Smith Wants Football To Be An Olympic Sport

Winning the Super Bowl wasn’t enough for Emmitt Smith. Now he wants to go to the Olympics.

The Dallas Cowboys star took on a task Tuesday that will be much more difficult than setting an NFL record for touchdowns: gaining a spot for American football in the Summer Olympics.

“My quest for the Olympics has begun,” Smith said at a news conference held during a sporting goods convention. “My idea, my dream, my goal is to go out and legitimize this sport and compete at the Olympic Games with my peers in the football arena.”

The event had the definite air of nothing more than a promotional campaign to sell a product that Smith endorses. The announcement was coordinated by Reebok and held in the shoe company’s exhibit area at the World Congress Center.

Still, Smith insisted his idea wasn’t “tongue in cheek,” though he undoubtedly would have a better chance reaching the Olympics trying to compete in another sport.

“I’ve seen Michael Jordan get the opportunity to go play basketball and come home with the gold,” Smith said. “I’ve seen the baseball players go play at the Olympics. I haven’t seen football players competing for this country and competing at a high level with their countrymen for a medal.”

Anita DeFrantz, a high-ranking U.S. member of the International Olympic Committee, said it was unlikely American football would ever be on the Olympic program.