Bo Jackson

Everyone has a favorite athlete that they admire watching as they grow up. But my favorite athlete is a athlete that I was never able to see play. His name is Vincent Edward Jackson better known as Bo Jackson. He was born on November 30, 1962 in Bessemer, Alabama. Jackson came to fame as a multi-talented athlete, who excelled in baseball, football and track at an early age. His superior athletic abilities memorized me in ways that no other athlete has. He had a body of a Greek God and a personality of a church mouse. Bo’s athletic tenure was so brief; he played professional football and baseball for less than 10 years. . I first became familiar with Bo when I asked my father who he thought was one of the greatest athletes in the history of the world. He told me how Bo’s strength and speed could not be compared to any other athlete that he has ever known. This past month I watch a show 30 For 30 which documented the life of Bo Jackson. That show solidified in my mind that he is my all time favorite athlete. Bo was an unbelievable football running back but football was his second best sport. His best sport was baseball he was baseball, he could hit the ball miles and miles away with ease.

In high school he was recruited by the New York Yankees. At the time the Yankees were the best team in the MLB. The Yankees offered him millions of dollar to come and play for them right after he graduated high school. But what I liked about him was that he didn’t care about money, growing up he was poor but himself and his family were proud of what they even though it was little. The money that the Yankees offered him didn’t faze him he wanted to attend college. He wanted to be the first person in his family to graduate from college. That amazed me that he had the option to come out of high school and be a instant millionaire. Then in college he had the opportunity to leave college and play professional sports but he made a promise to his mother before she died that he would graduate from college. He attended Auburn University where he played football and baseball from 1982-1985.

He won the Heisman trophy in 1985 and was one of the top prospect in baseball. His ability to play a full season of baseball and then play a season of football with little time to condition for football amazes me. Football is a full year sport once the season ends you go right into the weight room and lift to get stronger for the next season, but he never did that. People have said that he was a athlete that came around once in a hundred years. If you grew up in the 1980’s Bo was the one of the first people you talked about when you talked about athletics. With all of these unbelievable athletic capabilities Bo was not the kind of person to brag to anyone. Some people have said he was the worse person to interview because he was so quiet that it was hard getting him to answer the questions thoroughly. Also Bo didn’t take notice to the astonishing things he did on the playing field.

The best part about Bo was that he was so humble and he had a lot of things to brag about. All the great athletes today are so cocky and flashy with everything they do and to me that decreases the amount that I like them. For a person to admire an athlete that they have never seen a full game of theirs is pretty special. It shows the great affect that athlete has on a person. Bo Jackson is not only my favorite athlete but also a person i admire and try to be like him. Although his athletic tenure was s brief it will not be forgotten for many years to come.