It was once the case that the term extreme sports related only to a select few activities. Among those worthy of the accolade included sports such as surfing, snowboarding, skateboarding, motocross, base jumping and a few others. There was an obvious disparity however between the extreme level of even these ‘original sports’. You can’t really compare jumping off the kerb on your skateboard to hurtling down a 70 degree slope with board strapped to your feet, dodging trees, rocks and deer, whilst trying to outrun an avalanche.
Nowadays however the range of sports that fall under the ‘Extreme Sports‘ umbrella is quite frankly staggering. There are thrills to be had everywhere, including in the sky with paragliding, to in the water with the currently very popular, paddle boarding. In some cases it is no longer impressive enough to turn up to the beach with your surfboards, you now need to be involved in kitesurfing, land yachting, skim boarding and loads of other sports that people have dreamt up whilst presumably under the influence.
Some people think this is a bad thing and that the term ‘Extreme Sports’ should only be reserved for those sports either around from the beginning or that contain an element of danger so great that only those will a bit of screw loose are willing to give them a go. What they don’t realise however is that extreme sport is not just about the sport, it’s a way of life. It’s all about leaving your inhibitions and fears behind and just giving something a go. Maybe getting some new scars to show off, or scaring the living daylights out of your mother sometimes, but feeling alive every minute. Extreme sports doesn’t always have to mean laying your life on the line each and every day, it can instead be about giving yourself a bit of an adrenaline rush or bucking convention every now and again, which means that the term ‘extreme sports’ is really immortal.
The Georgia Bulldogs football team has been 1 from the most productive in history, having won nearly two thirds of all games they’ve played since 1892. Members from the Southeastern Conference (SEC), the “Dawgs” can routinely be found from the top 25 polls from the greatest teams from the nation, and are generally considered amongst university football’s elite programs – though recent years have seen them somewhat less successful than they are already from the past. Their stadium in Athens, Georgia is the fifth largest of its kind to exist on any American campus, and seas much more than 90,000 fans. The Bulldogs have fielded a host of great players in their history, but perhaps none happen to become too known as Heisman Trophy winner Herschel Walker, who carried the ball for that Bulldogs from 1980 to 1982.
Hershel Walker at Georgia
When Herschel Walker arrived on the campus with the University of Georgia, he produced an immediate impact. Despite being a freshman running back, Walker ran more than, around, and by means of the competition that season to set freshman records for rushing and aid the Bulldogs to an undefeated season. His freshman performance garnered him so much attention that he managed to get sufficient votes for the Heisman Trophy that he came in third that year – a rare and almost unheard of feat for an underclassman at the college level. That year’s Bulldogs went on to play Notre Dame from the 1980 Sugar Bowl, with their victory more than the Fighting Irish earning them a consensus national championship. After two more impressive seasons using the Bulldogs, Walker finally broke by way of inside Heisman voting and won the award in 1982 as a junior.
On for the pros
That junior year turned out to be his last in a Bulldogs uniform, as Walker created the fateful decision to attempt to circumvent the existing NFL rules and opt out of his senior season of college football in favor of going pro. Herschel was no dummy, and he recognized that his Heisman fame and stellar three seasons using the Georgia team had provided him with an elevated public profile that was unlikely to be raised any further by a fourth year of college play. He also recognized that if he could acquire some level of control above where he played inside the National Football League, that he would then obtain more control above the type of advertising revenue that he could obtain. He joined the United States Football League, exactly where he remained until that League’s demise in 1986. At that point, he played for that Dallas Cowboys, who had presciently drafted him in 1985.
His legacy
Though generally cited as one using the greatest university football players of all time, his accomplishments off the field have been just as important to the game. Widely recognized as having helped to force the NFL to change its rules regarding college juniors entering the NFL draft, Herschel had an undeniable impact on the lives of the several college players who followed in his footsteps.
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