Allow Me To Re-introduce Myself

Sports fans are inundated with so much information, news, stats, and analysis we sometimes forget who the messenger is. Charles Barkley is so goofy and such a colorful character that we forget he is one of the 50 greatest players to ever pick up a basketball. We watch Terry Bradshaw on Fox gameday and listen to him yuck it up like a good old fashioned southern boy, but truth be told Terry Bradshaw is one of only 2 NFL quarterbacks to win 4 Super Bowls and played on arguably the greatest football team of all time. John Madden is coming out with the 20th cover of Madden football this year. How many gamers do you think know John Madden is a hall of fame coach and not just the tough actin tinactin guy? It's good to see former athletes and coaches parlay their personality off the field into a career after sports. Their accomplishments give them credibility to get their foot in the door but after that it's all up to them. We embrace them initially because of their expertise, but we continue to follow them because they make the game fun and give us a unique perspective. There are a lot of so called experts who never played the game yet give us their opinion like it's the gospel. It's different to listen to someone who has actually experienced what we are watching. If your personality overshadows your hall of fame credentials you done a great job of re-inventing yourself.