2010 Black History Month: #20 Black Sports Moment - Emmitt Smith

By: Luke Florence

2010 Black History Month: #20 Black Sports Moment

Emmitt Smith Breaks Walter Payton's Career Rushing Record

There must be something wrong with me. Something seriously wrong.

Yesterday I praised a UCLA basketball player, and today I'm doing the same for a Dallas Cowboys running back? Wow. Only in February.

There's a reason the Dallas Cowboys won three Super Bowls in a four year stretch in the mid 1990s. They had Troy Aikman, Michael Irvin, and Emmitt Smith carrying the load offensively. I hated them all. Still do. But you have to admit, what Emmitt Smith was able to do was impressive.

At the time, I didn't think Smith was all that good. Sure he rushed for a ton of yards, and sure he scored a ton of touchdowns, but I still thought he was over-rated. I thought Barry Sanders was better ... way better.

Looking back at Emmitt's career, you have to admire his consistency, which also accurately describes his rushing style. Consistent.

He was the first player in NFL history to run for 1400 yards in five consecutive seasons, and he was the first to run for 1000 yards in 11 straight seasons. Think about that for just a second. Every year, for more than a decade, Smith posted more than 1000 yards. He's the NFL's version of Hank Aaron. Maybe Aaron and Smith didnt break any single season records, but they were really good for a really long time.

On October 27, 2002, Emmitt Smith broke Walter Payton's all-time career rushing record. Smith would play two more seasons in the NFL and ended with 18,355 rushing yards. Sure, he also has the most carries in NFL history, but that shouldn't take away from Emmitt's accomplishments.

Running backs just don't last. They never have. There's a reason Jim Brown, Robert Smith, and Barry Sanders stopped playing with seemingly numerous years left on their career. Running backs in the NFL take a pounding every time they touch the ball. Emmitt was the Energizer Bunny. He took a licking and kept on ticking.

After football, Emmitt had a tough time deciding what to do. He wanted to be involved with the league, so he took up a gig on ESPN. As the all-time leading rusher, ESPN had to hire him. But, as you are about to see, Emmitt was awful. In all my years of watching commentators on sports shows, it's safe to say that Emmitt Smith was the worst.

But that's okay. We all can't be good at everything.

Hint for #19: Our first collection of moments. This guy has more rings than Michael Jordan, and maybe just as many big shots.

Until next time, "read it, roll it, hole it."