The NCAA may not want Jeremy Bloom, but somehow he's getting over it. After setting a world record last year by becoming the first male to win six straight World Cup bump-skiing events while claiming his second World Cup Overall title, the former University of Colorado wide receiver/punt and kickoff returner flexed his pecs on the cover of the Abercrombie & Fitch Christmas catalog and graced the pages of GQ magazine-soft porn-style, with a glistening babe in a hot tub. A segment and a co-narrator role in Warren Miller's Higher Ground added "film star" to his résumé, and a potential Olympic bid this year gives him a chance to medal-after failing to in the 2002 Olympics in Salt Lake City. And just to prove he's as philanthropic as the next celebrity, Bloom, 24, raised $24,000 last spring for Special Olympics Colorado at the Tommy Hilfiger Spring Bloom, held at Copper Resort. All this after losing a legal battle with the governing body of college athletics, the NCAA, which ruled that Bloom couldn't get paid for skiing while he was playing ball. But he's not putting the pigskin on the mantel just yet: Bloom stands a good chance of joining the NFL after the Games in Torino. Considering Bloom's athleticism, strapping good looks, and charisma, we wouldn't be surprised to see him land on the big screen-if he's able to hang up his spikes.
THE WAY OF THE WARRIOR
HEIGHT: 5'10"
WEIGHT: 175 lb.
DOB: 4/2/82
HOME MOUNTAIN: Breckenridge, CO
SECOND OPINION: "He's an incredible competitor. He's used what he learned from playing football in the Big 12, week-in, week-out, in front of 70,000 people. That's pressure." -Scott Rawles, U.S. World Cup moguls coach
FEBRUARY 2006
