“I’m an outdoorsman, and you might be one, too,” said “Prime Time” Deion Sanders as he introduced viewers to ESPN Outdoors’ The New American Sportsman.
The former trash-talking, end-zone jiving two-sport star has now become an outdoorsman. And just how did he do that?
Did he complete a course that certified him as an outdoorsman?
Did he pay $5,000 to go and kill a monster buck and think then he entered the realm of the outdoor world?
Maybe he received a joint certificate when he became an ordained minister, who knows? What I do know is this, if Deion is an outdoorsman, then I don’t want to be one.
As I became intrigued with the idea that this superstar was interested in the outdoor world, or at least the money that he was getting paid to promote it, I watched attentively.
Deion was headed to South America to do some fishing. At least that’s what he said.
The great outdoorsman had one on the line.
“Great,” I thought. “Now, I will get to see what he is made of.”
And I did.
He reeled the fish in and the guide took the fish off the hook for him. Deion then preceded to take a little nap while the guide searched for more fish. Now that’s an outdoorsman.
After the show, I evaluated Prime Time’s claim about being an outdoorsman.
He simply isn’t one. Not even close.
So I began to think about some people who are outdoorsman.
Toxey Haas and Bill Jordan, the camouflage kings, came to mind. They took a dream of making camo and turned it into a reality. They influence the way people hunt and the way people think about hunting.
Mossy Oak and Realtree are the monopoly in the outdoor world. Not a day goes by were I don’t see a license plate with the logo of one of the two companies on it. These two men influence every single outdoorsmen in the world; that is something very few people can say.
Fred Bear, the founder of the compound bow, is a legend. In the early ’20s, Bear started his own line of archery equipment. In those days, there were few archers in the world, but Bear devoted his life to the development of archery equipment. By
the early ’40s, Bear’s company was becoming more and more successful. His work led to the quality of equipment that we have. He revolutionized the way people thought about hunting. Bear chose to get close to his game, and those techniques made him an icon in the outdoor world.
Chuck Adams defines the term, “bow hunter.”
In 1990, he became the first archer to harvest all 27 North American big-game species, a feat called the Super Slam. He has more Pope and Young records than anyone else. Adams has also written over 3,900 articles on archery and published nine books devoted to the art of bow hunting. Above all, Adams is considered by many outdoorsmen to be the best bowhunter of all time.
Now, that is something to be proud of.
Organizations like Ducks Unlimited and the National Wildlife Turkey Federation are designed for outdoorsmen. Without the support of these organizations, the quality of hunting and fishing in the Unites States would be nowhere near where it is today.
The National Refuge System was started a century ago by avid outdoorsman and President Teddy Roosevelt. Without the National Refuge system, we would be without much of the public land that we have today.
Record book animals and outdoor patents did not make these people outdoorsman.
Their passion for what they do makes these people true outdoorsmen. They simply love what they do.
It’s a great feeling to take someone on a successful hunting or fishing trip. To see the fire light-up in their eyes when they take a deer makes your effort worth it. They will be hooked for life on the outdoor world. That is being an outdoorsman.
Maybe there will be a time when Deion becomes an outdoorsman. Maybe not. But the rest of us should continue to be thankful for what we have and influence those around us in the way that true outdoorsmen should.