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Here's the thing.. While I agree it was a long shot for him to make the HoF in baseball.. he likely, had he focused on baseball, has a 10-15 year career and makes very good money.
His injury was.. Really more a birth defect kinda situation. If he hadn't been an athlete, he probably makes it to 70 years old before needing a hip replacement. Just playing baseball.. Again, probably shaves a few years off that, but he makes it through his career.
Football.. While partially it was a 'freak' injury, it also was far more apt to happen playing football. So..
Different ways of looking at the same thing. Just how much hindsight you apply. looking back on it now, would have been better if he focused on baseball. But.. He wouldn't be "Bo" if he had done that.
Yeah it’s the weird dilemma when talking about Bo. Had he focused on just one sport (either one really), he would have been good enough to have a productive 10-15 year career at worst (in baseball) or a potentially HOF career (in football), but then his overall fame and popularity wouldn’t have been as great as it was since he would have lost fans from whichever sport he didn’t play. He needed to play both to be Bo, which sadly meant not being good enough or productive enough for either sport.
I did see an article where he said had he known what was going to happen he would have given up football to preserve his baseball career.
Bo had the personality to back it up whereas Michael seemed more dry, especially in commercials.
I remember those days pretty well. Bo was probably a more popular figure at his peak, but Micheal pulled away after several championships and a long career.
Being more of a baseball fan, a Royals fan at that, I always wished he'd just been a baseball player.
Bo had the personality to back it up whereas Michael seemed more dry, especially in commercials.
I remember those days pretty well. Bo was probably a more popular figure at his peak, but Micheal pulled away after several championships and a long career. Being more of a baseball fan, a Royals fan at that, I always wished he'd just been a baseball player.
A more popular figure in what sense? Baseball? KC fans? Raiders Fans?
MJ was a global icon (and really, still is). He was considered one of the most recognizable people on the planet. We're talking like, Pope famous.
A more popular figure in what sense? Baseball? KC fans? Raiders Fans?
MJ was a global icon (and really, still is). He was considered one of the most recognizable people on the planet. We're talking like, Pope famous.
While Michael Jordan had a NCAA championship and the shoe line Bo Jackson's peak along with his shoe ad campaign came before Michael Jordan surpassed the previous generation of NBA stars
A more popular figure in what sense? Baseball? KC fans? Raiders Fans?
MJ was a global icon (and really, still is). He was considered one of the most recognizable people on the planet. We're talking like, Pope famous.
A very well-known figure at his peak, at the very least on par with Jordan, but faded quickly after the injury. Micheal ultimately hung around much longer and enjoyed more success via championships.
Bo was extremely popular for a brief time even though he never played in the really big games.
He was really good at the two biggest sports at the time. All-Star good. Bo was great for highlight reels.
Also, the Raiders are one of those perennial bandwagon teams with fans all over for some reason, and the Royals were not the second-rate AAAA squad they've been for the most part since Kauffman died in 1993.
That plus Nike=plenty of media exposure and he was good at working it.
Had Bo Jackson played longer and ended up making some big plays in championship games, then maybe he gets put up there with the likes of Micheal Jordan. But we'll never know.
I only knew Gale Sayers from the TV movie Brian's Song as he retired just before I started watching/remembering sports, but I can look back on his injury shortened Hall of Fame career. And when he got hurt I wondered what if Bo Jackson's injury came two years later. Or if NCAA achievements were added in like in the Basketball Hall of Fame, as opposed to a NBA Hall of Fame, when looking at Bill Walton he did most of his qualifying at UCLA instead of flashes between injuries at Portland and Boston.
While Michael Jordan had a NCAA championship and the shoe line Bo Jackson's peak along with his shoe ad campaign came before Michael Jordan surpassed the previous generation of NBA stars
Quote:
Originally Posted by sub
A very well-known figure at his peak, at the very least on par with Jordan, but faded quickly after the injury. Micheal ultimately hung around much longer and enjoyed more success via championships.
Bo was extremely popular for a brief time even though he never played in the really big games.
He was really good at the two biggest sports at the time. All-Star good. Bo was great for highlight reels.
Also, the Raiders are one of those perennial bandwagon teams with fans all over for some reason, and the Royals were not the second-rate AAAA squad they've been for the most part since Kauffman died in 1993.
That plus Nike=plenty of media exposure and he was good at working it.
Had Bo Jackson played longer and ended up making some big plays in championship games, then maybe he gets put up there with the likes of Micheal Jordan. But we'll never know.
I'm not arguing that he wasn't popular. Hell, I had his poster on the wall of my dorm. Nor am I arguing the iconic status he has, etc.
I'm simply not agreeing to the comment that he was better marketed than MJ. Even before his career peak, MJ was already an icon in the late 80's. Ironically, MJ was probably the reason Nike was even around to do Bo Knows commercials. Imagine if Adidas didn't pass on MJ....
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