Bo Knows

He was the only player to rush for more than 4000 yards in his career at Auburn. He was timed, OFFICIALLY, at 4.12 seconds in the 40 yard dash. He was 6 feet tall and 210 lbs when he did it. Growing up, he claimed he was a cousin of Reggie Jackson, which to all official accounts, was not true. In his first game for Auburn, as a true freshman, he rushed for 128 yards on 10 carries. While at McAdory High School, he set six state class records, 4 of which still stand today. He won the Heisman Trophy, and is endeared to Auburn football fans forever.

Of course, we are talking about Vincent "Bo" Jackson.

Some things you might not remember about Bo. He played baseball for Auburn, but his senior season was cut short because the NCAA ruled that he was ineligible after he accepted a plane ride to Tampa to talk with and try out for the Buccaneers. The Buccaneers led him to believe it would NOT be an NCAA violation (and today, it wouldn't be one). Bo was so angry about this, that when Tampa Bay chose him as the #1 pick in the 1986 NFL draft, he refused to sign with them.

Bo signed a baseball contract with the Kansas City Royals, and on his first night behind the batting cage at Royals Stadium, he hit a ball that landed 462 feet away, at the base of the scoreboard in center field, and then another one into the water fountain beyond right field. Bo was using a borrowed bat at the time, because he didn't have his own.

But these aren't the memories of Bo that I want to put before you. Rather, I want you to think back 20 years ago. Yes, 20 years. It's been that long.

Bo decided that in addition to playing baseball, the sport that he really loved....he would give his "hobby" sport a shot. He signed a contract to play for the Los Angeles Raiders. On this particular night, it was his 25th birthday. In one of the most scintillating performances ever on Monday Night Football, Bo, whose main job was as an outfielder for the Kansas City Royals, moonlighted with the Raiders and set a Raider record by rushing for 221 yards and scoring 3 touchdowns on the Seattle Seahawks.

It really was 20 years ago, but I remember it like it was yesterday. Bo led off the Raider's 20 point second quarter by scoring on a 14 yard run when safety Kenny Easley fell down attempting to tackle him. Later in that same period, Bo ran around the left end and raced for a 91 yard touchdown run......unable to stop his 225 pound body, he just kept running into the tunnel of the Kingdome.

But this isn't what we remember, that made this night so special. For all of the Auburn fans watching....knowing that Brian Bosworth represented the best of the Southwest Conference and Oklahoma football specifically.....this was a showdown between Bo and Brian. The Southeastern Conference vs. the Southwest Conference. Good vs. Evil.

In the third quarter, on a second down play from scrimmage, Bo Jackson literally RAN OVER linebacker Brian Bosworth on a two yard burst. After the game, Bosworth said, "I think he should stick to baseball."

As I said in my post from yesterday, time just seems to get away from us. This happened 20 years ago, but it seems like only yesterday. Following that Monday Night Football spectacular, Bo did his "Bo Knows" commercials. Maybe you are wonder what Bo knows now.

Well, today he enjoys archery, and has almost 30 different types of bows. He doesn't follow most sports, but says he does enjoy watching the WNBA on occassion. He prefers to watch outdoor shows. He hunts two or three times a year on Pat Dye's farm just outside Tallassee,
Alabama. And he splits time between his Chicago suburb home and his Phoenix, Arizona home with this his wife and three children.

Twenty years later, Bo knows what he likes.


War Eagle

WJLaneSr