One of the best things about being on the SB Nation platform is that there are always opportunities to take part in interesting campaigns with major brands. In the past SB Nation hooked up with NCAA Football for the launch of the game And after taking a year off the partner ship is back.
The game this season is built around the Heisman Mode which lets you take legends, i.e. past Heisman winners, and place them on the team of your choice. Which begs the obvious question, which former Heisman Winners would you have liked to see in the Red and Black. There can really only be one answer, Roger Staubach.
It is amazing that Cincinnati for all the passion for Football and a wealth of talent at the high school level has produced just one Heisman winner. That is the same amount as Conneaut, Ohio roughly 1/20th of the size of Cincinnati. But the reason Staubach is the answer for this has nothing to do with him being the only Heisman winner from Cincinnati and more to do with the impact that he could have had on the Bearcats.
When Staubach graduated from Purcell High School (Not yet Purcell Marion) the high point of the Sid Gilman era was still visible in the rear view but the future looked bleak. Getting Staubach to play for the Red and Black would have changed all of that.
For my money Staubach is still the best athlete ever to come out of Cincinnati. Better than Barry Larkin or Pete Rose, better than Dave Cowens or LaSalle Thompson. Staubach was simply the best. And there is no telling how large his impact with the Bearcats would have loomed. It is impossible to say what putting 19 year old Roger Staubach on George Blackburn's roster would have affected things. My guess is that if Staubach stays home and attends UC Blackburn isn't a forgotten man and is instead remembered on par with Ray Nolting, Sid Gillman and Brian Kelly as the best coaches in program history.
With Staubach as the face of the Cowboy's as they are becoming America's Team the Bearcats might very well have avoided the dark days between Gillman and Tony Mason. Its all speculation yes. But its not hard to convince yourself that having Roger Dodger in the Red and Black wouldn't have changed the trajectory of the Bearcats for better and for ever.
This post was sponsored by EA Sports NCAA Football 13. Check out the video for the game below.
EA SPORTS NCAA Football 13 TV: "Son" (via EASPORTS)