UPDATE: Usian Bolt's agent denies reports of pending race. Stay tuned for any updates.

Titan’s Chris Johnson To Challenge….Usain Bolt?

After joining the illustrious 2,000 Yard Club, Chris Johnson isn’t going to use the off-season to rest. The highlight stud from this season is supposedly already preparing for a post-season matchup, but his opponent won’t be a linebacker for once. Instead Chris “Desperately Needs A Cool Nickname” Johnson is going to be taking on the fastest man on the planet, Usain Bolt.

Hailing from Jamaica, Bolt set the 2008 Olympics on fire with world record times in the 100 meter sprint, 200 meter sprints and anchored a team that shattered the 4x100 meter relay record. That wasn’t enough for Bolt, who went on to break his own world records at the world championships with times of 9.58 seconds in the 100 meter and 19.19 in the 200 meter sprint.

Here are the odds on this rumored event:

Johnson is used to setting records, but only on the football field. At the NFL combine, which is a clunky method of measuring the athletic abilities of NFL prospects prior to the draft, Johnson put himself on the map by clocking a 4.24 second 40-yard dash. In high school, Johnson was one of Florida’s premier sprinters clocking personal bests of 10.38 seconds in the 100 meters and 21.30 seconds in the 200 meters. During his senior year of high school, Johnson finished second in the Florida 4A state championships behind Walter Dix, an American Olympic sprinter who notched a bronze medal at the 2008 Olympic Games.

Now four years removed from the track, Johnson is going from taking on the world’s best football players, to the fastest man in his sport. The Tennessee Titan is used to taking on some of the biggest challenges in the NFL, but the former 24th overall pick from the 2008 draft has a lot to prove on a track and going up against the all-galaxy sprinting talent of Usain Bolt seems absurd.

The clash of the sprinting titan and the Tennessee Titan is having trouble getting right out of the starting blocks primarily because the camps are debating over the actual distance they’re supposed to run. Johnson would obviously prefer an event that favored his burst so he wants the race to be shorter. Bolt wants the race to be longer. Wouldn’t it be fair to make this race the length of a football field?

Track has used these gimmick events to bring attention to its sport. Canadian sprinter Donavan Bailey (the Terrell Owens of track and field) challenged U.S. legend Michael Johnson in a race where the American gave up halfway through the race. On Fox’s one-time program of Man vs. Beast, sprinter Shawn Crawford beat a giraffe who couldn’t even figure out it was in a race, and then got smoked by a freaking zebra. It remains to be seen exactly what either man could gain from such a showdown.

In fact, what fans could gain out of this matchups is unclear too. If Johnson wins, is he going to end up in the 2012 Olympics? If Bolt wins, is he going to race other speedy athletes like Ichiro or Lebron? I’m all for these gimmicks but Johnson doesn’t stand a chance no matter what the distance is.

Johnson would be better served trying to outrun legendary rugby star Bryan Habana. In fact, for my money I’d rather see any number of these events instead:
Brett Favre vs. Randy Couture trying to pick out a new release at Blockbuster.Michael Phelps trying to outrace sharks with lasers attached to their heads.Michael Vick trying to outrun a pack of wild dogs.
Am I going to watch Johnson race Bolt? Of course. But I’m not going to be surprised when Bolts guns past Johnson and puts a debate nobody even bothered starting to rest. Football players should stay on the football field.


This information is provided in partnership with BetUs Sportsbook

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