Throwback Thursday: The Top 10 Bo Jackson Plays of All Time

Bo knows you miss him.

He knows that you fill your time with the Chuck Norrises of the world, making cutesy books and T-shirts about fake superheroes until Bo comes back to fill the void.

Can you just imagine what it is going to be like when mad scientists build him a titanium exoskeleton? He will be the first partial-human running back to lead the NFL in rushing after his seventieth birthday.

So, Bo would like you to watch these ten videos, and understand that he will be back, if only as some robot freak during the first machine uprising. Or, perhaps, you should just enjoy...

THE TOP 10 BO JACKSON PLAYS IN THE HISTORY OF THE UNIVERSE.

10. Bo Jackson gets away with murdering Brian Bosworth's career

[embed]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lSjllemuOh0[embed]

This wrecking ball run occurred during a massively-hyped 1987 Monday Night Football match-up between the Seahawks and Raiders. Bosworth went out of his way to talk smack prior to the game about a rookie Bo, promising to stop the inevitable.

The inevitable happened.

Bo ran for 221 and 3 scores, flattening the Boz and creating an albatross for Bosworth to wear into draft-bust land, and for as long as YouTube exists.

9. Bo makes stealing a home run from Jack Clark look way too routine

[embed]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mkF36ZfpHSA[embed]

As the ball approaches Bo during this 1988 contest between the Royals and Yankees, it just looks like any other outfielder timing a "gee golly, you tried!" jump in an attempt to steal a home run.

Except this is Bo, and when he uncoils and makes the catch at 0:08, it becomes apparent that "any other outfielder" has jack shit-ake mushrooms to do with Bo Jackson.

8. Bo shows he knows, even as a sophomore at Auburn

[embed]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b__JvXN5IIY[embed]

I just want to direct your attention to both 0:06 and 0:51 of this clip of #4 Auburn's 1983 SEC contest against #5 Florida.

These are the exact moments in time where Bo Jackson's muscles completely out-evolve the rest of humanity. The fluid motions that he shows in traffic are just...out of this world.

7. Mr. T starts screaming like a lunatic (or like Mr. T) over Bo's insane throw

[embed]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ajt1z4hcy8[embed]

Post hip-surgery, Bo knows, and we know, that he never really got back to fully being the genetic anomaly that he was during the mid to late-eighties.

This is why this clip is so special. Bo does what Bo does, barely (and just barely) stepping into a rocket throw to gun down Dave Nilsson at the plate. And, Mr. T drops the tough guy act, if only for a second, to acknowledge just how damn great Bo Jackson truly is.

6. Bo gives Raider Nation a clip to play before every Denver Broncos match-up

[embed]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ngh0FyfOTTw#t=15[embed]

I count five Bronco defenders, sporting the Cheeto orange puke jerseys, completely annihilated by the equivalent of throwing a metal ball bearing onto an electric football board.

Any time you hear the folks at NBC or ESPN engage in Peyton Manning idol worship, play this clip back. Over and over. It is plays like these where you realize why Bo was worth cartoon superstar status.

"ProStars...it's all about helping kids." Yup.

5. Bo decides to run up a wall, because well, you can't

[embed]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lk3l_L-VJ3w[embed]

Even though Bo just MAGICALLY appearing from frame right to track down this ball is superhuman enough, Bo knew that you wanted something more.

So, he decided to give Jamiroquai his inspiration for his "Virtual Insanity"video by making walls look like floors, floors look like walls, and his uniform look like it was painted on.

4. Bo sends a baseball into low orbit during the 1989 All Star Game

[embed]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ht4tDHfQn4[embed]

First of all, it is fun to watch Ronald Reagan stammer on about his own playing days as Bo Jackson turns into a flaming Pokémon of awesome at the plate.

However, the best part is having the honor to listen to the great Vin Scully call the lunar launching of a baseball, followed by odd "mmm" sounds from Reagan from :40-:53 and Scully exclaiming "he almost hit it out-of-state!"

3. Bo pie-faces a young "Prime Time" Deion Sanders

[embed]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQ0292GRh00[embed]

Deion's commentary is surprisingly humble during this excerpt from the Dan Patrick Show. But, after watching the video, there is no other way he could have approached it.

Bo tosses Deion aside like a shower curtain , carrying another Florida State defender a good five yards into the end zone. I watched the last 20 seconds of this clip probably 17 times in preparation for this article. Wow.

2. Unstoppable Bo pisses off a nation of little brothers in Tecmo Super Bowl

[embed]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8PBvOxicz-0[embed]

My vote would be for Ray Allen's absolutely insane, uncheckable range in the NBA2K series which is perhaps responsible for the death of two of my PS3 controllers...but as this insane quarter-chewing run in Tecmo Super Bowl for the NES highlights, Bo Jackson was the first and perhaps the best example of a player getting mad love from the creators of a sports title.

I mean, he's not quite QB Eagles, but who is?

1. Bo creates the ultimate Bo highlight, running out of the Kingdome.

[embed]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0BQ72rE6iyw[embed]

All I can say about this classic highlight of all Raider highlights is that this was Bo in a nutshell--

He was always three steps ahead of everyone else, and then he was gone way too fast.

More for Justin Lee:

Charles Woodson's potty-training may leave Dennis Allen all wet

Terrelle Pryor, Matt McGloin, and the end of Al Davis

 

 

 

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