Wall Street Journal on College Football's Beefcake Photo Trend

The 2010 college football schedule kicks off tonight and The Wall Street Journal analyzes this season's hottest prospects for "preseason beefcake photos." How do you "top" Rod 2.0 fave Eric Berry (above) and his sporno-rific image for Tennessee last year?

Some of the better [photos] have—no surprise here—begun to make their way to the Internet, where confused fans have bombarded them with comments describing them as anything from "embarrassing" and "hilarious" to "really hot." At Tennessee, one of the pioneers of this tradition, players and strength coaches are still mulling over how to top last year's photo, in which then-senior Eric Berry, now a safety for the Kansas City Chiefs, posed shirtless with his pants unbuckled and a heavy chain around his neck as he leaned against the side of a Lamborghini borrowed from a local car dealership.

Georgia Tech players last year chose a "Transformers" theme for their topless shot. They posed around a yellow Chevrolet Camaro like the one that turns into an "Autobot" in the movie. While they weren't striking poses like bodybuilders, there wasn't a sunken chest in sight. "I know for a fact that the girlfriends like it—mine didn't complain," says Georgia Tech center Sean Bedford, now a senior, adding that even his mother ordered 15 prints.

The report never mentions the biggest reason why gridiron beefcake has become so popular over the 'net: The over-the-top  homoerotic appeal. Reporter Hannah Karp does note that “even some unofficial team photos where players are fully clothed make schools nervous.”  No homo.

At the request of the University of Tennessee Athletic Dept., the video featuring the shirtless Eric Berry and the Vols has been removed from YouTube.  There are still some videos floating around though.

Outsports also picks up on WSJ's report and features a gallery of college football beefcake hotness. Enjoy ...

Comments

[Zambos27]

Bring it on! I love college football, and I am glad that the guys are showing off their hard work. Anybody complaining should take a look at these college games, and notice how many times the cameras zoom in on the cheerleaders' chests.

[Rockaway]

those guys know that men are looking at their photos, trust!

[mechadude2001]

Thanks, I love those photo spreads. I'm going to follow that Outsports link, now!

[worst_1_yet]

Wow. Hot as it is, if this wasn't sanctioned by the NCAA, it would surely be a porno.

Did they have to show a car so they could get away with the chains?

According to NCAA rules, the students couldn't have even gotten a dime for their time, right?

[soulbrotha]

What is this... Roots: Kunta at the Superbowl? Black men, will you PLEASE stop posing with slave chains? Enough already!

[Chitown Kev]

Maybe the chains indicates how he feels as an athlete at the school.

For some reason, that guy posing with the slave chains just...doesn't bother me (as I indicated when this photo first showed up at towleroad a few months back).

[Steve H]

THANK YOU soulbrotha! Seriously.

[cow tippers]

Kudos to you, Soulbrotha! I came close to crying when I read some of the comments from people on here. It is 2010, and this type of coonery is being displayed by these young people. What's really sad to me is that the young black men with the chains on probably have no idea that the way they look right now would cause some of their deceased relatvies to turn over in their graves. All the blood and tears for this crap. SMDH that this mess is going on. And, I am even more disturbed by those of you on this board who find this sick and degrading stuff to be hot. SMDH.

[Former COGIC]

>>> I came close to crying when I read some of the comments from people on here.

Really? Close to crying? Over comments over a football beefcake? Really? It's that serious boo?

Where you crying about the black gay pride promoter in Atlanta who was gunned down? The fire that destroyed Detroit's HIV center for young black gay men? What about the serial killer who was targeting black men and few people were talking about it but this blog?

'Cause I haven't seen your name in any of those stories this week, boo. But whenever there is a celebrity or a shirtless man on this blog, brothas come out the woodwork to get outraged.

[Former COGIC]

FWIW, I don't see the slavery connection with the chain. I think it's supposed to signify strength and steel-like muscles. A lot of (straight) white guys do it in bodybuilding and fitness photos, too. If you look at bodybuilding or sports photos often, you would see it. But then again, I'm not an outrage junkie, over-analyzing one photo when it's not even the point of the story.

All this racial pride around slave chains in a football calendar. But crickets when a black gay man is gunned down or when our rights are taken away.

[sonofabutch]

*cyber high five* @ Former COGIG

[Affordable Logo Design]

What a pictures i like the guys bodies :D