Not being a connoisseur of sports, nor the sports pages, it comes as news to me that college football teams, in addition to snapping press-friendly headshots for all their players, also pose teammates in classic beefcake poses. No homo!
The Wall Street Journal gets to the bottom of this baby oiled underbelly of college athletics.
The official college-football team portrait, a tradition that’s been around for more than a century, has long been a sober exercise. Student-athletes are encouraged to comb their hair, place their hands politely on their knees and gaze thoughtfully into the camera. In recent years, however, the photo that goes on posters and into game programs isn’t the only one the players pose for. At some schools, as many as half the players, sometimes more, will strip to their uniform pants, lather up with oil and flex their pectorals while posing with an ever-more-eclectic array of props including chains, sledgehammers, hard hats and, in one recent case, a $120,000 orange Lamborghini Gallardo. These unofficial photos aren’t widely distributed. They’re printed in small quantities and given to players to hand out to friends and family as evidence of their progress in physical training.
But they do make their way to the Internet. Which makes me wonder: Where’s Peyton Manning’s?
While these pictures have only begun getting wide notice, they date back decades. Tennessee’s late strength coach John Stucky, who ran the program from 1994 to 2002 and mentored some 30 strength coaches working now at schools across the country, found it to be a great way to motivate college-aged men, his colleagues say (only players who met certain goals got spots). The school’s star alums agree. Colts quarterback Peyton Manning says that when he played for Tennessee in the mid ’90s, a spot in the front row was a “pride thing,” and he and his teammates would arrive to the weight room as early as they could on photo day to do enough lifts and push-ups to make their muscles bulge. “There was a lot of baby oil involved,” recalls Mr. Manning. “It helps with muscle definition.”
But naturally, teams fear people might interpret these photos as TOO HOMOSEXUAL.
How about we take this to the next level?
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USC’s longtime strength coach Chris Carlisle, who’s now with the Seattle Seahawks, says he stopped organizing conditioning photos for the last few years of his college career because he didn’t want to risk violating any rules. He says he “took a lot of abuse” on campus one year for a shot of players posing as shirtless construction workers (another year he had them pose as gladiators). USC’s current strength coach, Mr. Ausmus, says the team took a topless photo this year but hasn’t decided whether to print it.
Even some unofficial team photos where players are fully clothed make schools nervous. Dave Knachel, Virginia Tech’s athletic-department photography coordinator says a recent photo taken of its offensive linemen holding hands and leaping gleefully in the air on media day was “not in our best interest.”
School bullying: Alive and well even in college.
[WSJ; pictured: Purdue’s offensive line]
robert
Have they forgotten that women are also interested in seeing the beefcake? Sounds like a very narrow-minded attitude (in every sense).
Pygar
And yet Dieux de Stade is still printing annually?
(Yes, I know they’re not college, but still, where’s the American equivalent?)
Justin N.
“Beefcake”? Oh, reeeeaallly……
I dunno, man. The photo shows something, but “beefcake” isn’t the word that jumps to mind…
GoRugby
That disturbing pic is why I prefer rugby to American football.
robert
@GoRugby: You’d prefer Ben Cohen?
http://cm1.theinsider.com/media/0/42/74/ben_cohen_boxers.0.0.0×0.535×912.jpeg
Toby
Give me a Hockey Player with no teeth any day over a football player.
Seriously, have you seen Hockey player’s bodies? All that skating…wowza
tallskin2
Urgh, they’re all fat!
How is that ‘fit’ ? It’s certainly an advert for future diabetes type 2.
Boil the fat bastards down to make soap.
Baxter
@tallskin2: Most linemen are surprisingly nimble for their size. Sumo wrestlers too.
L.
“Purdue’s offensive.”
I first thought you were dissing one of your most faithful commenters.
PLAYS WELL WITH OTHERS
C’mon stop the hating!!!
Those guys are all in shape!!!
(only ’cause round is a shape……….. :p )
Dave
School bullying: Alive and well even in college.
I missed the part where this is bullying. Homophobic? Sure. Ridiculous? Sure. But who’s being bullied?
When we use words related to violence irresponsibly (bullying, bashing, rape, etc.), it makes it easier for those who hate us to dismiss legitimate complaints of violence.
Don’t do that. It’s histrionic and it hurts real victims.
Dave
@tallskin2: It’s a weird build you’re unlikely to encounter outside of sports: lots of muscle backed up by lots of mass.
It’s certainly useful for the purposes to which it’s put, but you’re right: it does tend to establish the sort of nutritional and dietary behaviours that aren’t sustainable when you’re no longer as active. Obesity and related disorders are a huge problem for former athletes who tend to go from well-conditioned-but-overweight to out-of-shape-and-overweight very easily.
nineinchnail
Beefcake!? More like tubs-o-lard!!!
Devon
I guess the beefcake is hiding behind that row of Michelin men.
Fitz
Swear to God, I just texted my husband after seeing this: “Salad for dinner”.
McMike
It’s a sure bet the “straight” coach who thinks photo’s like this are ‘too gay’ is the one who’s got wood over it.
btw, if the players don’t have a problem with their pictures then everyone else needs to STFU about it.
alan brickman
Super hawt!! gays will look because the women will look too…remember that…
UMB
*ignores the bitchy queens*
yum!
Steve
At least the first guy has a cute face. As for body type… beefcake is not the first on the list.
Rick Brannon
If these college sports officials are employed by public universities (which they usually are) these comments could very well violate state anti-discrimination statutes.
I wonder.
Gregger
It can’t be called beefcake, with those boys it’s LARDCAKE!!
adam
I’ve never understood gays (or women) who were into guys like this. Really, will you hump literally ANYTHING?
jason
I think it’s more cake than beef.
In any case, these guys look great. It’s refreshing to see guys who aren’t polished and muscled to the point of narcissistic douchebaggery.
I say long live these guys from college. Walk tall, fellas.
Derek Washington
I’m no body beautiful, but, I’m not seeing much in the way of “Beefcake” in that picture. The first guy is really cute though.
Queer Supremacist
The “beef” is marbled with rather a lot of fat, don’t you think.
Give me a swimmer or a gymnast any day of the week.
Michael
Those Purdue boys need to get off the cheese burgers.
BlogShag
“Which Colleges Worry Their Football Teams’ Beefcake Photos Might Make ‘Em Look Too FATTY? Oh ooops, I meant faggy. No, I did mean fatty…
Jack
“Peyton Manning” and “There was a lot of baby oil involved” is enough for me 😉 I have an imagination.