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The Guardian - US
The Guardian - US
Sport
Jeff Pearlman

Beer, confused fans and a very angry mom: When Bo Jackson took Japan

Bo Jackson signs autographs for young fans in the run-up to the Japan Bowl
Bo Jackson signs autographs for young fans in the run-up to the Japan Bowl. Photograph: Tsugufumi Matsumoto/AP

On New Year’s Day 1986, Bo Jackson’s Auburn football run concluded in the most humdrum of ways. The Tigers traveled to Dallas, where they suffered their fourth loss of the season, a 36–16 beatdown at the hands of Texas A&M. When the Cotton Bowl PA announcer notified the crowd that Jackson (who ran for 129 yards in defeat) was voted game MVP, the news was greeted with indifferent silence.

This was hardly the way to cap a career.

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