A: Ode to Bo

He stood up straight, and wore his confidence like a crown. His broad face and iron stare preached louder than any sermon.

This was the greatest athlete you ever saw.

He glided on the football field, until he needed to charge. It’s uncommon to see such grace and swift feet attached to body of a bulldozer. In a world full of fast men, and strong men, he was both. In the same violent body.

But we are not talking about a mere football player. No. No-no-no.

For then we turn to the outfield. And out on the grass, he was there. Upright and focused. Like a video game glitch, he ran up walls in defiance of gravity and logic, unleashed throws that captured the attention of all baseball, and manufactured the prettiest swing in generations.

No. Bo was no ordinary man. We are ordinary. He was extraordinary.

And life being life, it was all gone on a lazy Sunday afternoon. One show-stopping injury against the Cincinnati Bengals, of all teams, ended this brilliant display of athletic glory.

I can mourn the loss of something so good, and find gratitude in the same space. Bo Jackson is not a myth or fairy tale. I was a witness, the greatest athlete I ever saw.