Mark Ingram had a memorable college football career as he became the first player from the Alabama Crimson Tide football team to win the Heisman Trophy. But as big as that moment was for the 33-year-old running back, there was another moment that he will never forget. PopCulture.com spoke to Ingram about his favorite moment during his college football career — helping Alabama win the national championship in 2009, the same year he won the Heisman.
“That’s the epitome of what you want to do as an athlete is be a champion and win a championship,” Ingram told PopCulture. “And that was something that we had worked for. We kind of fell short my first year as a true freshman, and we kind of all were hungry and knew what it took to get back to that point. And just the fact that we were able to get back to the point, play Florida again, the team we had lost to the previous year, it was still the best two teams in the country in the SEC championship. We were able to beat them and go win the national championship against Texas. I think that was definitely the highlight of my college football career.”
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Ingram, who rushed for 1,678 yards and 17 touchdowns during the 2009 season, went on to play 12 seasons in the NFL and was selected to the Pro Bowl three times. When it comes to his favorite moment in the NFL, Ingram enjoyed being with some New Orleans Saints teams that were one of the best in the league from a records standpoint.
“Unfortunately, I didn’t win a Super Bowl, but I think I was part of two teams that were the number one seeds, and probably I would say, not how the NFC championship ended, but the beginning of it, man, when we do the Who Dat chant, I remember Ms. Benson, our owner came out and she had on this gold crazy Chanel jacket, it was crazy,” Ingram revealed. “And she lifted her arms and the stadium was just rocking. And then before she dropped the hammer for them to do the Who Dat chant, that place was just vibrating and rocking. I’ll never forget that moment. It was a crazy moment.”
Ingram has had a strong NFL career but will always be remembered for his time at Alabama. To celebrate college football, Ingram has partnered with Dos Equis to launch the Dos Equis College Football Tailgate Throwdown. The beer company asked fans to share their dream college football tailgate ideas for a chance to bring it to life. Three finalists have been selected, and Ingram is one of the three judges along with Joel McHale and Chef Hoppie. Ingram was paired with Stefon for the ‘Bama Southern Style Tailgate, and the duo features a fish fry and sustainable art crafted from recycled cans.
“It’s an amazing partnership, and we are all about inviting our real ones to the tailgates, your family, your friends, all those who love to celebrate college football with you,” Ingram said. “Dream tailgate throwdown, I was part of a panel that was able to judge a few contestants pitching their dream tailgate throwdown to us, and it was an amazing opportunity. People telling who they would invite, what would be there, the real ones that would be there to present their college football tailgate throwdown to us.”
