04/23/24
May 01, 2006
Now that's crossover. : Olympic moguls skier Jeremy Bloom said he'd do it, and he did: went straight from the Torino Olympics to the NFL combine in Indianapolis, and then entered the NFL draft, where he was picked up by the Philadelphia Eagles in the fifth round. Bloom played two seasons on special teams for CU, picking up 1,250 return yards, before the NCAA declared him permanently ineligible in 2004 because of his skiing-related endorsement contracts.
posted by lil_brown_bat to football at 09:38 PM - 10 comments
I agree...this man can do it all...ski, return kicks, and hopefully he gets the chance to be a WR for the Eagles (and seeing that the team needs more WRs next year, he will play...Pinkston, Brown and Gaffney are not gonna scare anyone...) I am NOT calling him Steve Smith though...don't worry about that
posted by chemwizBsquared at 10:08 PM on May 01, 2006
As a lifelong Eagles fan I am psyched for the team to get an exciting and dynamic runner. We have lacked for a good return man since Brian Mitchell left, mebbe Bloom can fill some pretty big shoes. I also am a pretty avid skier, to have him an Eagle is a beautiful thing. He got screwed by the NCAA, but should get paid fairly handsomely now. Good stuff.
posted by GoBirds at 10:18 PM on May 01, 2006
you'd think he'd be able to slalom his way through some defensive backfields anyway.
posted by tommybiden at 12:43 AM on May 02, 2006
Hope Bloom learns from JR Reed... Don't jump any fences.
posted by SummersEve at 05:28 AM on May 02, 2006
How was JR Reed jumping a fence that the BACK of his knee got injured?!?
posted by timdawg at 09:21 AM on May 02, 2006
My memory may be faulty as a result of all those tree collisions, but I don't recall anyone, anywhere, on any drugs, suggesting that Jeremy Bloom was the great hope of any color. Playing two seasons for CU in any capacity doesn't add up to "great hope"; nor does a two-year hiaitus during which he gave his body a pounding in another sport, nor does his (lack of) size. But while he's something of an unknown quantity, he's not exactly a novelty pick, either. He has some past performance that suggests that he can make a useful contribution in at least one role, he's got a history as a world-class athlete, and he's clearly used to hard work and disciplined training. Furthermore, this represents the first time in his life that he will be giving his undivided attention to football: at the time he was a Buff, he was also a member of the US Ski Team. Sooooooo...no, of course you don't hang the hopes of a team that's got some significant holes on one unproven rookie special teams player. Nobody's doing that. So what's all this "hype" that you're talking about?
posted by lil_brown_bat at 11:33 AM on May 02, 2006
I didn't realize that the NCAA didn't give him an explanation or anything. How crappy for him! I don't understand why he is so different from those professional baseball players who come back and play college football (Weinke).
posted by bperk at 11:38 AM on May 02, 2006
Bloom will be a great addition to the Eagles. He has great speed. He should help the Eagles with his receiving and kick returns.
posted by dbt302 at 01:18 PM on May 02, 2006
bperk, if memory serves, the difference in the NCAA's eyes is that a guy being paid to play baseball constitutes a "job" , no different than Mario Williams working for Subway for 2-3 years. The lack of big money contracts in pro skiing dictates a skier needs endorsement money to survive in the sport. Blooms arguement was that point exactly and the NCAA wouldn't budge, saying it was against the rules to accept "endorsement" money-of any kind-from anyone under any circumstances.
posted by ksb122 at 10:47 AM on May 05, 2006
I, for one, hope Bloom can make a decent NFL career for himself. I think he got a raw deal from the NCAA with regards to his eligibility. Something tells me that even if he is not successful as a professional football player, he'll make it doing something else, though -- seems to be pretty multi-talented. And welcome back, lbb