Posts Tagged ‘Charles Barkley’
Kiss My Mascot!!!
Monday, March 14th, 2011As an adult when I go to sporting events at times I get irritated by the mascots. They run around act a fool and sometimes get in the way of the actual event. I sometimes wonder if they are even necessary.
Back in November (2010), the old Sixers and Flyers arena, The Spectrum, was set to be demolished. On tv as they were showing footage from events in the arena they flashed pictures of the old Sixers Mascot Big Shot. I had not seen Big Shot in years because he had been replaced by a steroid using hyper active bunny named Hip-Hop.
Big Shot
Hip-Hop
At the moment I saw Big Shot all sorts of memories popped in my head. I thought of going to Sixers games as a kid with my father, uncle or grandfather and watching Dr. J and Magic put on performances that make the current NBA look like a minor league. I thought of watching Charles Barkley playing his heart out and intimidating players that were Bigger, Stronger, and Faster than he was. I thought of watching Michael Jordan play live and putting the fear of GOD in Hersey Hawkins just by looking him in the eye.
What I realized when I saw Big Shot was he represented the moment when I fell in love with hoops. So maybe mascots do play a part in the sports world. Maybe there are kids right now at Sixers games who are watching Hip-Hop and are falling in love with the game. I doubt it though. Later in life when they see Hip-Hop they may think of Evan Turner stinking the place up or Elton Brand being abused by every other teams’ big men, or Andre Iguodala being asked to do more than he should.
On second thought maybe I should be giving credit to Dr. J, Maurice Cheeks, Moses Malone, Charles Barkley, Magic Johnson, Michael Jordan, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Larry Bird and many of the legends I had the privilege of watching play at the Spectrum.
I guess mascots can represent both the good and bad. Unless of course we are talking about the Phillie Phanatic because he kicks a$$ no matter how good or bad the Phillies are.
The G.O.A.T Mascot!
What do mascots mean to you? Do they matter at all? Or am I just tripping?
Are Athletes Role Models?
Tuesday, October 5th, 2010If you have listened to previous episodes of The Greatest Marshall Faulking Sports Internet Talk Show then you know on Pass The Rock I have talked about athletes being allowed to get away with moral transgressions due to their superior athletic abilities. Because of this they continue to make bad decisions and end up in the spotlight for many things other than sports. It seems as though these days the sports section of the news has more scandal than gossip magazines. There seems to be just as many athletes on TMZ’s website as there are on ESPN’s website.
I had a conversation with a friend about athletes and their legal trouble, as well as which athletes give back to the community and I made a statement talking about athletes being role models. He disagreed and believes athletes are not role models, but they are just individuals who have been blessed with superior athletic ability which does not make them role models.
I completely disagree. I know many people will disagree with my opinion but I believe love it or hate it ATHLETES ARE ROLE MODELS! Many athletes are quick to say they are not role models but when they try to sell us any product that agrees to pays them they have no problem with crafting a certain image.
Remember Nike told us to “BE LIKE MIKE.” Many wanted to be like Mike although Mike lined his own pockets while ignoring many social issues he could have spoke on due to the platform he had and still has. (Had to take a shot at Mike.. lol)
The term role model generally means any “person who serves as an example, whose behavior is emulated by others”. The fact of the matter is kids will want to emulate their favorite athlete. Whether we like it or not and THAT IS A FACT!
We are part of the problem. We as a society put emphasis on many of the wrong things these days. Some of us who are adults still act like children and look up to athletes, movie stars, and musicians. We need to stop praising these people and start praising the individuals that really make a difference in our society. Kids used to look up to doctors, lawyers, teachers, firemen, and police officers. These are the individuals that make a difference and we as adults need to praise them.
I remember as a kid Charles Barkley having a commercial saying emphatically “I AM NOT A ROLE MODEL!” What’s funny about this is I have heard many athletes referencing Barkley’s commercial when saying themselves that they are also not a role model. All that shows me is they were watching Barkley as though he was their role model.
