When I was a kid, there was no greater athlete than Bo Jackson. I mean athlete in the purest sense of the word. There were better baseball players, and there were better football players, but if we're talking sheer athleticism, Bo left them all in the dust. No one moved with the grace and power he did. And he was also exceptionally good at his chosen sports. He was an all star in both, and he probably would have been an Olympic medalist in track if he'd had the time to train.
My brother and I pretty much worshipped him. I remember sneaking out of bed to watch TV and seeing him break a wooden bat over his knee. I was in awe of his strength and told my brother about it in hushed tones. Every morning before school, we watched Pro Stars, a cartoon that teamed him up with Michael Jordan and Wayne Gretsky to fight crime. And every morning in the opening credits we saw the clip of his most famous play, when he made a nearly impossible catch at a full run, and then ran up/along the outfield wall to land on his feet. We watched him play football for the Raiders and baseball for the Royals. We watched his "Bo Knows" Nike commercials. We read his autobiography, Bo Knows Bo.
And then, when I was five, we saw him up close. The Royals played the Angels, and our parents took us to the game. We had field level seats in left field, and there he was. Right in front of us. There were a lot of kids in our section, and between innings, most of them would line the railing, calling to Bo. My brother would run down there with them, but for most of the game, I stayed back. Finally, after the seventh inning stretch, I asked my parents if I could go with my brother. I was shorter than the railing. I had to stand on a little ledge and hold on tight to see over it. I was standing there next to my brother, struggling to hang on, when Bo walked up to us. He talked to all the kids for a couple minutes, but I have no idea what he said; I was too awestruck to hear him. Then he made like he was going to throw the ball he was holding. The older kids, including my brother, all took a few steps back to try to catch it. I stayed where I was; I knew I didn't have a chance. And then Bo stepped forward and handed me the ball.
It's rare that you get to meet your hero, especially when he's a superstar athlete. It's even rarer to meet your hero and have him live up to the hype. Bo Jackson wasn't just an amazing athlete; he went out of his way to be kind to a little girl. That was pretty much the greatest moment of my life up to that point. I loveed that ball and remembering how I got it. And I learned from Bo what it meant to truly be a Bad Ass Motherfucker.
Not too long after that, he sustained an injury that ended his football career and seriously derailed his baseball career. He was tackled, and his hip popped out of the socket. He popped it back in. Ask any trainer how impossibly strong you would have to be to do that. Bo was that strong. He ended up with an artificial hip, and he shocked the world by returning to professional baseball in 1993. He homered in his first at bat.
You can check out some of his highlights here.
Tuesday, July 17, 2012
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