OT: "You Don't Know Bo" one of the best 30 for 30 I've seen since the Fab Five story.

Submitted by WingsNWolverines on

Bo Jackson was probably the greatest athlete since Jim Thorpe. Look at what he could have had and already had. A Heisman trophy with Auburn in 1985 4,575 total yards with 45 TDs 43 rushing and 2 receiving. In the NFL left with 2,782 yards and 16 TDs caught 40 passes for 352 yards and is the only MLB All Star Game and Pro Bowl Game player in both sports history. And then in MLB he was even better AL All-Star (1989) 1989 All-Star Game MVP1993 AL Comeback Player of the Year Award 20-Home Run Seasons: 4 (1987–1990) 30-Home Run Seasons: 1 (1989) 100 RBI Seasons: 1 1989. Had he not of gotten hurt he would have had two hall of fame inductions. The Baseball Hall of Fame and Pro Football Hall of Fame. Bo would have had it all. The greatest athlete that never was. It's amazing how humble he is about it. You have to think that on the inside it still eats him up alive knowing what he could have been. Truly an amazing individual.

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cozy200

December 9th, 2012 at 6:23 PM ^

And those 4 or 6 years are a hell of alot longer then most make it. Nevermind the fact he was playing two sports that most struggle to start, let alone shine, in just one. Agreed he wasn't the second coming of Jesus, but don't diminish his career because he didn't last two decades as a pro. Remember he played both in college as well. The guy was the greatest pure athlete of our era. Period.

Joined: 01/02/2011

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LSAClassOf2000

December 9th, 2012 at 12:04 AM ^

...here is an example of just how elusive and effective he was in the rushing game - he ate an entire quarter of clock on this one:

In all reality, it was a pretty good show though. At least  for me, there is always a question of "what could have been" with Bo Jackson. The hip injury effectively ended both careers, but it would be interesting to think about where he might have taken each if he had been able to stay at it. It was also pretty cool that he choose to finish his degree after he left professional sports. He seems like he has done well enough for himself since then, which statistically few athletes could say in some sports. 

Joined: 01/07/2011

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Lac55

December 8th, 2012 at 11:42 PM ^

Great especially for those like me who have heard about the legend and seen the highlights, but were to young to watch. I put this one up there with the best I've seen this season with the "Benji" doc.

Joined: 01/18/2011

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AlaskanYeti

December 9th, 2012 at 2:02 AM ^

Really enjoyed The U and You Don't Know Bo tonight, but my favorite was probably Pony Excess. SMU was probably deserving of the Death Penalty and I don't think there was any other way to stop their systemic corruption, but I doubt we will ever see that severe of a penalty handed down to any program making them irrelevant for nearly 30 years.  

Joined: 11/27/2012

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Tater

December 9th, 2012 at 8:10 AM ^

The "death penalty" didn't make SMU irrelevant for nearly 30 years; SMU made SMU irrelevant for nearly 30 years.  

After any sanctions, a program can either keep cheating and stonewall, like Ohio State, USC, or Alabama, or they can commit to doing things the right way and making it back.  SMU was under too much scrutiny for the former, and their administration lacked the fortitude for the latter.

I wish Ohio State would get a two year death penalty for ten years of cheating under Jim Tressel, and their utter lack of contrition, as evidenced in numerous interviews by Gordon Gee and Gene Smith.

Joined: 08/13/2008

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maizenbluedevil

December 9th, 2012 at 2:51 PM ^

I thought the same thing about too much Klosterman.

My reactions to him went from, at first, "Why is he even in this?" to, "Ok, I get it.  Bo was a cultural icon that transcended sports and having Klosterman here isn't so bad," to, "Wow this guy is trying to turn Bo into something that feels really forced and contrived." That point was really cemented in the part at the end where he tried to frame Bo as an "anti-authoritarian" figure because Bo did the non-conformist thing of excelling at multiple things... that conclusion and his rationale was just really a stretch.  

Overall great documentary though.  I have a vague memory of Bo but was still pretty young when he was around so didn't know as much as what the documentary said....  all the personal stuff was really cool, like the stuff about his relationship with his mom, and just hearing him speak, how soft-spoken and well-grounded he is, and just how really he's kind of a normal guy, into hunting, his man cave, etc.  He just seems like a very down-to-earth, genuinely good, kind, likable person.

Joined: 09/12/2008

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Matthew

December 9th, 2012 at 9:11 AM ^

Not a 30 for 30 but Unguarded about the kid Chris Herran who was a basketball player/junkie.  That one almost made me cry.  It was phenominal.  

Joined: 04/27/2010

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snarling wolverine

December 9th, 2012 at 10:57 AM ^

I enjoyed it.  I was around to follow his career, but I forgot just how huge he was, and how crazy it was that he'd just suddenly join the Raiders in midseason (after baseball was over) and be awesome.

At that time I was into baseball cards and subscribed to Beckett Monthly.  They had a "Weather Report" where readers voted in who was "hot" and who was "cold" based on how popular their cards were.  I remember Bo Jackson actually being #1 on the "cold" list after he made the announcement to play football in 1987.  People thought he was throwing his baseball career away.  But then he turned out to be great at both sports, and soon he was #1 on the "hot" list.  It's a shame he couldn't keep it going for longer.

Joined: 12/14/2011

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Dantana

December 9th, 2012 at 12:28 PM ^

The Two Escobars is my favorite, hands down. Caught a little bit of the Bo one last night, really looking forward to catching the whole thing.

Joined: 08/24/2011

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