's lies.
Still, I have a sneaking suspicion that one of the subconscious sources of all the Herbstreit-hatred is the fact that chicks seem to dig him. Anyone willing to cop to that? :-)
Real fans stay for Carmen.
I honestly believe that Herbstreit didn't like Tressel. I don't remember Game Day before Tressel so I can't be sure what his opinions were then, but he has definitely been critical of Jim Tressel and Ohio State since Tressel has been the coach. Which leads me to believe that Herbie wasn't happy with the direction the program was taking, which also leads me to believe that perhaps he knew Ohio State was destined to be in the NCAA doghouse at some point. He loved is school and hated to see the direction the program was taking.
That being said, I think he totally picked the wrong method to voice those opinions. Saying his kid wouldn't play for a Tressel offense, criticizing Tressel for the kids he recruited, and just comments about the whole Tatgate situation and Rose Bowl. There was thing he said before the Sugar Bowl that gave me a lot of insight into Herbie's opinions. He essentially said if Tressel is the man he is made out to be he must suspend the kids for the bowl game. It was an opinion I didn't share back then but looking back I must say I agree. He basically said for Tressel to let them play, despite what the NCAA said, would shatter the very foundation of what Tressel teaches, preaches, and is all about. I think that gave a great insight into what Herbie's thoughts on Tressel were. He knew Tressel woudln't bench them, but pointing that out made me believe that he knew Tressel was a bit of a hypocrite when it came to the football side of life. I don't like the comments Herbie made about the program or Tressel, but I think it was his way to voice displeasure with the direction of the program. He's been far less critical in interviews lately, even going as far as saying he'd definitely send his kid to play for Tressel coached teams. He's been complimentary and is trying to save face. Don't be surprised to see a much more Pro-Ohio State Herbie now.
One thing about Herbie that I can't defend, and what made him look like a total douchebag, was how he got into a pissing contest with a 20 year old kid on Twitter and in the media. He also came off like a real ass on his Twitter account. He can't be defended there, but most of the stuff, while I disagreed with it, was more about his concern for the program than hate for Ohio State. Now that Tressel is gone, I have a feeling Herbie is going to try and get back on the good side of Ohio State fans.
Pretty much he works for ESPN therefore he punts puppies.* It's an extremely facile argument that most people make when regarding Herbstreit. ESPN is big meanies, we're victims. Something, something, SEC. Case closed.
*Not even those really ugly Chinese Cresteds. Like beautiful little Weimaraner puppies.
Taquitos.
Well Put Denny. I mostly agree with what you are saying, but definitely don't think Herbie has done himself any favors either.
Doesn't Spiels work for ESPN too? I haven't seen too many bad words regarding him on this site.......
William said it all. Funny, he and I have gotten into some seriously heated exchanges here in the past, but I echo his post whole-heartedly. Dropping Ohio State in the rankings after beating Arkansas is probably his worst transgression. Technically, none of this stuff actually matters. His opinions won't drive recruits away, taking part in shoddy reporting won't destroy Ohio State, he's just another talking head whose words have little carry. And technically college polls don't matter, either, unless you happen to be ranked 1st or 2nd. 3rd thru 119 are all the same.
But, after all we've been through since 2006, after all that crap about the SEC, after all this crap about how slow OSU plays, and after Herbie was ultimately a voice of reason to all of that criticism over the years, to go and drop Ohio State after CREAMING top-10 Arkansas in that game (the 2nd half was largely a product of Pryor's injury...still beat the spread) is almost unforgivable...and it's not like he has apologized for his error...but it wasn't an error.
I'm a chick (well, mabye a hen) but I don't dig Herbie at all. He is tan 365 days and colors his hair. Yuck.Too pretty boy for me. But, I am sure he does very well with the 18-25 year old crowd. If I was that age, I would probably dig him too.
Umm what on earth does Herbstreit working for ESPN have to do with what he has said about the university? I could care less about his employer, it's what he has said about OSU that has pissed off the fanbase. @Isn't it Saturday: Several OSU alumni work for ESPN including Robert Smith, and Chris Spielman, as well as Jay Crawford. While Jay Crawford is an ultrahomer, and far from objective, both Spielman and Smith are level-headed and don't act like little divas like Herbstreit.
'Umm what on earth does Herbstreit working for ESPN have to do with what he has said about the university?'
Nothing. But that doesn't stop people from jumping to absurd conclusions.
Also, Jay Crawford went to BGSU and therefore has zero valid opinions (and also probably the clap).
Taquitos.
Here are the best summarized reasons anybody needs.
http://www.elevenwarriors.com/2011/01/herbie-the-impaler
http://www.elevenwarriors.com/2011/05/concrete-blonde
If these don't convince you, then nothing else will.
Thanks for the links, Enzo. I enjoy Ramzy's articles. He is very persuasive. These articles certainly explain the general antagonism toward Herbstreit that I have experienced on this website.
Thanks also to Denny for replying with the sense of humor that I've come to expect from this website. He demonstrated that a good chuckle is worth 5 persuasive arguments any day of the week! :-)
Real fans stay for Carmen.
Thanks Enzo. i thought about trying to remember how to find those, but i figured someone would put them up as exhibit A. Well done.
theDuke
I've been off the Herbie bandwagon ever since the Alamo Bowl. That game capped the same season where he made his infamous remarks regarding letting his kids play on a Tressel offense.
For those of you who don't remember, the Alamo Bowl happened right after the big MoC piece came out slamming the university (all of which turned out to be complete B.S.). Even though that is one of my all time favorite bowl games to watch, I have to do in with the mute on in order to avoid Mike Tirico talking about the Clarett piece every 5 minutes. And all the while Frosty just sat there and said nothing. That was definitely when I began to sour on ol' Herbie.
"Anything easy ain't worth a damn." - Wayne Woodrow Hayes
I support your opinion, and have gotten into some pretty heated debates on 11W defending Herbstreit. It's worth admitting that the haters do have a few good points.
Class of 2008
Herbstreit is a douche...unlike other OSU alumni working in broadcasting, Kirk has gone overboard to try and get the rest of the college football world to NOT view him as an OSU "homer". He has made some of the most ridiculous comments I've ever heard on TV and they all center around him not wanting his SEC buddies (he did move to Nashville...amidst the SEC footprint) to dislike his love of a "northern team/OSU".
The ultimate slam was on a GameDay set in Columbus, he actually picked Michigan to win the 2006 game and that idiot Corso picked OSU....yeah, I know, the Herbie sympathizers will say that's what he had to do since Corso was picking OSU and Herbie had to take the other team. Rubbish. Plus he didn't even comment when that "traitor & poser" Desmond Howard & the dude Jessica Simpson dumped actually sung that stupid Victards Fight Song from atop Ohio Stadium...nary a word from old bigtime alumni Herbie...
That's my story and I'm sticking to it....
Go Bucks!!!!
Herbstreit's anti-OSU antics began about the same time the BTN started to pick up steam. Coincidence? I don't think so.
Make no mistake Herbstreit is currently the most high profile cfb personality at ESPiN (who isn't expected to retire in 4-5 years). I think someone from Bristol sat down with him sometime in 2007-2008 and had a discussion about his future with the company.
I think all of this baloney was done by Herbstreit intentionally to distance himself from tOSU with the blessing of the folks in Bristol. Unlike Speilman and Smith, Herbie is trying to position himself as a cfb personality who transcends a single school or conference, like a modern day Keith Jackson.
#fistpumpgobuckeyes
Herbie and I are the same age and I remember him way back before he was the face of ESPiN. I have to agree that he has taken great lengths never to come across as a homer yet feels obligated to critize the bucks because of his prior relationship with OSU. I could not agree more with TP when he called him a fake buckeye and he is. Speilman would cut off his left arm and beat mark may to death with it before he would say and do what herbie has done. Mentioning him in the same sentence as speilman is an insult to him to speilma. One was a great player and the other a douchbag wannabe pretty boy.
I know of only two things that are infinite, space and human stupidity.....and I'm not sure about space". Albert Einstein.