Jock Food
Many athletes have a penchant for meat
by Larry Aylward, managing editor
Did Shaquille O'Neal nearly put a Tony Roma's restaurant in Dallas out of business with a gluttonous eating spree that would have forced heavyweight boxer George Foreman under the table? Or was that a 7-foot-1, 305-pound impostor that chowed on enough food to cater lunch to members of an entire indoor soccer league team?
A published newspaper report said the Orlando Magic center did lunch at the Tony Roma's before a January game against the Dallas Mavericks. Shaq devoured three sides of barbecued ribs, two plates of french fries, a half-platter of cole slaw, 15 rolls, pecan pie, apple cobbler, two pitchers of ice tea and a big glass of milk, according to the report.
Dave Oliver, the Magic's strength and conditioning coach, claims Shaq would never ingest that much grub before a game.
"I usually order his lunch for him," Oliver says. "He'll have a sandwich, a fruit plate and a pitcher of orange juice."
But could Shaq have given in to the allure of Tony Roma's? Oliver wouldn't say no.
There is a moral to this story: It is that most athletes love to eat, and many have a penchant for meat. While Oliver doubts Shaq's eating attack, he admits the NBA star is fond of cheeseburgers and barbecued ribs.
So are a lot of professional and collegiate athletes, who require many more calories than the average person. Most athletes aren't loading up strictly on nuts and berries.
"The typical athlete is a lot like the typical consumer. The typical athlete doesn't know a lot about nutrition," says Berri Burns, a registered dietitian and president of Cleveland-based Nutrition Matters. "The art is not to dictate what athletes eat, but to educate them so they can eat well on their own."
Since the early days of the Olympic games in Greece, high-powered athletes have always had an affinity for meat, says Dave Ellis, coordinator of performance and nutrition for athletes at the University of Nebraska. Ellis claims that athletes, unknowingly, may have been upping their competitive standards by eating meat.
Creatine, a nitrogenous compound found in meat, improves aerobic activity. Creatine is especially prevalent in raw meat.
Bob St. Clair, who was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1990, may have sensed the potential power provided by creatine in raw meat. The 6-foot-9 offensive lineman of the San Francisco 49ers (1953 to 1963), nicknamed "The Geek" (by those who knew him well, of course), is a big eater of raw meat.
When elevated in fast-twitch muscle fibers, creatine will enable an offensive lineman to lift the last few repetitions of 400 pounds on a flat bench, according to Nebraska's Ellis.
"Creatine improves an athlete's aerobic threshold to do more work, whether it's lifting weights or running sprints," Ellis claims.
The Nebraska football team won the 1994 national championship. The 13-0 Cornhuskers did it with a dominating offensive line that included All-American Brendan Stai and Outland Trophy winner Zach Wiegert. Of course, Stai and Wiegert spent many hours pumping iron.
They also like to eat. Stai stays away from hamburgers, but delights in steak, beef stir fry, chicken, turkey, pasta with meat, kielbasa and an occasional hot dog.
Wiegert's dinner fare consists of two steaks and two chicken breasts, among a grocery cart of other foods that are high in carbohydrates.
"Zack eats a little more than me," Stai notes. "He has a bigger appetite."
Both players are receiving a good, daily dose of creatine.
"Creatine has been around for ages," Ellis notes. "The research supporting creatine's positive impact as a supplement is just getting credibility."
Creatine is considered a food. It is produced naturally by the human body and generates another compound that is used for energy.
Nebraska's athletes are satisfied with the results from creatine. "I can go a little further with my workout," Stai says. "My energy level is there."
Levels of creatine diminish with cooking and age of meat, Ellis points out. Nebraska offers its athletes creatine in an isolated powder form, which is extracted and synthesized from animal proteins.
"We eat red meat as part of our diet, but we don't require our athletes to eat a ton of it," Ellis says. "We don't force raw meat on our athletes. But we don't have to recommend it to our [football] players. They love it."
So do members of the Orlando Magic, Oliver notes. "The guys want meat with their meals. But we want them to eat extra-lean meat," Oliver says.
The Magic's Oliver points out that adults, including professional athletes, will consume what they please. But if pro basketball players are eating poorly, it will show during the rigors of an 82-game NBA schedule.
"The guys realize that when they start feeling fatigue, good nutrition will be one of the ways that will keep them at a peak level [of physical condition]," Oliver points out.
The Cleveland Indians' Carlos Baerga will attest to that. Baerga was out of shape when he showed up to spring training in 1994, and it was evident when the season began. Luckily, the second baseman could turn to Fernando Montes, the Indians' strength and conditioning coach, who offered pearls of wisdom in the form of a weight-loss program. Baerga dropped more than 20 pounds in a few months, and his play improved immensely.
No, Baerga and other athletes who want to lose weight don't turn into vegetarians. But they may opt for a 10-ounce steak over a 20-ounce steak when dining out, Montes notes.
"Red meat is a major source of protein," Montes says. "But we teach players how to eat properly and the amounts they need in accordance to what they do."
Some athletes abide by eating rules that are actually myths, Burns points out. A diet high in protein will not help athletes gain muscle, as some think; and an abundance of carbohydrates will not make athletes portly, another fallacy.
"Some athletes fill up on red meat and delete the carbohydrates," Burns says. "Their diet is out of balance. If they're going to eat a lot of meat, they had better eat a lot of carbohydrates. The meat portion should comprise one-third of an athlete's plate."
Some athletes, especially women, choose to totally exclude red meat from their diets. Some female athletes from Nebraska have dropped red meat from their diets, Ellis says.
"We are trying to get our female athletes to understand how important red meat is as an iron and protein source," he adds.
Generally, women require more iron than men on a daily basis, Burns points out. "The recommended daily allowance for men is 10 milligrams, for women it is 18 milligrams," Burns says.
The message on proper diet is also hitting home among high school athletes, points out Glen Keppy, the president of the National Pork Producers Council who also spent time as a lineman in the training camps of three NFL teams-Pittsburgh, Green Bay and Detroit-in the early 1970s.
Keppy's twin sons, who were standout high school athletes in Davenport, Iowa, are big meat eaters. But Keppy says his sons and their peers will quickly trim the excess fat off even lean cuts of meat.
"I came from the old school that you clean your plate-and eat the fat," Keppy admits. "These kids are serious about their eating habits."
Shaq is serious, too-about cleaning his plate. Incidentally, Shaq could collect the NBA's MVP award, and the Magic could contend for the NBA title. Could Shaq be loading up on barbecued ribs before every game as a supplier of that extra energy?
Maybe he should. Word has it that San Antonio's David Robinson, one of Shaq's biggest rivals, lunches on meat loaf made with lean ground beef. He is getting plenty of creatine, too.
Larry Doesn't Eat Like a Bird, Mom Claims
Basketball fans recall former Boston Celtics' star Larry Bird for his uncanny know-how on the hardwood floor. Bird was a natural.
Some may call to mind Bird starring in television commercials promoting the Beef Industry Council in the 1980s. He was a natural-and true spokesman.
Bird's mother, Georgia, remembers her son for his voracious appetite. He's a genuine supporter of the meat industry, she claims.
"He's a big eater of about anything," Georgia says. "He loves steaks and beef."
That's no surprise, having been raised in the heartland of Indiana, where Bird still resides.
"Larry does watch his diet some, but he eats a lot and what he wants to eat. Food is food to him," Georgia says.
Mrs. Bird fed Larry and his siblings a lot of hamburger when they were growing up. But what is Larry's favorite dish? Not barbecued ribs. Not stuffed pork chops. And not leg of lamb.
Bird may like meat, but he loves sweets. "Larry's favorite food is pecan-coconut cream pie," Georgia says.