Multi-sport star Jeremy Bloom has abandoned his attempted comeback in freestyle skiing with plans to devote more time to his Wish of a Lifetime Foundation for low-income elderly.
Bloom, who starred as a kick returner for the University of Colorado and had stints with the Philadelphia Eagles and Pittsburgh Steelers, was attempting a comeback that could have resulted in making his third Olympic team.
“I’d love to go to the Olympics, I love everything they stand for, but I went back to skiing last year and it just didn’t feel the same,” said Bloom, 27. “The idea of training six to eight hours a day, which used to be my favorite thing in the world to do, all of a sudden became a lot of work. The passion wasn’t there anymore.”
Bloom won World Cup season moguls titles in 2002 and 2005, winning 10 World Cup events and three world championships medals. He won six of 11 World Cup events in 2005.
Bloom said working with his foundation, which is patterned after the Make-A-Wish foundation for sick children, changed the way he felt about the single-minded pursuit of athletic success.
“It really had a profound effect on me,” Bloom said. “It affected my motivation to win gold medals and win football games. Part of it was experiencing that, and part of it was just a natural progression away from sports. I wasn’t going to fake it.”
Through the summer it became increasingly obvious to Bloom that his heart wasn’t in it, but he wanted to be sure, because he knew when snow started to fall and commercials for the Vancouver Olympics began to appear on TV his feelings could change.
“It just didn’t happen,” Bloom said. “I really felt like the timing was right, and I’m really excited about the next opportunities and challenges in my life.”
There is no denying Bloom’s passion for bringing happiness to the elderly.
“A lot of times, foundations are created at the celebrity level for all the wrong reasons,” Bloom said. “We’re very different. We want to create a cultural movement that changes the way we look at aging, changes the perception about what it means to get older. Just because you age doesn’t mean you have to stop dreaming and stop overcoming challenges.”
Bloom cited the example of a wish granted to a 73-year-old woman, one year removed from hip replacement surgery, who had wanted to go sky diving since she was 8 years old. Her name is Lucy Gallegos.
“To me, that wish is so much more than just singular,” Bloom said. “To me, Lucy is an inspiration for her entire generation, for the 80-year-old woman who sits at home watching TV all day, feeling like her life has passed her by. The wishes we grant are just vehicles of inspiration and hope.”
Bloom created the foundation in January 2008 to honor his grandmother, Donna Wheeler.
“She lives in Keystone, one of the coldest climates in the United States, and at 84 years old still works fulltime,” Bloom said. “She always had this amazing, positive outlook on life.”
Bloom, who said he feels like he’s 12 years old again, has been doing television commentary for ESPN, and he expects his broadcasting opportunities to expand.
“He showed he was best in the world, winning a world championship and two season-long World Cup titles,” said Bill Marolt, U.S. Ski Team chief executive. “He will continue that success in his business and sportscasting career, and we look forward to working with him to tell the story of our sport.”
John Meyer: 303-954-1616 or jmeyer@denverpost.com
