What happens when Paralympics Ireland invite a sports journalist to try wheelchair racing and tandem cycling?

Do a Wikipedia search for ‘Joe Schmidt’ and you won’t be hit with a bio and pic of Ireland’s current rugby union coach, writes Brendan O’Brien.

The first man to stare back at you will be the Hall of Fame linebacker by the same name who spent 13 seasons tearing it up for the Detroit Lions in the 1950s and ’60s and another seven as the franchise’s head coach.

Schmidt was on the roster in 1963 when a tall, thin string of beans by the name of George Plimpton turned up to try out for one of the back-up quarterback spots in pre-season training camp. What the coaches knew, but the players didn’t, was that Plimpton was actually a writer who was going undercover to see for himself how an ordinary Joe Schmo would fare at the summit of pro football.