JEREMY BLOOM: PRO, AMATEUR, PRO
Jeremy Bloom has been through more fights and legal wrangling in his 25 years than most athletes in a lifetime.
Most of it is because of that wizened group of grumpy old men, the NCAA.
It started when Bloom was accomplishing something no other athlete has pulled off: he was one of the top freestyle skiers on the U. S. team, an Olympian and World Champion; and he was playing football at Colorado University at the same time. On a scholarship.
But after the 2002 Salt Lake Olympics, the NCAA contacted CU to say it was going to have a "talk" with Bloom. The hard-nosed organization had a problem with the endorsement money Bloom was collecting as a skier. World Cup skiing is considered a pro sport, but college football is considered an amateur sport.
The NCAA did everything it could to stop him, even saying that Bloom could not accept the money put out by the U. S. ski team for his competition travel to World Cups. CU even fought the organization to support Bloom, whose was a valued receiver on the football team.
Bloom says, with no trace of animosity, "That fight went on for 2 ½ years, the whole time I was in school. I had a lawsuit against them. I had to figure out a way to play football and get my education and get sponsor money to pay for all my travel and other ski team expenses at the same time. The NCAA wasn’t willing to budge."
Despite the distraction, Bloom fought and, in a way, conquered. He won World Cups and won the World Championship in Freestyle. But instead of recognizing Bloom's incredible ability, the NCAA kept pounding at him.
"I had to give up football. The NCAA eventually kicked me out of college football," Bloom says.
Revenge is a good thing. Bloom is now a pro receiver for the Philadelphia Eagles.
His two childhood dreams have both come true. They began when he was just three years old, a little kid playing football with his father and brother. The family, from Loveland Co., also skied every weekend.
"When I got into skiing, I was really little, so I was pretty fearless and could take some pretty big falls without getting hurt," Bloom says.
At the age of nine, Bloom's dreams of making the U. S. ski team escalated. Now, he wanted to make the Olympics. At the same time, he was playing football in school. It never occurred to him to choose between the two sports. It never crossed his mind that he couldn't do both.
"I made the U. S. ski team in my freshman year of high school. I had a good nationals when I was 15 and made it. I was really really excited, really shocked. That was one of my dream goals accomplished," Bloom says.
The trampoline dryland work he did for freestyle made him a more agile football player. The strength developed for football made him a better skier. It was a perfect circle.
After being forced out of college football, Bloom won the freestyle overall World Cup title. He has won three World Championship titles. And it's not over yet.
Bloom explains, "I have not yet officially retired from freestyle. Though as long as I’m in the NFL, I can’t ski, they make everyone sign a contract "suggesting" you don’t do dangerous things like ride motorcycles or ski." So, at some point, Bloom may be back.
His off-season workout would kill most athletes. Six hours a day, five days a week that consists of two hours of weights, an hour and a half of running, an hour of plyo work, two hours of football practice, then half an hour of stretching. No wonder that Bloom is all muscle, with only 4% body fat.
At the moment, he's getting ready for his second season with the NFL. To Bloom, it's still a dream. He says, "I love it. The challenge of the game is a huge reason why I love playing football. I'm working hard every day to make that dream last as long as I can."