Tiki Barber was a talented, fast, dynamic and sneaky powerful half-back who was considered a B- talent early in his career. Why would he be labeled a B- if he had all of these attributes? Because of one that I haven't mentioned, which was the one he was best known for before he met Tom Coughlin... 'fumble prone'. Thats the kiss of death for a runner in the NFL.
From the day Coughlin took over as the coach of the Giants, Barber began to ascend to the top of his game. When he walked away from football in 2006 he was universally considered a top 5 RB and may have been the best the NFL had to offer that year. He had put up 3 consecutive seasons of over 2,000 all purpose yards including his infamous 2005 campaign that yielded nearly 2,400 yards and double digit TD's... Oh, and a grand total of ONE fumble in 16 regular season games.
He showed his gratitude to his coach and teammates by throwing them under the bus every chance he got, and even leaked the news about his retirement early causing a huge distraction. As soon as the season was over he was introduced by NBC as their new dynamic TV personality. Not only would he be a big part of their "Football Night in America" show, but Barber also insisted that he become a part of the "Today Show" because he had soooooo much to offer.
Tiki was prepared for the inevitable question regarding why he retired at his introductory press conference. He made it clear that he was ready for a new challenge, which in and of itself would have been a classy answer. But, Barber made sure to add that Coughlins strict disciplinary coaching style was also a contributing factor.
He proceeded to amaze viewers with his mannequin-like facial expressions, fake robotic smiles and monotone commentary and interviews. While he was crashing and burning on TV, his former team went on one of the all time greatest Cinderella post season runs winning the Superbowl (much to my delight) by defeating the 18-0 Patriots.
So, he walked away... at the top of his game... made sure to throw the coach, who helped him reach his full potential, under the bus... crashed and burned on TV while his former team simultaneously won the big game... Oh, and he also decided to leave his pregnant wife for a 23 year old intern he was having an affair with. So now it's 2011, he his 35 years old and has no money to pay his divorce settlement. That means he is broke.
He has just notified the NFL that he plans on returning to football this season (if there is one). What a coincidence! Let this be a lesson to you children... EGO can be a dangerous thing. And, burning all of your bridges on the way up can make the trip down a very lonely free fall. Good luck to whatever team decides to sign this way past his prime, locker room cancer who has zero passion for the game.
No comments:
Post a Comment