Re: What is it about Barkley?

[Ellie Cutler <ellie@oreilly.com>]

Beautifully said, Theresa!!

Charles Barkley was easily my favorite player (after Bird), and I
will sorely miss his presence in the NBA.  Just an all round
big hearted, big mouthed, classy, right on, one-of-a-kind person 
who was a terrific basketball player to boot.  Can you imagine 
if he'd been on the Celts the past few years instead of Popeye or 
Pervis?  I wonder if the game will ever produce these kinds of 
bigger than life players again, or if was mostly a product of an 
era gone by, one with fewer teams, smaller salaries, and older 
rookies.
 
 --Ellie

>From: Theresa Lee <tjoyce@mit.edu> 
>
>What is it? It's his charm, charisma, big smile and intelligence. It's his
>round rump, silliness, and sense of fairness. It's his extraordinary play
>at a position he had no business playing (for a man of his height). His joy
>and honesty. "I am not a role model." "The refs suck." Whatever he was
>saying, you knew that he believed in it and would say it without apology,
>BUT he would also apologize if he thought he hurt someone. It was his
>generosity and his gratefulness for what the game gave him. He knows he's
>lucky to have been a basketball player. He understands about the Celtics.
>He put off surgery to come to Boston.