It used to be that we knew Bo Jackson for his Tecmo Bowl heroics, running up the outfield wall and for his "Bo Knows Everything" commercials.Now we might start to know him as the guy willing to loan us a few bucks.
On Tuesday, the legendary two-sport athlete was among a group of investors that cut the ribbons on The Burr Ridge Bank and Trust in the Chicago suburbs where Bo lives. He's on the bank's board of directors and is said to be "rolling up his sleeves" and working among everyone else to make sure the small bank becomes a success during tough financial times.
(Insert joke about Bo conquering economy just like he broke a bat over his knee or ran over linebacker Brian Bosworth here.)
This isn't Bo Jackson's first foray into business. He owns the Bo Jackson Elite Sports complex in Lockport, Ill, with former big league outfielder John Cangelosi and has been successful with other investments, like his food company, N'Genuity. (Bo's also a gourmet chef.) He often speaks that while he may have been great for sports, sports were no doubt greater for him considering the post-career opportunities that have been afforded to him.
Since his retirement, Jackson has a led a family-driven life in the Chicago suburbs, but the public's fascination with him continues. Two years ago, he was the subject of two excellent profiles — one by Michael Weinreb and the other by Joe Posnanski — that landed in the same edition of Best American Sports Writing.
Time will tell if Bo's foray into community finances is successful — in the CBS interview he tells a story about being a certified teller during college and coming up $16,000 in his cash drawer short one day — but hopefully he'll have a little more compassion for his customers than the most famous — albeit fictitious — local banker in history.
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