Considering the stoic demeanor quarterback Joe Burrow throughout LSU’s undefeated season, the deep emotion that was part of his Heisman Trophy acceptance speech in New York City was a bit of a surprise. Being surprised by Joe Burrow’s emotion last night is not a criticism, but the contrast of that emotion with the calculated focus he had all season only confirmed how dedicated Joe Burrow was to reaching his goals with LSU.
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Bayou Joe, aka “Broadway Joe,” chocked up as he began his speech by thanking his offensive line, his receivers and the team around him. Thanking your team is expected, but the instant emotion that it brought to Burrow’s speech was an indication his depth of character.
I have always been impressed with the story of Joe Burrow - the underdog. While he did have success as a young athlete, he also faced rejection; and he said during his successful season at LSU that he remembered the names of the recruiters that told him he wasn’t good enough.
Joe Burrow’s journey from Ohio State to LSU is a well-documented success story about an individual who refused to allow others to define who he is as a person. Too often in life, we may be tempted to let others set limits to our lives. After losing the starting quarterback position to Buckeyes’ QB Dwayne Haskins, Joe Burrow’s transfer from Ohio State to LSU in Baton Rouge was a strong statement about the faith Burrow had in himself. With two years of eligibility remaining, Burrow moved to the bayou, which was a cultural galaxy away from his hometown - The Plains - a typical small town in southeast Ohio.
The town of The Plains, Ohio, which always bled the scarlet and grey colors of the Buckeyes, was painted in purple and gold; and signs like, “Geaux Jeaux,” showed that this proud town had picked up on the culture their local hero was now part of. Joe once said that one of his early memories of being in bayou country came when he was made fun of for ordering a salad when everyone around him was ordering traditional Louisiana food items. During his Heisman acceptance speech, Joe said he learned to love crawfish and Coach O (Coach Ed Orgeron) always made sure boiled crawfish were plentiful for the team.
The quality of Joe Burrow’s character was demonstrated when he assumed the role of representing the state of Louisiana in his speech, which he thanked for accepting him into their culture. He also made it clear that his was representing the people of his small hometown. During his speech, Joe spoke of the above-average degree of poverty in The Plains, Ohio and said he was standing there accepting the Heisman Trophy for those who did not have enough food on the table every night.
As big as that Heisman moment was for Joe Burrow, he knew there were things bigger and more important than winning a trophy.
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Burrow’s emotions really surfaced when he thanked Coach O. Burrow said, “You have no idea what you mean to my family” and expressed appreciation to his coach for believing in him and giving him a chance. Burrow went on to say, with a slight chuckle, that his hoped LSU would give Coach O a “lifetime contract” because “he deserves it.”
Leading up to the Heisman presentation, there was little doubt Joe Burrow was going to the winner this year. Burrow received the highest percentage of first place votes (90.7) in the history of the Heisman. The three runners-up - Ohio State QB Justin Fields, Ohio State DE Chase Young and Oklahoma QB Jalen Hurts - did not appear to be as gracious as many runners-up, but perhaps they were just honest with their feelings. Burrow recognized Fields, Young and Hurts from the podium and all should expect lucrative careers in the NFL.
The similarities in character and on-field performance between #9 Joe Burrow and #9 Drew Brees are impossible to dismiss. This does not mean Joe Burrow will become a Hall of Fame QB in the NFL, but it does mean that he appears to have the DNA for that to be a possibility. At this point Burrow’s life - what more could anyone ask for?
The story of Joe Burrow is inspiring even to those who are beyond the beginning of their lives and careers. I have been in radio for over twice as long as Joe Burrow has been alive and I have learned from him and have been greatly inspired by him.
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When Joe spoke about remembering the names of the recruiters who said he wasn’t good enough - I remember how I was put on the morning show on an FM station in the early 1970s because no one was listening to FM at that point. Since that was the lowest rated time period on FM radio, I was placed there because of little faith in me.
At that point I decided to that I was going to do a “morning show,” just like the “morning shows” that were on AM stations; and I had faith in what I could do. So I started “Scoot in the Morning." At the time, there was no other known personality-driven morning show on any FM station in the country.
I also remember the many program directors that rejected me and, later, the people in the business that said I would never be able to make the transition from music radio to talk radio because I wasn’t good enough. All of the negative judgments only made me strive harder to succeed and, most of all, never caused me to allow what someone said or thought about me to define who I knew I was in my heart and mind.
We should always recognize and appreciate the fact that we can learn from those much younger than us, and the story of Joe Burrow up to this point has been very inspiring to me. I’m sure you can think of times in your life and career that you believed in yourself even if others didn’t.
The message that Joe Burrow represented when he accepted the Heisman Trophy was that we should never allow the words and opinions of others to discourage us from following the voice only we can hear that is telling us who we are and who we can be.