Sour Grapes

---

"I do think it shows that either they love us or they hate us — Gator Nation."

Tim Tebow

---

Please.

The Tampa Tribune is serving as a convenient soapbox for Tim Tebow to use to spout his conspiracy theories concerning why he was denied a second Heisman Trophy.

Seems to me it might have had something to do with the fact that Sam Bradford's numbers glittered more than Tebow's did in 2008. Last year, Tebow had the impressive season. This year, Bradford did.

Of course, I've been saying for a long time that the Heisman is awarded too darn early. Bradford and Tebow will meet in the national championship game nearly four weeks from now. Two other quarterbacks, both just as deserving of recognition — Colt McCoy of Texas and Graham Harrell of Texas Tech — have bowl games to play in January as well.

And Harrell, who wasn't even invited to the Heisman ceremony although he had more passing yardage than any of the athletes who were summoned to New York, will face the only team that has beaten Tebow's Gators this season — Ole Miss.

Seems to me the prudent thing to do would be to wait until after the postseason games have been played. At least, with the Heisman winner still undetermined, players like McCoy and Harrell would have something to play for besides "school pride."

If the Yale Club would wait until mid-January to vote on the Heisman, the results of the bowl games could be considered — and the voters could be spared the scenario that has been repeated so often in recent years — in which a runnerup in the Heisman vote embarrasses the winner in a nationally televised postseason showdown.

Like when Oklahoma and Josh Heupel beat Florida State and Chris Weinke for the national crown in 2000.

Or when Miami's Ken Dorsey beat Nebraska's Eric Crouch for the 2001 national championship.

Or when Texas' Vince Young scored the national championship-winning TD against Reggie Bush's USC team in January 2006.

Maybe losing the Heisman serves as motivation for the runnerup.

And sometimes, I guess, the runnerup finds other sources for inspiration.

When asked why this alleged bias against Florida exists, he replied, "I think it probably started with (Steve) Spurrier's swagger, to tell you the truth. How he handled situations. He either drew people in or made people not like the Gators and The Swamp."

Well, Spurrier is a convenient scapegoat. He left Florida in 2001. He is back in the SEC — but as the coach of South Carolina.

Tebow's response reminds me of the Aesop's fable, "The Fox and the Grapes." Been awhile since you read Aesop? Well, basically, what it comes down to is, this fox is strolling along and he sees some grapes hanging from a tree. The fox is hungry so he tries to get the grapes, but they're hanging too high.

After repeated failures to get the grapes, the fox gives up and says, "The grapes are probably sour, anyway."

The moral of the story is, "It is easy to despise what you cannot get."