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One of the reasons so many people love Charles Barkley is because if the NBA Hall of Famer turned analyst on Inside the NBA has an opinion on something, there is a very high likelihood he is going to share it.
Barkley, who attended Auburn University, mind you, made an appearance on Bill Simmons’ podcast this week and the subject of “irrational fans” was being discussed.
During the conversation, Simmons and Barkley were talking about fans will often claim that the announcers doing their team’s games have something against them and making predictions that go against them (something Joe Buck is often accused of doing).
While the pair were mostly talking about NBA fans, Sir Charles decided at one point to turn the topic to college football fans.
“You know who talks to me a lot about that? Verne Lundquist and Gary Danielson.
“They do the SEC, which are the worst fanbases in the history of civilization. ‘You don’t say everything good about my SEC school, I hate your ass.’
“When I’m in Alabama, I got friends who are like, ‘We on CBS this week. Verne Lundquist and Gary Danielson hate us.’ I got Alabama fans saying, ‘Man, Verne Lundquist and Gary hate us.’ I’m like, ‘Why do you all think that?’
“I know Verne really well. And Gary I like, I don’t know him as well.”
“I said, ‘They don’t give a (expletive) who wins. I know both of those guys. They don’t give a (expletive) about Alabama-Auburn football. They are here to do their job.
“But fans hear what they want to (expletive) hear, Bill. It’s that plain and simple.”
I wonder if Brad Nessler, who took Lundquist’s spot on the “SEC on CBS” broadcasts, gets the same treatment? (Just kidding. Of course he does. Singling out any set of fans as “irrational” is completely redundant.)
[AL.com]
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