You know, Micah Parsons does compare to the uncomparable Bo Jackson.
Micah Parsons has been compared to one of the best defensive players in NFL history, and he belongs in the same conversation as one of the best athletes in history.
The Dallas Cowboys defensive end/linebacker already weighs up to Lawrence Taylor, and MP11 should be in the same chat with the greatest player in the history of video game football.
Since Micah Parsons was born in 1999, however, there’s a good chance Micah doesn’t Know Bo.
Former Los Angeles Raiders running back Bo Jackson played but 38 career NFL games, from 1987 to 1990. He never played more than 11 games in any NFL season, and never hit the 1,000-yard rushing mark.
His Major League Baseball career lasted from 1986 to 1994; he missed the ‘92 season because of a hip injury suffered in a Raiders’ playoff game that would eventually end his career.
He was an All-Star once who retired with a career .250 batting average.
Bo Jackson’s career in the NFL and in MLB exists more like Hercules, Adonis or some other creation of Greek mythology.
Some of his stature, and legacy, was created by a Nike ad campaign, and his arrival to the sports scene when ESPN, and cable television, made highlights more available than ever before. Throw in a video game, too.
(People who played Tecmo Bowl from that era know that Bo Jackson was the most unstoppable video game creation since Pac Man, or Mike Tyson from “Punch-Out!”).
New York Times bestselling author Jeff Pearlman’s latest work chronicles Bo’s career in a wonderfully entertaining new book, “Folk Hero: The Life and Myth of Bo Jackson.”
As a pure athlete, Bo was the best; roll out of bed, on no sleep, food or drink, and he could play any sport on the highest levels with what appeared to be minimal effort.
Even though his career totals in both baseball or football are not Hall of Fame worthy, that he played well in both the NFL and MLB without dedicating his time fully to either only fueled the idea that if he had, he would have been Godzilla.
Bo Jackson highlights are as ridiculous now as they were then; he made grown men, and some of the best players in their respective sports, look stupid.
Pearlman calls Bo the best athlete ever.
In regards to comparing Parsons to Bo, Pearlman said via text, “Size/speed combo. But, honestly, not an expert enough in Micah to speak with authority.”
Bo stood 6-foot-1, 220 pounds and could run faster than wind.
Parsons stands 6-foot-3, 245 pounds and can out run quarterbacks, wide receivers, defensive backs, probably a jaguar, too.
“None of them are faster than me, so I don’t really think that’s a problem. We just got to get him to the ground,” Parsons told the media this week at the Cowboys practice facility in Frisco when he was asked about facing Chicago Bears quarterback Justin Fields.
“There are some skill position players, (but) from the linebackers and defensive line, I think I’m the fastest player in the league.”
It’s absurd, and unfair, that a defensive end/linebacker could be the fastest player in the NFL. He also may be right.
Where you fall in this discussion depends on your age.
Former Houston Oilers and L.A. Rams quarterback Jim Everett was the third overall pick in the 1986 NFL Draft; that was the same year Bo was picked No. 1 by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, a team he never did play for.
In the 1986 season, coincidentally, Lawrence Taylor was the NFL MVP.
Everett watches Parsons, and played in Bo’s era.
“(Parsons’) is a freak alright! So was Bo,” Everett wrote via text. “But (in my humble opinion), I doubt Parsons could hit 30 (home runs) and steal 30 bases. Bo was just pure talent. Parsons is a freak but more specify freaky.”
In 1989, Bo hit 32 home runs with 105 RBI, 26 stolen bases and finished 10th in the American League MVP voting. It was his finest year in baseball.
Parsons as a two-sport star
What separates Bo from his peers is that he played in the NFL and MLB, like Deion Sanders and Brian Jordan.
Deion is a part of the “Greatest Athlete” discussion, whereas Jordan never is.
Jordan played defensive back for the Falcons from 1989 to 1991, and then gave up football to pursue an MLB career that lasted from 1992 to 2006; included was one season with the Texas Rangers, in 2004.
Parsons has another sport, or two, in him.
As a high school football player, Parsons played running back, tight end, receiver, defensive end, linebacker and, “Pretty much wherever we needed him,” said Calvin Everett in a phone interview; Everett was Parsons’ high school coach at Harrisburg (Pa.) High.
“I was a huge Bo Jackson fan. Huge,” he said. “There is a legit comparison because Micah is so big and so fast and so athletic. I’m thinking from a running back standpoint, when he played it in high school.
“There was a game where Micah dragged this poor kid 15 yards until he got to the end zone. It was just pure speed, size and strength. They were intimidated to even try to tackle him.”
When football was over, it was basketball season. Much like in football, Parsons was the best player on his team.
In his senior year, his high school played rival Reading High for the district title; Reading featured Lonnie Walker, who currently is in his fifth NBA season and plays for the L.A. Lakers.
“Lonnie was one of the top players in the country at the time, and we beat them,” Everett said. “Micah could have been a Division I basketball player. He was that good. Where he could have been an All-American was as a wrestler.
“I’m not going to say he would have been a better wrestler than football player, but he dominated every stage when he was growing up.”
Parsons didn’t even wrestle in high school for a team. He wrestled in middle school, and then gave it up.
In high school, he would only visit wrestling practice.
“He would just absolutely dominate these guys; it was just scary,” Everett said. “I’ve coached 20 years, and all the time I told my guys, ‘Listen, we can’t take credit for that.’”
There is no way to quantify “Best Athlete Ever,” but anyone who watched, played against or with, Knows Bo is at the top of the list.
Micah isn’t Bo, but he belongs in that discussion.
