Curt Cignetti will go down alongside Babe Ruth as having one of the greatest called shots in the history of sports.
After he was introduced as the new head coach of the Indiana Hoosiers, Cignetti made an incredibly audacious boast during a signing day press conference on December 20, 2023. The coach had just moved to Indiana after leading James Madison through a successful transition from the FCS to the FBS level in Division I and coming off of an 11-1 season with the Dukes.
But Curt Cignetti was also coming to quite literally the losingest program in the history of major college football. Indiana was more of a punchline than a powerhouse when it came to football. And yet, when he was asked about recruiting and building a winning culture with the Hoosiers, he uttered what are now some of the most famous words in the sport.
“I win. Google me.”
At that point in his career, Cignetti had a 119-35 career record as a head coach. But making that statement at that school at that time was a bridge too far for pretty much everyone outside of Bloomington or Cignetti’s immediate family. And in the years since, Cignetti’s continued brashness has made him an easy target for trolling and trash talk.
Cignetti finished his story in his second season on the Indiana sidelines, bringing his words to life in a story that seems like it’s straight from a Hollywood script. Indiana defeated Miami this week in a thrilling College Football Playoff national championship game to win the first title in school history and complete one of the most remarkable turnarounds in sports.
And now when you Google Curt Cignetti’s name, you are reminded that he is indeed a man of his word. The search engine has a unique easter egg for him to remind everyone that he indeed won.
How many individuals can get a customized Google search to honor their accomplishments? Had Cignetti never come close to the success he has achieved at Indiana, he would be viewed very differently given the limb that he was willing to go out on. But as he did when he left Nick Saban’s Alabama staff to coach at IUP, he bet on himself.
And that bet paid off at Indiana with the ultimate prize and the ultimate storybook ending.
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