Michael Jordan, Bo Jackson, Deion Sanders, LeBron James. All four are considered amongst the greatest athletes of all time. Jackson, Sanders, and Jordan were all two sport athletes. LeBron is the most physically gifted human I have ever seen. But, we’re overlooking someone. Someone with a very recognizable name that people from ages 10 to 50 know and could tell you his life story. A man from Greenbow Alabama. A man named Forrest Gump.
Now, bear with me here. Lets look at the facts:
- He was a division one athlete at a blue blood football program
- He represented the United States in an athletic competition on the world stage
- He ran thousands of miles, only stopping to sleep and when he had to go, well, you know
- he carried four men away from a war zone to save their lives
Does that sound like an incredible athlete to you?
Look at the recruiting classes at Alabama. They are always ranked in the top-5 of recruiting classes, attracting world class athletes from across the country. Their greatest recruit, however, was in their own backyard, and was discovered after running a sub 10 100 in khakis and a button down. Could Usain Bolt do that? I think not. Gump went from a casual stroll to an all out sprint in a matter of seconds. How many people would have torn their groin? Everyone? Not Forrest. In the words of Ricky Bobby America is about speed. Hot, nasty, badass speed. And nobody embodies that more that Forrest Gump.
Oh, and did you know he was essentially an Olympian? When tensions were high with China Forrest and his ping pong team were sent as an envoy to have a friendly competition with the Chinese team. But did that stop him from dominating them? Hell no. He was so impressive Mao wanted him to be the official sponsor of his paddle! And how do you get to that level? Having impeccable hand-eye coordination.
The average speed of a ping pong volley is 25 MPH, with speeds getting up to 50 MPH. Have you ever seen Forrest lose a point? Or even miss a volley? No. Because the man possesses hand-eye not seen before or after his time on the tables. And to think it all started because of a bullet in his ass. Which leads me to…
His strength. The guy carried 5 men at least 500 yards to safety while being shot at. The average man in 1970 weighed about 170, and Bubba was thick so lets call him 200. That means he ran nearly 3 miles total with men on his shoulders and in his arms. Guy was probably squatting 400 and doing 50 sets of 50 bicep curls in his spare time. Not only did he have the strength to get all those men out, he had the endurance.
The man ran cross country- not the sport, literally across the country, multiple times, braving harrowing conditions of both freezing and scorching temperatures.
He ran across the country twice and know it wasn’t a straight shot so lets call one trip 3500 miles. 14000 miles total. His run took him 38 months to complete. That’s 368 miles a month, 92 miles a week, or 13 miles a day. That’s a half marathon every day for 3 years! And the man never got injured. No shin splints, twisted ankles, or, the worst possible injury, inner thigh chafe? Some would scream steroids. I say nay. The man was a machine whose body was finely tuned to never fail him. His combination of speed, strength, endurance, and durability make him not just better, but a more complete athlete than anyone who has walked this earth.
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