How do I feel about Cincinnati Bengals wider receiver Chad Ochocinco’s attempt to land a spot with new Major League Soccer club Sporting Kansas City?
Excited is what I feel.
Some may accuse Chad of being a gloryhound but I am willing to suspend that thought because it is never easy to be a professional two-sport star. The only successful one to do that was Deion Sanders who had a stellar American Football career primarily with San Francisco and Dallas where he finished with 22 touchdowns while returning the ball for 1,331 yards on the special teams. Sanders also played baseball with the New York Yankees, Atlanta Braves, Cincinnati Reds, and San Francisco Giants where his cumulative batting average was .263 -- a pretty decent number.
In 1989, he hit a home run for the Yankees and scored a touchdown for the Atlanta Falcons in one week and he remains the only professional athlete to do that. In fact, he has 39 career home runs and slugged a couple for every club he’s played with.
Providing contrast to Sanders’ feat is Michael Jordan who we all know had a great hoops career and a not so good baseball career with the Birmingham Barons and the Scottsdale Scorpions where he batted .202. However, the minor league baseball stint was a good attempt.
And there’s Bo Jackson, the LA Raiders running back and outfielder for the Kansas City Royals, Chicago White Sox, and California Angels whose career was cut short by injuries. How good was this guy? He was the MLB All-Star Game MVP in 1989 and made the NFL Pro Bowl in 1990. That says something about the man and his talent.
And that leads me back to Ochocinco. The MLS is improving as a league and unlike its predecessor the NASL, the clubs are growing as is the level of play. The learned from the mistakes of the NASL. While the growth and quality is there, Ochocinco has a chance to make it albeit slim because for one, he is more athletic and has good tools to build with as opposed to other unskilled players. It might be a longshot but I do hope he makes it. And a strong MLS will be better for the sport.
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Speaking of two-sport stars, I enjoyed Karl Malone's and Dennis Rodman's stints as pro wrestlers (at the time they were playing for the Utah Jazz and Chicago Bulls). The Mailman teammed up with Diamond Dallas Page and the Worm was with the NWO. This was back when WCW was a great alternative to the WWE. Loved following the NWO. Too bad my shirt doesn't fit me anymore. Hahaha. But those Rodman-Malone battles were hilarious.
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