Jeremy Bloom

Jeremy Bloom at NFL.com Jeremy Ryan Bloom (born April 2, 1982 in Fort Collins, Colorado) is an American Jewish [1] Olympic skier, fashion model, VJ, and an American football player for the Philadelphia Eagles.

Early life

Bloom grew up in Loveland, Colorado. His father, Larry Bloom, is a psychology professor at Colorado State University, and his mother, Char, is a ski and fly fishing instructor. Bloom has an older brother, Jordan, and an older sister, Molly.

High School years

Bloom attended Loveland High School in Loveland, Colorado, and was a letterman in football and track. For all four years, he made the Honor Roll.

Bloom was the quarterback (and a defensive back) on the freshman football team. He was on the junior varsity football team as a sophomore, and his top games included a 35-12 win over Lakewood in the 2000 state playoffs, when he broke three school records with nine receptions for 204 yards and four touchdowns. He also had 135 yards on four receptions in a win over Northglenn. Against Rampart in the 2000 playoffs, he had his best day as a runner, rushing three times for 85 yards.^{[citation needed]}

As a junior, when he garnered All-Area honors, he caught 19 passes for 550 yards and 6 touchdowns.^{[citation needed]}

Bloom earned Prep Star and Super Prep All-Midlands honors as a senior. He also earned 1st-team All-State recognition from the Denver Post, and added All-Area accolades. As a senior, he caught 48 passes for 1,116 yards and 12 touchdowns, and ran a few successful reverses, gaining about 200 yards on five attempts. He also occasionally returned punts.^{[citation needed]}

Loveland was 13-1 his senior year, claiming the Colorado 4A State Championship. Bloom finished his career with 67 catches for 1,666 yards and 18 touchdowns.

He lettered in track three times (relays, sprints), and was a 3-time All-State performer. He helped Loveland to the state title his junior year as a member of the 4x200 relay team.

His cousin, Colby Cohen, is a projected first round pick in the National Hockey League draft.^{[citation needed]}

Participating later in the Superstars competition, he ran a 100-yard dash in 9.4 seconds.[2]

Skiing career

Bloom grew up skiing at the Keystone Resort, where his mother was an instructor.

Bloom joined the US Freestyle Ski Team at age 15, and was the # 1 ranked men's freestyle skier in the world by age 19.

Bloom competed in the 2002 US Nationals, coming in at # 1.

He also competed in the 2002 Winter Olympics at Salt Lake City, Utah, where he placed # 9.

Bloom's experiences at the Olympics were documented in a special that aired on MTV.

Bloom subsequently received a modeling job with Tommy Hilfiger Jeans. He also currently hosts Video Stew on MHD and is a VJ for the channel.

College football career

Bloom is a former wide receiver and punt returner for the University of Colorado american football|football team. He was declared ineligible by the National Collegiate Athletic Association for doing ski endorsements, after a long legal battle (according to NCAA regulations student-athletes are not permitted to endorse products. Exceptions are not made for endorsement deals in non-NCAA sports, such as freestyle skiing.) Bloom since declared football his priority, continued to train, attended the NFL’s combine after the 2006 Winter Olympics, and signed with the Philadelphia Eagles.

Pro football career

On April 30, 2006, Bloom was selected by the Philadelphia Eagles in the 5th round (147th overall) of the 2006 NFL Draft. The drafting of the former olympic skier was hyped, when he was featured in the NFL's TV show "Hey Rookie Welcome To The NFL". He practiced with the team all through mini-camp as a receiver and kick returner, but injured his hamstring during the training camp. Due to this injury, he was placed on injured reserve and sat out the 2006 NFL season.

Awards

For his accomplishments in both football and skiing, the Colorado Sports Hall of Fame named him the Colorado Amateur Athlete of the Year for 2002.

Mile High Sports magazine named him the state's athlete of the year in 2002.

Superstars Competition

In March 2003, he won the 30th annual Superstars Competition in Jamaica; he defeated 9 professional athletes in the competition, of which all had to choose 7 of 10 events to participate. Bloom excelled, including wins in the half-mile run and the 100-yard dash (which he accomplished in 9.41 seconds). He donated his $45,000 prize to charity, as NCAA rules prohibited him from keeping it.

Commercial

Leading up to the draft, Jeremy, along with fellow prospects Vernon Davis and A. J. Hawk, appeared in ads for Under Armour's new line of football cleats, with the slogan Click Clack (I think they hear us coming).

External Links

Credits

2006 Olympic Winter Games, 6th
2002 Olympic Winter Games, 9th
2005 World Cup Champion (overall, moguls)
2005 World Championships, bronze (dual moguls)
2003 World Champion (dual moguls), silver (moguls)
2003 World Cup Overall Champion
2003 Duals World Champion