10 Sports Heroes in the USA.

Written by: Vasantha Cover.Metalnation.org SPORTS

10. Michael Jordan

[{"selector":"#anim-c3fd3c43-c9fa-47d4-b87f-6cde06cf1fb1","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":0,"duration":9000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-6faa03b5-4fee-4e2d-91ff-b6207f6968ae","keyframes":{"transform":["translate3d(121.45215%, 0px, 0)","translate3d(0px, 0px, 0)"]},"delay":0,"duration":9000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] Cover.Metalnation.org I t may be hard to see how Michael Jordan reached hero status beyond basketball courts if you're skeptical. Jordan was once called "the first great athlete of the wired world

9. Terry Fox

[{"selector":"#anim-7e60e88b-3db1-4b55-912f-9272902b1924","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":0,"duration":9000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-5b84bcd5-4043-4165-8b1a-0e5c515dcc69","keyframes":{"transform":["translate3d(121.45215%, 0px, 0)","translate3d(0px, 0px, 0)"]},"delay":0,"duration":9000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] Cover.Metalnation.org Fox lost his right leg after being diagnosed with osteosarcoma in 1977. On an artificial leg, Fox ran across Canada in 1980 to raise money for cancer research. His worsening condition forced him to stop at Thunder Bay, just outside Ontario.

8. Pat Tillman

[{"selector":"#anim-811e60db-6af0-40b9-bb2d-a611d43c91f8","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":0,"duration":9000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-f89cb144-aff7-4ca0-897f-ec11e5ad269c","keyframes":{"transform":["translate3d(121.45215%, 0px, 0)","translate3d(0px, 0px, 0)"]},"delay":0,"duration":9000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] Cover.Metalnation.org Tillman left football to join the armed forces. At the time of September 11th attacks, Tillman was a star safety for the Arizona Cardinals, but he turned down a contract offer of $3.6 million. After enlisting in June, he completed basic training in September, along with his brother Kevin.

7. Roberto Clemente

[{"selector":"#anim-867e8f99-17d1-4bc3-bf0f-cce925c4e480","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":0,"duration":9000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-b72b232a-acd9-4956-9f23-1435ac59d1a4","keyframes":{"transform":["translate3d(121.45215%, 0px, 0)","translate3d(0px, 0px, 0)"]},"delay":0,"duration":9000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] Cover.Metalnation.org It is pretty much assumed by now that professional athletes and charities are linked. In the end, Roberto Clemente paid the price, and it cost him his life. Learn more

6. Billie Jean King

[{"selector":"#anim-9a6d3f3f-619e-4ec1-8f74-0a05496051db","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":0,"duration":9000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-3d3c8b45-962b-46e9-91c5-69d1d7f1cb83","keyframes":{"transform":["translate3d(117.82179%, 0px, 0)","translate3d(0px, 0px, 0)"]},"delay":0,"duration":9000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] Cover.Metalnation.org It has never mattered to me to cement my place in history. Sport is so fleeting, so ephemeral. Sport teaches you that life goes on without you." And I think that's why Billie Jean King is so important. Her famous victory over Bobby Riggs set a precedent for women's equality during the 1970s.

5. Arthur Ashe

[{"selector":"#anim-99db8b0c-e29e-4875-87cc-0fc560193842","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":0,"duration":9000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-33c51202-e57f-4303-950f-03305a2a8ce9","keyframes":{"transform":["translate3d(121.45215%, 0px, 0)","translate3d(0px, 0px, 0)"]},"delay":0,"duration":9000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] Cover.Metalnation.org Heroes are remarkably sober, and very undramatic. Their desire is not to surpass all others at any cost, but to serve others at any cost. Arthur Ashe said that. His inclusion here is due to that.

4. Jackie Robinson

[{"selector":"#anim-56ae70e7-2197-4df9-b8bb-8c02085024d7","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":0,"duration":9000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-40784842-079c-4605-8617-bc1275c50452","keyframes":{"transform":["translate3d(118.15181%, 0px, 0)","translate3d(0px, 0px, 0)"]},"delay":0,"duration":9000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] Cover.Metalnation.org A more than just a baseball player. He helped change a culture. And that's worth something. A powerful but completely contrasting American impulse converged in his life, namely the impulse of darkness and prejudice, and the impulse of idealism and optimism, the belief that in a democracy and meritocracy, all can advance ..."

3. Ted Williams

[{"selector":"#anim-d420c259-223c-4757-8459-3c6f0b7ae287","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":0,"duration":9000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-7213d0a2-0c1e-41f1-b1f4-839a2f3dff50","keyframes":{"transform":["translate3d(121.45215%, 0px, 0)","translate3d(0px, 0px, 0)"]},"delay":0,"duration":9000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] Cover.Metalnation.org Baseball will forever be grateful for Teddy Ballgame's contributions as the greatest hitter to ever live. In addition to his baseball career, Williams is well known for his military service.

2. Jessie Owens

[{"selector":"#anim-5c48428e-2713-4b00-8351-de5c53df3c8e","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":0,"duration":9000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-f2c311d6-411e-441c-a8b9-4e65cc8810e4","keyframes":{"transform":["translate3d(121.45215%, 0px, 0)","translate3d(0px, 0px, 0)"]},"delay":0,"duration":9000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] Cover.Metalnation.org I consider anyone who pissed off Hitler a hero. There is at least one person in the sports world who can achieve hero status in that way. In 1936, Jesse Owens was supposed to star in a showcase for the so-called "master race."

1. Muhammad Ali

[{"selector":"#anim-ed86a571-1613-416d-961c-2daaa331d39d","keyframes":{"opacity":[0,1]},"delay":0,"duration":9000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] [{"selector":"#anim-1c44fa64-dc60-4d84-ba19-c754169dde7e","keyframes":{"transform":["translate3d(121.45215%, 0px, 0)","translate3d(0px, 0px, 0)"]},"delay":0,"duration":9000,"easing":"cubic-bezier(0.2, 0.6, 0.0, 1)","fill":"both"}] Cover.Metalnation.org Whenever I introduce Ali, I want to quote David Halberstam: "As a fighter, he had a remarkable, luminescent personality, and he was a true original (unlike so many thin imitators since), someone who transcended sports for American history in the end

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