The above quote came from the lips of Dan Dierdorf this afternoon talking about what makes Jerome Bettis a great running back. Somehow I can’t envision Bettis, affectionately known as ‘the bus,’ in a tutu and pointe shoes dancing as the Sugar Plum Fairy in the Nutcracker! Look out Pittsburgh Ballet!

<img src="http://www.steelertribute.com/bus012.jpg" alt="" />

Nice one Michael! But, of course, “…the body of a guard, the feet of a ballerina” is exactly what you do want as a running back, to find those gaps and change direction on a dime. I guess it's also why boxers spend so much time skipping - remember Mohammed Ali "dancing" round the ring?

I don’t know about Jerome Bettis turning on a dime! He’s more of a ‘bull’ type rusher. Not to take anything away from him. For a big man, he is quick and very smart. Bettis knows how to pick his holes and let his linemen do the work. If ‘the bus’ wasn’t a football player he probably would have been a bull! Imagine running the streets of Pamplona with a heard of Jerome Bettis!
<img src="http://www.spin.net.au/~soren/bull.jpg" alt="" />
I do remember Muhammad Ali! Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee! For me, boxing died the day he retired. It’s never been the same since.

This started as a fun post and now I’ve discovered Pittsburgh Ballet is in big trouble financially. Steel town is mainly a football town.

In the Red

Isn't almost every ballet company in some sort of financial trouble most of the time?

While Bettis as a "ballerina" may be goofy, there are in fact several pro athletes who have studied dance, including ballet, to improve their balance and coordination. Stephon Marbury is one who comes to mind. And Chamique Holdsclaw's grandmother hoped 'Mique would become a ballerina. Although she took ballet for a number of years, she preferred basketball, probably just as well since the market for 6'1" ballerinas is limited.

I just want to know what happened the photographer of the bull, a second after that photo was taken? Hopefully s/he also had feet like a ballerina and was able to leap to safety.