Saturday in South Bend, Indiana, the College Football Hall of Fame inducted a handful of notable players and coaches because, you know, it was a Hall of Fame ceremony. The 21 man class included UCLA quarterback Troy Aikman, Oklahoma State RB Thurman Thomas, Wyoming tight end Jay Novacek, Notre Dame and South Carolina head coach Lou Holtz, and Ohio State coach John Cooper.
Also inducted was the Florida State nose-guard who holds the school record for forced fumbles (17), ranks second in career tackles with 483 (Bobby Bowden holds the school record with 14,543, most of which occurred while chasing after his own players who just committed a crime*) and ranks third with 44 tackles for a loss. This nose-guard is also the first defensive player to have his jersey retired at FSU and was the first African American world heavyweight champion in WCW history. He is Ron Simmons, and he became a wrestler after an NFL career with the Cleveland Browns and USFL's Tampa team derailed. (Simmons won the world title in the summer of '92 after defeating Big Van Vader, by the way, also a former football player.)
The beauty of professional wrestling is that you don't need to actively compete in the ring to sell merchandise or get a positive crowd reaction. That's why Simmons remained a fixture on WWE television long after retiring from the ring -- he could pop up at inopprotune times and say one word.
That's true. They definitely should have marketed D-Lo chest protectors to kids for 40 bucks.
Josh, July 20, 2009 05:07 PM
To be fair Patrick, the chest protector does add something like 20 pounds
Patrick, July 20, 2009 05:07 PM
D-Lo, you were fat when you were getting an accounting degree and when you supported black militant behavior.
D-Lo Brown, July 20, 2009 03:07 PM
Looks like I'm not the only former member of the Nation of Domination to get really fat.
Patrick, July 20, 2009 02:07 PM
I care, Denny. I'm glad someone out there saw him play. I only saw him pile-drive people.
Damn, July 20, 2009 02:07 PM
DAMN!
Denny Loadstone, July 20, 2009 01:07 PM
Just so you know...and not that you care...but you do have at least one reader that calls Florida State "alma mater". And, yes, I do say that with pride. My earliest memories of college football date back to the 1978 and 1979 Seminole teams...and Ron Simmons was the anchor of those defenses...and Bobby didn't have to chase down half the team for shoplifting...far as I'm concerned, dude can say whatever he wants...no matter how cliched.
Sure, he thought it was weird, but as a rookie in his first photo shoot, Brian Holton didn't think he had any choice when the Donruss photographer asked him to remove his pants for the picture.