Could there be a more exhilarating start to a game?
He soared past the 30, cruised past midfield, and the rest was history ... touchdown and an early 7-0 Ohio State lead. The junior from Cleveland had given the Buckeyes the perfect statement out of the gates — a 93-yard kickoff return on the opening play of the BCS title game.
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| Ted Ginn Jr. is tackled by teammate Roy Hall (8) after Ginn returned the opening kickoff for a touchdown. Ginn was hurt during the celebration. (Chris Russell, Columbus Dispatch / Associated Press) |
And then disaster struck.
Though reports differ, early word Monday evening was that while celebrating the dazzling touchdown score, the Buckeyes' most explosive offensive weapon since Joey Galloway tweaked his ankle. Within minutes, the All-Big 10 performer was limping off the field behind the end zone and into the trainer's office. He spent the rest of the game on the sidelines, hobbling on a crutch, with his ankle in an ominous black boot. The Buckeyes' human highlight film never returned. Ginn's final stat line? One play, a 93-yard kickoff return for a TD. No receptions, no carries, no punt returns. Just that one, lone play.
And of course, the fateful celebration.
Ohio State's passing game suffered as a result of his absence. Without his top wideout and childhood best friend running routes, Heisman Trophy winner Troy Smith played his worst game as a collegiate player, going 4-14 for 35 yards and an interception. In the end, Florida wiped the floor with the heavily favored Buckeyes, taking home their first national championship in ten years with a dominant 41-14 win.
Would Ginn's presence have made a difference in the outcome of the game? It's not likely. The Gators were faster, smarter, and coached better than the Buckeyes on Monday evening. But a Ginn play here and a Ginn play there—and it could have been a completely different story. We'll truly never know.
But one thing we do know is this — injuring yourself celebrating a touchdown is a pretty stupid sports injury. Of course, this really isn't Ginn's fault. For starters, it still hasn't been confirmed that this was, indeed, how he hurt his ankle (The Columbus Dispatch, for example, has reported that Ginn tweaked it making a block). What's more, he wouldn't be the first athlete to injure himself in such a fashion. He's also not going to be the last.
You see, there's a long tradition of celebration-related injuries in the world of sports. Ginn's just taking a torch and running (er...hobbling?) with it.
There's probably no more embarrassing way to hurt one's self. We, as sports fans, expect our athletes to be invincible. Often times, we put aside mistakes they make in their personal lives and shower them with adulation for the efforts they give on the field. When one of these men or women hurts themselves clapping, or dancing, or — dare we say it? — slapping a teammate five ... well, that whole image of invincibility is thrown into flux. Suddenly, they're human. They're mere mortals! The entire sports world is knocked off its axis. Who wants to look up to or emulate a guy who can't congratulate a teammate without spraining a knee?
Luckily, not much has been made about how Ginn injured his ankle on Monday night. And hopefully, the celebration/injury rumors are just that — rumors.
But if Ginn really was hurt during the TD celebration; he'd join a pretty elite club.
Here are five other notable celebration-related sports injuries:
