betED.com -- The View from the Couch
The Round Mound Rebounds
For those of us who are spherically challenged and with the vertical of your average sea slug, having Charles Barkley perform at the highest levels was a welcome relief from the usual NBA sculpted superstar.
An everyman (albeit a 6'6" everyman) semi-dominating in the most athletic of all sports provided the belt-tension challenged an elite athlete we could at least quasi-identify with.
And, even though he is 13 years removed from his athletic career, that's perhaps truer now more so than ever.
For someone who is one of the 50 Greatest NBA Players of All Time, in his current role of semi-official mouthpiece for the game of basketball, he gives off the impression that he's not all that fond of the game. Instead what he appears to like more is talking about the game.
Ever caustic and contrary, he's like that know-it-all guy at the bar we've all met who seems to always have a derogatory quip ready to unload on any player, or anybody in earshot - except Barkley is tons funnier and way smarter.
Seemingly born to be a talking head, he was instantly credible the first time he appeared on screen and has been entertaining ever since. The perfect cure for a game that sometimes takes itself far too seriously, it's perfectly obvious why. It's because he doesn't take himself seriously, sometimes to his own detriment.
Over the years there have been a number of arrests - all for bar related fighting. One memorable night in Orlando he threw a drunk who'd tossed a glass of ice at him through a window. His only regret Barkley said was that it wasn't ?on the second floor.?
He's also a self-confessed gambling addict, which he gave up very publically after some staggering losses and a lawsuit for unpaid losses of more than $400,000.
All of those transgressions were somehow acceptable because Barkley was either contrite - or funny - but usually the later of the two.
This past New Year's eve however, things were a little different. Fun Charles was replaced with reckless Charles. After a night at a local club where he'd rung up an $1800 bar bill he got in his car, drove out of the parking lot, then made an illegal turn to reportedly pick up a prostitute - all of which was witnessed by police. It was a sensation on the net. The sound clip of the arrest was downloaded thousands of times.
He was eventually charged with DUI, fined $2000 and sentenced to ten days in jail. T-Mobile dropped him from their ad campaign. TNT suspended him from NBA broadcasts for six weeks, leaving his return an open question.
Then there was this past weekend. The media was flooded with images of the enormous man in his orange jumpsuit hanging out in stir with his fellow criminals - with complementary quotes from his prison warden describing him as the ?model inmate.?
The question every one was asking was, would he be forgiven?
It wasn't even an issue.
Three days after going in - his sentence was reduced to a full week earlier after he agreed to attend an alcohol-education program - he was released, once again a free man to ply his particular and peculiar trade.
However, even over that short period of time, he was never really gone.
While he was wiling away the hours in his private prison tent (other inmates had to share theirs six at a time) he was on the air on a Golf Channel pre-taped reality show getting lessons from Tiger's coach, Hank Haney, on how to fix his simply impossible to believe golf swing.
How impossible? His lessons were turned into a 7-week series with episodes entitled "Charles Barkley Has A Very Bad Golf Swing," and, "Charles Barkley Golf Swing Disaster."
Both those are understated.
The ratings for his first appearance, despite him being in prison at the time, were the highest the network has had this year besides tournament play.
TNT announced he was back on the air - and T-Mobile is back airing his commercials.
It turns out - Charles can pretty much do no wrong.
So - the question is, why is that? There are a ton of funny and knowledgeable guys out there, but I can't think of any who could get into that kind of trouble and come back so soon.
So soon? Barkley had comeback before he even went away.
It's unprecedented.
Why is he different?
It goes back to the beginning. Normal guys who watch sports like Barkley because they can see themselves in him rather easily. It was literally impossible to relate to someone like Michael Jordan - who was pretty much a perfect in every frikin way.
Barkley on the other hand struggled with weight, clearly loved to drink and carouse, hang out with the guys and once and a while, he would lose it.
Just like most of the folks who were watching him play.
In his retirement it was even easier to relate. Put yourself in his size 22's and what would you do if you had a job where you worked two or three nights a week talking sports, and that paid you more money than god?
You might just find yourself in a bit of trouble now and again.
Welcome back Charles. Don't do that again and try to be a good boy.
But not too good.
Cheers - Gavin McDougald - AKA Couch
The Round Mound Rebounds
For those of us who are spherically challenged and with the vertical of your average sea slug, having Charles Barkley perform at the highest levels was a welcome relief from the usual NBA sculpted superstar.
An everyman (albeit a 6'6" everyman) semi-dominating in the most athletic of all sports provided the belt-tension challenged an elite athlete we could at least quasi-identify with.
And, even though he is 13 years removed from his athletic career, that's perhaps truer now more so than ever.
For someone who is one of the 50 Greatest NBA Players of All Time, in his current role of semi-official mouthpiece for the game of basketball, he gives off the impression that he's not all that fond of the game. Instead what he appears to like more is talking about the game.
Ever caustic and contrary, he's like that know-it-all guy at the bar we've all met who seems to always have a derogatory quip ready to unload on any player, or anybody in earshot - except Barkley is tons funnier and way smarter.
Seemingly born to be a talking head, he was instantly credible the first time he appeared on screen and has been entertaining ever since. The perfect cure for a game that sometimes takes itself far too seriously, it's perfectly obvious why. It's because he doesn't take himself seriously, sometimes to his own detriment.
Over the years there have been a number of arrests - all for bar related fighting. One memorable night in Orlando he threw a drunk who'd tossed a glass of ice at him through a window. His only regret Barkley said was that it wasn't ?on the second floor.?
He's also a self-confessed gambling addict, which he gave up very publically after some staggering losses and a lawsuit for unpaid losses of more than $400,000.
All of those transgressions were somehow acceptable because Barkley was either contrite - or funny - but usually the later of the two.
This past New Year's eve however, things were a little different. Fun Charles was replaced with reckless Charles. After a night at a local club where he'd rung up an $1800 bar bill he got in his car, drove out of the parking lot, then made an illegal turn to reportedly pick up a prostitute - all of which was witnessed by police. It was a sensation on the net. The sound clip of the arrest was downloaded thousands of times.
He was eventually charged with DUI, fined $2000 and sentenced to ten days in jail. T-Mobile dropped him from their ad campaign. TNT suspended him from NBA broadcasts for six weeks, leaving his return an open question.
Then there was this past weekend. The media was flooded with images of the enormous man in his orange jumpsuit hanging out in stir with his fellow criminals - with complementary quotes from his prison warden describing him as the ?model inmate.?
The question every one was asking was, would he be forgiven?
It wasn't even an issue.
Three days after going in - his sentence was reduced to a full week earlier after he agreed to attend an alcohol-education program - he was released, once again a free man to ply his particular and peculiar trade.
However, even over that short period of time, he was never really gone.
While he was wiling away the hours in his private prison tent (other inmates had to share theirs six at a time) he was on the air on a Golf Channel pre-taped reality show getting lessons from Tiger's coach, Hank Haney, on how to fix his simply impossible to believe golf swing.
How impossible? His lessons were turned into a 7-week series with episodes entitled "Charles Barkley Has A Very Bad Golf Swing," and, "Charles Barkley Golf Swing Disaster."
Both those are understated.
The ratings for his first appearance, despite him being in prison at the time, were the highest the network has had this year besides tournament play.
TNT announced he was back on the air - and T-Mobile is back airing his commercials.
It turns out - Charles can pretty much do no wrong.
So - the question is, why is that? There are a ton of funny and knowledgeable guys out there, but I can't think of any who could get into that kind of trouble and come back so soon.
So soon? Barkley had comeback before he even went away.
It's unprecedented.
Why is he different?
It goes back to the beginning. Normal guys who watch sports like Barkley because they can see themselves in him rather easily. It was literally impossible to relate to someone like Michael Jordan - who was pretty much a perfect in every frikin way.
Barkley on the other hand struggled with weight, clearly loved to drink and carouse, hang out with the guys and once and a while, he would lose it.
Just like most of the folks who were watching him play.
In his retirement it was even easier to relate. Put yourself in his size 22's and what would you do if you had a job where you worked two or three nights a week talking sports, and that paid you more money than god?
You might just find yourself in a bit of trouble now and again.
Welcome back Charles. Don't do that again and try to be a good boy.
But not too good.
Cheers - Gavin McDougald - AKA Couch
