Okay, maybe that won't exactly happen (and there are lots of parents out there who don't want their kids to be president), but sports have played major roles in the lives of a number of presidents. And today, a number of former athletes are turning to politics. In Congress, there is J.C.Watts, the former Oklahoma Sooner quarterback and Steve Largent, the former Seattle Seahawk wide receiver. And former New York Knick Bill Bradley spent a distinguished career in the Senate and recently ran for the Democratic bid for the presidency.
Many recent presidents enjoy jogging and playing golf. George Bush played baseball, and was captain of his team, while at Yale (and his son George W. Bush had a very brief baseball career in school). Gerald Ford was an offensive lineman and captain of the University of Michigan football team.
The Kennedy family was famous for its touch football games. Jack Kennedy's bad back prevented him from playing varsity sports at school, either in high school or college, but he was an avid sailor. Franklin Roosevelt was also enjoyed sailing.
Theodore Roosevelt's history in sport is a major part of his life story. As a child, he was severely asthmatic and often deathly ill. One day, his father came to him and said, "Theodore, you have the brain but not the body. You always exercise your mind, and no you need to exercise your body." A gym was built in the family's home, and young Theodore began working his body to legendary proportions. He boxed (competively in college), rode horses, swam, hiked, wrestled, played tennis. However, when he was president, he tried to make football illegal. He felt it was too dangerous.
Those are just a few presidential athletes.
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