| 14 December 2009
Mark Ingram became the first Heisman Trophy winner in Alabama Crimson Tide history. In receiving the award this past weekend, Ingram was humble and even had a Tim Tebow moment by crying at the podium.
The looming question is: Will the Ingram led Tide fall victim to the curse that follows the Heisman Trophy winner?
You know the curse: Win the trophy, lose the bowl game.
Since 2000, seven of the nine trophy winners have lost their bowl games. Mark Ingram and the Tide become the next to attempt to break the stiff arm trophy curse.
From WikiPedia.com:
| Year | Player | Team | Bowl Game | Opponent | Bowl Game Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Sam Bradford | Oklahoma Sooners | 2009 BCS National Championship Game | Florida Gators | L, 14-24 |
| 2007 | Tim Tebow | Florida Gators | 2008 Capital One Bowl | Michigan Wolverines | L, 35-41 |
| 2006 | Troy Smith | Ohio State Buckeyes | 2007 BCS National Championship Game | Florida Gators | L, 14-41 |
| 2005 | Reggie Bush | USC Trojans | 2006 Rose Bowl (National Championship) | Texas Longhorns | L, 38-41 |
| 2003 | Jason White | Oklahoma Sooners | 2004 Sugar Bowl (National Championship) | LSU Tigers | L, 14-21 |
| 2001 | Eric Crouch | Nebraska Cornhuskers | 2002 Rose Bowl (National Championship) | Miami Hurricanes | L, 14-37 |
| 2000 | Chris Weinke | Florida State Seminoles | 2001 Orange Bowl (National Championship) | Oklahoma Sooners | L, 2-13 |
How strange is that? While I do believe in coincidences, looking at the sheer number of losing trophy winners is simply mind boggling. On top of all of the coincidences, take a look at how prevalent the numbers 14 and 41 play. In the words of the world famous numerologist Pushppraj Saanjeev, "that be messed up".
Alabama has a solid football team ... very solid. While the Crimson Tide are far from being unbeatable, will this team join only USC in beating the trophy curse? We will have to wait until January to find out.
