Popular culture

Thomas is also famous for being absolutely unstoppable in the Nintendo game Tecmo Super Bowl. In many tournaments for the game, the Bills were highly sought after and often banned because Thurman's computerized counterpart was so good it gave the user of the Bills an unfair advantage. The same was true of the Los Angeles Raiders because of Bo Jackson. Derek Schaul, the Illinois State Tecmo Champion in 1995 coined the phrase "Ain't no stoppin' me.... Ain't no stoppin' Thurman T!" as he ran in the winning touchdown in the tournament, (vs. Neill Power on ESPN) which caught on with game fans and remained popular for years.

Jackson's legend was further cemented by his digital counterpart, affectionately known as "Tecmo Bo", in the 1991 video game Tecmo Super Bowl for the Nintendo Entertainment System. "Tecmo Bo" is one of the best running backs—and arguably the most lethal athlete—in video game history.[15] Players using "Tecmo Bo" have been able to rush for 800–900 yards per game, and sometimes much more. Gamers using "Tecmo Bo" have been known to run all over the field on one play, or run out the time of a whole quarter without being tackled.

Jackson has commented that fans will often come up to him and regale him with stories not of his actual football feats, but rather memorable Tecmo Bowl plays.

Though more realistic than other American football games of the era, like Irem's 10 Yard Fight, Tecmo Bowl had quirks. For instance, almost any pass thrown to a covered receiver resulted in an interception, and it was unrealistically easy for some teams to block field goals and extra points. Lawrence Taylor of New York and Dexter Manley of Washington could block any field goal or extra point simply by selecting them and running down the line and through the long snapper. Also, San Francisco and Miami each had a pass play that was nearly unstoppable against any defense, with proper timing: the slot receiver curl route from the shotgun. Human defenses could stop this by double teaming the curl receiver with the defensive end.[citation needed]