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Aug 29, 2026; Indianapolis, Indiana, USA; Indianapolis Colts cornerback Sauce Gardner (1) during warmups before the game against the Detroit Lions at Lucas Oil Stadium. A stock image of a calendar appears in the top right corner.
While Indianapolis Colts star Sauce Gardner is widely regarded as one of the best cornerbacks in the NFL, unfortunately, that hasn’t exactly translated to team success on the field.
The New York Jets selected Gardner with the fourth overall pick in the 2022 NFL Draft. He had immediate success, winning the Defensive Rookie of the Year award earning first-team All-Pro honors in both 2022 and 2023.
But things have gone downhill since for both Gardner and the teams he’s played for. Gardner failed to make an All-Pro team in either 2024 or 2025, and was traded from the New York to Indianapolis for two first-round picks and wide receiver Adonai Mitchell.
To make matters worse, Gardner is rapidly approaching 700 days since he last won a game on U.S. soil. Gardner’s last taste of victory in the United States came when the Jets beat the Jacksonville Jaguars on Dec. 15, 2024.
New York then began the 2025 season with an 0-7 record, and Gardner suffered a concussion that caused him to miss the next week’s game against the Cincinnati Bengals, which the Jets won 39-38.
Following a bye week, New York traded him to the Colts. Indianapolis won its first game with Gardner on the team on Nov. 9. However, that game was played in Berlin, and the Colts lost their final seven games of the season.
Here are just some of the notable things to occur since Gardner last won a game in the United States…
Jan. 20, 2025: Donald Trump Is Inaugurated For The Second Time
That’s right. The last time that Sauce Gardner won an NFL game on U.S. soil, Joe Biden was still the acting president of the United States.
If that seems like a lifetime ago, you’re not alone. But also, it kind of was! Two years is an eternity in the modern news cycle.
Since then, we’ve had a number of major changes, both to the country and the world, and not just in the political sphere.
April 14, 2025: Katy Perry Goes To Space (Kind Of)
What does it mean to officially go to outer space?
Well, technically you just have to fly 62 miles above the earth beyond the Kármán line, which qualifies as outer space. On April 14, 2025, pop star Katy Perry joined Gale King, Alisha Bowe, Amanda Nguyen, Kerianne Flynn and Lauren Sanchez for an 11-minute trip to “outer space.”
Perry then returned to Earth and kissed the ground below her, sparking plenty of controversy in the process.
May 8, 2025: We Get The First American Pope
On April 21, 2025, Pope Francis passed away, leading to a conclave and the selection of a new pope.
While many challengers came to the forefront, on May 8, the conclave selected Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost, who was born in Chicago! He took the name Pope Leo XIV and became the first U.S. born pope in history.
Imagine that: a pope who had to watch Jerry Reinsdorf destroy his beloved Chicago White Sox.
July 16, 2025: The Infamous Coldplay Kiss Cam Incident
What’s the best way for a major tech CEO and his subordinate to get caught having an affair? How about canoodling in a suite at a Coldplay concert only to put on the the videoboard at the concert and have to awkwardly dive off of a camera?
That’s what happened to Astronomer CEO Andy Byron and head of HR, Kristin Cabot, who were the center of the pop culture world for a solid two weeks.
Since then, the two, Cabot in particular, have used the moment to extend their 15 minutes of fame (infamy?), including Cabot getting a full New York Times feature.
August 26, 2025: Taylor Swift And Travis Kelce Announce Their Engagement
The Instagram post that shook the world.
“Your English teacher and your gym teacher are getting married,” Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce announced in a joint post.
Suddenly, the world’s most famous pop star (and perhaps human being) was engaged to one of the most famous players in the NFL, and boy were you sure to hear about it everywhere you looked.
September 10, 2026: U.S. Conservative Activist Charlie Kirk Is Assasinated
In a stunning moment that was covered everywhere from polticial news shows to South Park, U.S. conservative poltical activist Charlie Kirk was shockingly shot and killed during an appearance on the campus of Utah Valley University.
Kirk’s assasination caused major fallout, with comedians such as Jimmy Kimmel getting suspended after making a joke about the situation, while others like Elon Musk stated that they were limiting public appearances after the shooting.
February 1, 2026: Bad Bunny Wins Grammy For Album Of The Year
Amid significant discourse surrounding immigration rights and the rights of minorities across the United States, Puerto Rican superstar Bad Bunny won the 2026 Album of the Year at the Grammys for “DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS,” which became the first all-Spanish-language album to win the category.
Two weeks later, Bad Bunny would steal the show at the Super Bowl with a unique halftime show that featured a multitude of set designed honoring his native Puerto Rico.
February 28, 2026: Ayatollah Khamenei Is Assasinated
In a joint targeted attack by Israel and the United States, Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Kahmenei, was killed in his compound.
The military action escalated the growing war between the United States and Iran, which has persisted and continued into late 2026.
June 13, 2026: The New York Knicks Finally Win The NBA Championship
It had been more than a half century since the New York Knicks had been crowned NBA Champions. But that all changed in the summer of 2026 when the Knicks, led by Jalen Bruson, Karl-Anthony Towns, and OG Anunoby, overcame Victor Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs to lift the Larry O’Brien Trophy.
The resulting parade was nothing short of an abject disaster, with most fans unable to accidentally access the parade route and at least one fan overdosing and needed to be revived with narcan.
But hey, the Knicks were yet again at the top of the NBA world.
August 25, 2026: Dolly Parton Passes Away
As you can imagine, there were several celebrity deaths in the nearly two years between Gardner’s last win on U.S. soil and now. But perhaps none of them had as large an impact on the larger landscape of U.S. pop culture as that of Dolly Parton.
Parton, a true rags to riches, was the queen of the country music world for decades and her passing just weeks ago rattled the music world far and wide.
Ultimately, there are dozens of things that could have made this list. But the reality is this: it has been a long time since Sauce Gardner has tasted victory in the United States, and he’s gotta be growing tired of waiting.