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Surprising victor emerges in newspaper poll for best ‘heroes’ in SEC history
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Cinderella stories are always compelling, but this one might not fall under the “feel-good” category.
A bracket-style challenge put on by The Tennessean, where fans could vote for who they thought was the best SEC hero of all time, ended with a surprising player coming out on top.
Former Texas A&M quarterback Johnny Manziel won the contest in landslide fashion, defeating Auburn legend Bo Jackson by receiving 95.3 percent of the final-round votes to Jackson’s 4.7 percent. Before earning a berth in the championship bout, Manziel scored victories over the likes of Derrick Henry, Steve Spurrier, Jack Youngblood, Reggie White and Herschel Walker.
Nobody can deny that the former Heisman Trophy winner wasn’t great as a member of the Aggies. Manziel threw for 7,820 yards and 63 touchdowns while also rushing for another 2,169 yards and 30 scores in his two college seasons.
The Tennessean’s David Ammenheuser, however, was flabbergasted by Manziel’s victory.
“Johnny Manziel made a mockery of The Tennessean’s Heroes of the SEC fan-balloting contest,” Ammenheuser wrote as the opener of his column. He continues to question whether or not it was Manziel himself who voted thousands of times or whether Texas A&M fans stuffed the ballot.
His frustration at seeing Manziel dominate against the conference’s past legends is understandable, but the people have spoken and the former Aggie has emerged as the SEC’s hero.
#GigEm, @TexAgs @Tennessean pic.twitter.com/infSrhZ9Y8
— RedditCFB (@RedditCFB) August 15, 2016
