He's Speedy Will, and he's world class. He likes running, but he loves to get the pass. He practices all day and dances all night. He's gotta get ready for the Sunday fight.
For those of you twitching in your seat with that second-person lyrical re-enactment of "The Super Bowl Shuffle" by the 1985 Chicago Bears, take a moment to regroup as those less knowledgeable process
the info.
OK, long enough.
We're talking about Willie Gault, the former NFL wide receiver, ABC Superstars champion and All-American football player and track stud at
Tennessee.
And why are we talking about Willie Gault, whose final bit of NFL glory came with the 1993 Los Angeles Raiders as a backup to Tim Brown, Rocket Ismail, James Jett AND Alexander Wright?
Because Willie Gault is an ageless wonder.
Watching the U.S. Outdoor Track and Field Championships on Sunday, I heard the name Gault. Immediately, I wondered. "No, it can't be."
It can!
The real Willie Gault stood up.
He ran in the 110-meter hurdles. The master's division, that is. People over 40. Gault won the race in 13.87 seconds. Second place was David Ashford in 14.20 seconds.
Not that much of a time gap in the normal world. In the track world, that's another time zone.
That Gault even runs fast enough to be on television during a major track competition is impressive enough. That he still trains and competes at such a high level is more impressive than his rap skills as a Chicago Bear. (OK, pretty much anything anyone ever does is
more impressive than his rap skills, but compared with today's standard of rap artists, Gault would definitely earn an MTV or BET award nomination.)
Here's a man who spent 11 seasons getting beat up in the NFL and he can still run fast. Not exactly the norm for ex-football players. No walkers, no noticeable limps, none of those gruesome stories of
mangled limbs after being tossed aside by the league in favor of younger, cheaper, stronger, faster players.
That's a success story right there.
And now he's the nation's No. 1 ranked sprinter in his age bracket (40-44) in both the 100 and 200 meters.
That's an age-related accomplishment right up there with that 1.51 ERA of Roger Clemens, who turns 43 this August.
For fun's sake, let's see how Old Man Gault stacks up with the marquee runners in the open division, the one that counts toward national, world and Olympic championships.
Gault's 13.87 is nearly a full second slower than the 12.99 posted by U.S. champion and former Olympian Allen Johnson. In fact, Gault would have been 10th out of 10, just behind Ron Bramlett (13.58).
Strictly on priciple, it would have been great to see Gault compete in the open division. He probably could have qualified for the final, too.
Considering the mileage already put on Gault, what's another 110 meters?