Column: Your picks are……
Published 4:57 pm Friday, August 26, 2005
By Staff
For those of you who read my column last week, which I can see quite a few did, I posted the list of the top 25 most influential characters over the past quarter-century.
This list was put together by the editors at Sports Illustrated magazine and was published on the CNN website.
I had asked readers to send in their suggestions if there was someone on the list they didn't see that should have been on there and here are the responses in random order.
Ok, Michael Jordan is not an influential character for those of you who asked "Where's Jordan?" I had about seven requests for him.
Yeah, he was a great athlete, but character? I don't recall seeing Michael running around in women's clothes or howling at the moon.
When I informed these people that he was not really an "influential character," I got a response from one reader that said, "He was in Space Jam with the Looney Tunes characters,"
No response!
The same rules apply for Charles Barkley…Hmmm…nope don't recall anything out of the ordinary with him except when he spit on a fan, but that surely doesn't make him an influential character.
Now Bobby Knight I can agree with! During Knight's time at Indiana, his behavior often exhibited a volatile temper. He was arrested for assault during the Pan American Games basketball tournament in Puerto Rico. He later threw a chair across the court, was vilified for kicking his son, who was on the team, during a game, and was known for verbally attacking officials and his secretary. Several books were written about Knight during this period, and although they noted his volatile temper, they were not entirely uncomplimentary.
In 1976, he made history. His Indiana team went 32-0 while taking the NCAA title. No Division I men's team since has completed an undefeated national title season.
He also wore women's panty hose while playing football in the cold weather for leg insulation.
Mark Fidrych AKA "The Bird"!! This guy set baseball on its edge with his antics on the mound. He was all the rage one summer during the 70s. Very colorful guy!
One of the things that made the Braves worth watching was when the "Mad Hungarian," Al Hrabosky, took the mound.
Bob Probert was one of hockey's last true wildmen. His fire on the ice was equal to his fire off the ice, which led to a relatively short career in the NHL. This was a bad man – and was singlehandedly often worth the price of admission.
John Rocker, previously of the Atlanta Braves, was obnoxious, told off the fans and made unremarkable comments on tv, about his team, fans and the media. He is very high strung and loves attention. He was consider a racist also.
Kenny Rogers, of the Texas Rangers, actually had charges against him for hitting a camera man who would not stop filming him before a game. He has booed at many ball parks this year for his violent streak.
Thanks to everyone for sending in their opinions. I had fun reading all of them!