By John Shinn
MIAMI — It’s the most well-known individual prize in all of sports. There isn’t a more exclusive fraternity than the 72 men who’ve taken home the Heisman Trophy.
There also isn’t a better known myth than the Heisman Trophy jinx.
Both are big parts of Thursday night’s BCS national championship game between Oklahoma and Florida, because it will feature two members of the exclusive Heisman Club: Sooner quarterback Sam Bradford and Gator quarterback Tim Tebow. It will also be Bradford’s duty to reverse the curse that Heisman Trophy winners have carried into the title game.
Since the BCS/Bowl Coalition era began in 1992, Heisman Trophy winners are 9-9 in bowl games. Ten of those bowls were national championship games. The Heisman winner was on the winning team four times. And when competing against a team led by a another Heisman contender, Heismam winners have fared less well.
That would seem to make for a bad omen for the Sooners. After all, it’s Sam Bradford who will have his portrait hung at Downtown Athletic Club in New York this year. Tebow finished third in this year’s balloting.
Bradford isn’t buying the notion the Heisman Trophy could be a curse.
“I don’t give that any time,” he said Monday morning at media day at Dolphin Stadium. “I think if you give time to that, they you bring yourself down, and you don’t need to think about negative things. I think I’m just going to prepare like a normal game.”
Keeping things normal is the key for any player or team. Both OU and Florida have moved heaven and earth to keep their routines as normal as possible since arriving here.
Bradford has shown great focus throughout his two seasons as OU’s quarterback. This season his tunnel vision has never wavered. He has lit up every defense he’s faced this season.
But normalcy tends to go right out the window for Heisman winners. Think about it: They were all highly recognizable around their campuses and communities before the award. But as soon as they pose with that famous trophy, life’s never the same.
Their face is plastered everywhere. Even those with a casual knowledge of college football know who they are. And it all takes place while they prepare for their biggest game of the year.
Bradford sought advice about how to handle it.
“I talked to Jason White about it,” Bradford said. “He went through a similar situation when he won it. He knew what I was going to be going through and he gave some advice on how to handle the situation.”
White, who won the award in 2003 but came out on the losing end in the 2003 national championship game (the 2004 Sugar Bowl), told Bradford to let the trophy go upon returning home.
“He told me once I got back to Norman I had to think strictly about the national championship game,” Bradford said. “That’s what I’ve been doing.”
Some have done that well. Charlie Ward (Florida State, 1993), Danny Wuerffel (Florida, 1996), Charles Woodson (1998, Michigan) and Matt Leinart (USC, 2004) won the national championship and the Heisman Trophy the same season.
Winning the Heisman, but losing the big game is a more recent phenomenon. Troy Smith (Ohio State, 2006), Reggie Bush (USC, 2005), White, Eric Crouch (Nebraska, 2001) and Chris Weinke (Florida State, 2000) are the ones who have given the jinx its credence.
OU coach Bob Stoops has put a tremendous amount of faith in Bradford the last two seasons and it has paid off handsomely. He hasn’t seen any difference in Bradford since the trip to New York.
“He’s the best, meaning he’s just calm. The guy is humble. He just doesn’t let anything bother him,” Stoops said.
They also talked about how life was going to change after the Heisman Trophy ceremony. Stoops related what he went through after OU won the national championship in 2000. He went from relatively unknown outside the world of Sooner football and college game diehards to a household name.
“It takes a while to get used to it,” Stoops said.
Some have handled it better than others. But the Sooners’ trust in Bradford remains the same.
“Everything about Sam makes him a great player for us,” wide receiver Juaquin Iglesias said.
The burden of the Heisman Trophy won’t change that.
John Shinn
366-3536
jshinn@normantranscript.com
