There are some movies so profound that they leave a lifelong impression on our very existence. Something similar happened with a former New Orleans Saints veteran as he passed on the opportunity to continue his stint in the NFL just so he could replicate Tom Cruise.

As bizarre as the whole thing might sound, Jimmy Graham is living his best life away from the game, occasionally cycling, flying airplanes, and even training to embark on a voyage that many dream of but only a few can pursue.

Chasing after Tom Cruise

Many young men dream of making it to the NFL. But very few are actually awarded the opportunity to make their dreams come true. However, that was not the case with Jimmy Graham who started his college career as a basketball athlete, but soon disappointing results shifted his focus to football. Graham’s genius on the field shined almost immediately as within his first year of playing football, he was highly touted by scouts. Although it was never Graham’s ambition to play in the NFL, it opened up certain other avenues for him, most notably fulfilling his “Top Gun” dreams.

Graham was still interested in making a return to the big stage, but an ideal situation is hard to find, “I was still thinking about playing last year and ended up turning down a couple of teams because, you know, for me, it’s about the right situation, you know, and the ability to mentor some young guys, and obviously, just to just catch bass in the red zone because, you know, I was pretty good at that.”

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However, football provided Graham with the means to live out his childhood dreams, “But this all started when I was a young kid, and then I watched the movie Top Gun and got obsessed with it. And then, you know, basically, when I went to the league, I just saw it as you know, you know, now I have every opportunity to make every dream come reality.”

Graham’s comments resonate perfectly with the generation he grew up in, and even though the whole thing might sound somewhat bizarre, Jimmy Graham might be the Tom Cruise of the NFL.

Jimmy Graham is real-life Pete Mitchell?

Jimmy Graham is an interesting man, or as AJ Hawk deemed him “the most interesting man in the world.” Graham’s comments about Tom Cruise and the impact of Top Gun on his life do make one wonder whether Graham is actually channeling his inner Tom Cruise.

Let’s just look at some of Graham’s hobbies. The man loves cycling, is a licensed pilot, and is preparing to sail across the world. Graham further elaborated that he lives on a sailboat, with people teaching him to sail, fix things (which turns out is very important for sailing around the world), and even cook.

And now tell me that doesn’t sound familiar.

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