Black History Appreciation #3: Deion Sanders

For most of my life, my favorite athletes have often been questionable character guys (see: Ramirez, Manny.) When you're younger, you're obviously drawn to the flashy guys who draw attention to themselves. When you still believe in Santa Claus (not the Easter Bunny though, he was total bullshit) and having to learn multiplication tables is still just a scary myth, you don't usually appreciate things like solid helpside defense, or going from first to third on a single to right field. You're more focused on touchdown dances and "fakin' the funk on a nasty dunk."

{Side note: this has been steadily changing as I grow older (and wiser?) Currently, my favorite player for KU is a 6'3" white kid who wears a t-shirt under his jersey; looks like Doug Funnie; does nothing but play good defense, sit in the corner and shoot open 3's; and hasn't made a facial expression since 2005. Buuuuut I do still love Manny.}

And my first ever favorite athlete, when I was eight years old, was Deion Sanders, aka "Prime Time" aka "Neon Deion." He was at the forefront of the whole look-at-me attitude of 1990's athletes. He was the first to wear a bandana under his helmet (paving the road for douchebag frat guys-- cough, and also Paul, cough-- to wear them while they go jogging over a decade later) and was a pioneer of the rolled-up wristbands above the elbow, headbands around the neck, unbuttoning half of one chinstrap, and he practically invented this style of facemask. He paid about as much attention to his wardrobe accessories as his playbook, as he skipped football training camp every year in order to play baseball. He didn't score a touchdown without dancing afterwards, and since most of his TDs were interceptions or returns where he found himself alone in the open field, we were often treated to Deion high-stepping his way the last 10 yards to paydirt.



But that was the thing about Deion. For all his flair and attention-craving, he backed it up. Not only did he play two sports professionally, he played both at a high level. He was the best cover corner in the NFL, and among the best kick/punt returners. He was never a great hitter in the major leagues, but when he got on base he stole bases like crazy, played excellent defense, and consistently hit better as the stakes got higher (batting over .500 playing with a broken foot in the 1992 World Series vs. Toronto.) He would play a baseball game, jump in a plane, fly to his team's football game that same day, and perform well in both games. That's just ridiculous.

I may or may not have three Deion jerseys hanging in the closet in my old bedroom at my parents' house (Falcons, Cowboys, and Redskins.) I may or may not have bought Deion's CD in 7th grade ('Must Be the Money' was an awesome song at the time.) And I may or may not have signed all my assignments as "Prime Time Jim" until my 2nd grade teacher told me to knock it off (my Brother still makes fun of me for that one.)

Once he became buddies with MC Hammer, and Hammer started hanging out on the Falcon's sideline during games, that was better than every birthday and Christmas present I received from 1991-1993 put together. Hammer and Deion together. What a combo. And they like those girls with the pumps and a bump.