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Baker Mayfield is the petty king, a master of being himself while not caring how you feel about it. That’s made his role in this year’s Heisman House commercials perfect.
He was a polarizing figure in college football. Whether it was his attempt to plant a flag at Ohio State or grabbing his crotch during a game after Kansas players didn’t shake his hand before kickoff (in which he proceeded to destroy them on the field), he rubbed some people the wrong way.
But he was damn good. It’s why he won the Heisman and went No. 1 to the Browns. Combine everything that Mayfield is, and you have a subject that’s TV commercial gold.
Every year, we get a new load of commercials about the latest Heisman winner moving in which previous winners.
They do a good job of playing off what makes each player unique, like that time football’s favorite meme was the stark difference in size between two Bama winners.
One of Mayfield’s ads makes his “baggage” literal.
This year, it’s the perfect opportunity to address this idea that’s often placed on Mayfield — that he’s got baggage, especially when contrasted with the especially scandal-free Tim Tebow.
Detractors will argue his baggage is the emotion he shows on the field, that he talks too much, or that he has his phone out after a game. Really.
Among the items Mayfield totes around here, however, are:
- A big-ass Mayfield head with an Oklahoma-colored helmet
- A comically large box of headbands
- A washer and dryer
- “MY Awesome SIGN”
And it just keeps going.
- A goldfish in a bag
- Stuff for sale
And going.
- A ridiculous amount of luggage
- A nice desk with a leather chair, globe, and money sitting on the desk
- Another large box, this one with “cool swords”
When he’s finished backing his belongings up to the house, he leans a look out of the window and — right when you’re almost expecting him to apologize for taking up so much space — yells, “Yo, where do I put my crap!?” which probably made somebody who doesn’t already like him dislike him even more. However, it’s appropriately him.
The other gets more specific and pokes fun at his infamous flag plant.
One of the many reasons people started hating Mayfield early last season was his attempt to plant a flag in the middle of Ohio State’s home turf. Fast forward to today, and Mayfield is once again taking somebody’s turf, except this time it’s Marcus Mariota’s sandwich.
The flag plant was such a big moment for Mayfield, Oklahoma fans wanted his Heisman statue on campus to troll the Buckeyes with the gesture. If there was one “incident” of his to highlight, it had to be that one.
These clips make clear he has no interest in changing who he is.
His NFL career is off to a booming start. He was an exciting player on the field, on the sidelines, and with a microphone in his face in college. If fans of the game are lucky, that will continue in the NFL. And so far, so good.
Kudos to the brains behind these commercials. They were a fun way of addressing narratives around the latest Heisman member, while letting Baker be Baker.