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

In an extract from his new book on the multi-sport legend, Jeff Pearlman takes a look at the star's unusual trip across the Pacific for the Japan Bowl

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.