THE ASPIRING HORSEPLAYER

In one of the few contests I actually give a rats about in the world of sports classified as a race that does not involve four-legged, equine athletes, the 2009 Heisman Trophy race is shaping up to be a good one.  Like some evenly matched Kentucky Derby field, no less than 5 contenders will travel to New York City for the announcement of the winner this Saturday, with 4 of the finalists having what appears to be a legitimate shot at taking home the top individual hardware available in the sport.

Obviously I’ve got a vested interest in this story.  My boy Mark Ingram from the SEC champion and #1 ranked Crimson Tide of Alabama is thought to be the front-runner.  One might imagine his morning line odds having been set at something like 5/2 after rushing for over 100 yards and 3 touchdowns against the then #1 ranked defensive unit in the nation in the Florida Gators.  The Gators may have been exposed by the Tide in that matchup, but it’s important to note how dominant many thought they were heading into that game.  I don’t think anyone could’ve predicted what actually happened, including someone as confident as I was that the 2009 Tide were a team to believe in.

If you’re following along with the Heisman race, a good website to keep an eye on is stiffarmtrophy.  So far, as of this writing at least, Stanford’s Toby Gerhart, the nation’s leading rusher, is in the lead.  Nebraska defensive tackle sensation Ndamukong Suh has likewise gone from a dark horse contender to a serious challenger, at least from the early returns.

One can only imagine that trend might hold though, as Nebraska was on air following Alabama’s victory, meaning that the memory of his 4 sack performance is actually the most fresh of the moments burned into the voter’s minds.  I think that counts for something.  Especially for voters who waited until the very end to make their picks.  And of course there is the aptly named (at least for a horse racing blog venturing into college football for a rare occasion and in dire need of as much racing related irony as it can get for this post) Colt McCoy, who nearly became the goat of the year had an additional second run off the clock on the next to last play in the ‘Horns last second victory over Nebraska.

Personally, while I want Ingram to win and would argue he has earned the distinction by carrying, quite literally, the SEC champions on his back all season, I would not be terribly upset if he did not win the trophy.  Alabama has never had a Heisman trophy winner, despite having numerous great players, but our overall goal is not an individual award.  Instead, the focus is on the collective team bringing home championship #13.  All other considerations are secondary.

The truth of the matter is that Ingram might actually show up for the BCS title game with a bit of a chip on his shoulder if he gets snubbed.  We’ll take any edge we can get since Texas will likely be considered an underdog even when the real money starts flowing in.  Thankfully, Nick Saban isn’t allowing anyone to categorize this game as David versus Goliath.

In the end though, I see this one being like one of Bama’s many close victories this year.  Even some of the games that appear to be one-sided in final score, and no doubt were dominated up front by the Tide, the scoreboard had a tendency to be dangerously close late into games.  Each time our fan base would begin to collectively meltdown, expecting the worst after years of torment bearing witness to sub standard play on the field.  Each time, the calm steady legs of Mark Ingram would power us to victory.

If any drive in particular sticks out in my mind as definitive of this pattern, it was the game clincher against South Carolina.  Nobody else even touched the ball.  We just lined up in wildcat and marched down the field; Ingram left; Ingram right.  You could tell he was exhausted, yet somehow he punched it in and signaled that the contest was decided.  Most folks forget it was 13-6 halfway through the 4th quarter when that happened.  One bad snap and our dreams of playing for a championship are over.  What happened next was almost super human.

I see this race being very similar.  Gerhart and Suh appear to be locking up for duel to the wire Looming from off the pace is Ingram though, and he’s about to let loose with his run. Steadily increasing, rapidly falling giant strides, chewing up ground and gaining on the leaders with each step.

At the wire it will be a photo finish.  With a little bit of luck, my boy will come out on top.  If not, it’s okay.  We know we’ve got the Horse of the Year in our stable.  And we know our biggest race is yet to come.