A day in the life of a Heisman winner
New York, New York Bradford and his entourage soak in the city as media frenzy surrounds Sooner quarterback
BY JAKE TROTTER
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86
Published: December 15, 2008
Oklahoma football player Sam Bradford puts his hands on the original Heisman Trophy, which is on display at the Sports Museum of America, after being awarded the Heisman Trophy Saturday, Dec. 13, 2008 in New York. (AP Photo/Julie Jacobson)
NEW YORK — Oklahoma’s sophomore quarterback woke up with a new title Sunday morning.
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Sam Bradford: the 74th
Heisman Trophy winner.
"It’s going to be cool when we get back home,” he says.
Too bad for Bradford that Heisman winners don’t get to sleep much the day after winning the award.
Bradford; his parents Kent and Martha; family friend and
Oklahoma Christian golf coach
Kelsey Cline; OU sports information director
Kenny Mossman;
Rob Garguilo from the Heisman trust; two reporters; a photographer; and the Heisman Trophy comprise Bradford’s entourage Sunday.
Before the group leaves the
Hilton, one man recognizes Martha from TV and says, "Your son is the best; everyone was talking about Tebow this, Tebow that, but your son...”
The first stop, about 8:25, is the
Fox News Channel, where Bradford is a scheduled guest on Fox & Friends with
Dave Briggs,
Alisyn Camerota, and
Clayton Morris.
First, Bradford is asked to pick four
NFL games. He goes with the Panthers, Giants, Steelers and Jets.
Bradford is asked another a question he might as well get used to. Will he leave for the NFL Draft?
"We’ll see,” he says. "It’s a long time before I have to make that decision.”
Briggs, Morris and Bradford go outside to throw the football into a net on-air. Bradford, wisely, abstains.
Everyone worries Morris is going to overthrow the net and tag a cab driving down 6th Avenue. He doesn’t.
For the crew, Bradford signs a copy of
Sports Illustrated that featured him on the cover last month before leaving the studio.
Bradford’s
SportsCenter appearance is canceled, apparently because
ESPN can’t get a truck out to
Manhattan.
So, the group heads for the
CBS College Sports studio.
On the way, Kent points out that he has never been to New York before and how amazing the city is.
Said Kent, "I can’t believe how many tall buildings there are.” Not a bad way to see New York for the first time, watching your son win the Heisman.
It’s 9:12, and the
CBS studio is located at the
Chelsea Piers.
There,
Adam Zucker conducts a taped interview with Bradford. Zucker also interviewed
Jason White the day after he won the Heisman in 2003.
"It hasn’t really fully hit me yet,” Bradford says. "Maybe in a couple weeks it will.”
Eventually, the elephant in the room is finally addressed.
"Jason White warned me that
Billy Sims was going to yell ‘Boomer,’ and to be prepared to yell ‘Sooner’ back,” Bradford tells Zucker.
Bradford also says the team watched his cartwheel goal-line leap in
Stillwater at least 10 times in slow motion.
"It was pretty interesting to watch,” he says.
To welcome Bradford, meanwhile, the CBS crew has had the Bedlam game playing on all the TVs.
After Martha declines, CBS convinces Kent to go on camera for a few minutes. At one point, a CBS producer interrupts the interview and asks both parents what they told Bradford growing up.
What is the secret formula?
Work hard? Dedicate yourself?
"No, we just told him that we love him,” Martha responds.
When Kent is done, he gets up and points to the chair, saying, "All right, Mar, you’re up.”
She laughs, but no way is she going on camera.
Bradford signs a copy of the
New York Times sports section, which has a big picture of Bradford on the cover, for the producer’s son, a budding quarterback.
As everyone walks out of the studio at 9:58, the CBS TVs are about to show the Stillwater whirlybird, Bradford’s defining Heisman moment.
Bradford and Cline laugh as the play unfolds.
A few feet away, however, Martha isn’t laughing; she’s shaking her head.
But during the slow-motion replay, still shaking her head, Martha also lets out a smile.
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I don't know what ESPN has against OU, but I have had it with them this year. I sent an email to them after one game because I was so tired of "Herbie" pronouncing Gresham's name wrong over and over. I think all Sooner fans need to let them know how obviously biased their coverage was this year. All 3 boys seemed to be good role models. Sam deserved the trophy because of his football season. It was simply better than Tebow's.
Lastly, I am sorry, but I was tired of Sims' "Boomer" during the Heisman presentation. I think it is perfectly fine for him to say it once or twice for the excitement factor, but over and over was a bit much. He was NOT doing this just because of school pride. Those of you who think that was the reason should look at the footage again. You could tell by his actions he wanted to be in the spotlight. I think everyone in the room was ready for Billy to be quiet.
GO SOONERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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GO SOONERS! WIN THE BCS!!!
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GO SOONERS! WIN THE BCS!!!
Congratulations Sam!
I like the sooners being underdogs. I remember they were underdogs 8 years ago in Miami playing against a dominate team from Florida.
Oh yeah...way to go Sam...you are awesome!
espn=fail
Sam is a class act and deserved the Heisman.
The Sooners are about to embarrass the Big 12 once again in a BCS game. The one good thing is losing to Florida won't be as humiliating as losing to Boise State or West Virginia -- unless of course the Gators win by 40.
And just for the record, I certainly don't think Billy Sims took the spotlight away from Sam. Were any of you Billy haters still thinking about him when Sam was giving his acceptance speech? If you were, then you missed a great speech. I rememeber Billy as an awesome runner. Maybe he has made a few mistakes in life. I'm sure the ones doggin Billy can walk on water.
And about neutral fields. When we play Texas, where are we at? What air are we breathing when were playing Texas. Who's gas are we buying? Who's restaraunts do we eat at? Who's hotels do we stay at? And for those that drink, who's alcohol do we consume? And finally, who's state fair do we attend and spend money at? This is where Oklahomans bedazzle me. The Texas AD calls the OU AD one day many years ago and said, "Let's play football on a neutral field." The OU AD says, "OK. Where?" The Texas AD said, "Texas." The rest is history with Texas holding the most wins record by far. Home and home, Okies. Like the rest of the Big XII.
I guess playing Florida is on a neutral field, too.
The Talking Heads were still ticked off. It's okay. I am sure they were busy planning who will win the National Championship.
Lee, I agree, lost alot of respect for ESPN during this>>>
What a load of #hit; txspn, flaspn, whatever you want to call them, hit a new low with me. This bunch has an agenda bigger than CNN does for the left faction of our country. Unreal.