Anti-heroes

In the wake of the deification of Bob Barker before and after his death, let's not forget that he also had a long history of sexually harassing the models on his game show when the cameras were off. (Cue the chorus: "He was great in 'Happy Gilmore,' though!")

I liked the guy OK, but I was never a fan after the allegations came out, and then kept on coming.

On the other hand, I remained a fan of Vin Scully even after he and Madrigas buried that dead hooker out in the desert.

 

how mike tyson got rehabbed -- during the #MeToo era -- into some lovable rogue is beyond me. guy spent 3 years in prison for rape....

I get the, 'paid his dues' part. but this guy, in this culture, now?

 

I think a big part of Tyson's "rehab" was his diagnosis of being bipolar - and he was so damn funny in The Hangover!

 

Barker’s womanizing was the first thing my wife brought up.

 

Oh, I never thought of Kobe as a “hero.” Even without the rape stuff, he was a pretty big shithead. If he mellowed later in his abbreviated life, good for him. He had, by most accounts, turned into a good father, and his wife stayed with him through it all. Those things, coupled with the tragic suddenness of his (and Gianna’s) death, did a lot to soften public feelings about him.

It was the spectacle surrounding O.J. at the time, not the crime, that overtook his reputation as a player. Also, if Kobe had written a book about how he totally didn’t rape her, but if he did, he would’ve done it THIS way, well, things might’ve been different.

 

Plus, the shit he pulled AFTER he paid his dues would’ve been enough to sink most people.

Biting Holyfield’s ear, trying to break Botha’s arm, the Andrew Golota debacle, saying he was going to eat Lewis’s children, telling a female reporter he wouldn’t talk to her unless she fucked him first, etc., etc.

All after he got out of prison.

 

Not sure if Neil Young has been mentioned yet, but the way he left his longtime wife as she was fighting (eventually dying) from cancer caused a lot of fans to finally tune him out.

David Crosby had it right.

 

Good call on Neil, a Canuck icon for sure who has fallen from grace in many people’s eyes. A number of years go he played a concert in Calgary, you know the heart of the energy industry, and slagged the oil and gas industry all the while behind the Westin hotel in DT he left 2 diesel buses running for over 18 hours. You could smell them a block away. I left work at from an office tower right behind the hotel at 3pm and at 7am the next morning they were still running. Screw the excuses that it keeps the fridge running, Neil. He’s got about 10 really good songs and isn’t even in Mellancamp’s league let alone Dylan’s.

 

There is a group called Hayseed Dixie. Their thing is "rockgrass" where they cover mostly heavy metal tunes but play it as bluegrass. It's a Southeastern U.S. group but has a big following in the UK, Germany, and Denmark.
I used to be a huge fan. About a dozen years, they came to town as their only North American stop of the year (in the home state of the lead singer and founder). There were two shows: Friday night in a club, Saturday night street festival. Both shows were packed and great. I shared my flask of Makers Mark with the bass player behind the stage before the street show. Afterward, they did a meet and greet at a downtown bar.
A day or two later, I looked on their website, and the lead singer was trashing the town and North American audiences in general.
My thought from that point on has been, "Fuck you, dude."

 

Remember when McEnroe and Connors were vilified for yelling at umpires during matches? Now they're beloved and it almost seems to be a requirement to verbally abuse tennis officials if you are a top player.

 

Blame The Hangover for rehabbing Tyson's image.

 

Bryant's pitiful apologists tried very hard to keep him in the news every day after his death, but the world had moved on to other matters by March 2020.

If you give yourself your own nickname you're probably a selfish goober.