Michael Jordan & Charles Barkley Roasting Each Other On Oprah Is Exactly Why We Need Them To Kiss & Make Up
This is as classic Charles Barkley and MJ as it's ever going to get in the waning days of media before the internet explosion. Oprah broadcasting this out of her West Loop studio has me feeling all types of nostalgia but for now I want to limit it to a gaping hole in my heart. I need Charles & MJ back together pronto. We all do. So bad that I'm willing to broker an official Sit Down at a local watering hole of their choosing. I'm willing to make that sacrifice because if there's on thing I can guarantee everyone, it's that the world is a better place when the greatest basketball player of all time holds proverbial hands with the greatest pro-athlete personality of our time.
Somewhere/everywhere it makes sense that their souls should be intertwined for our collective entertainment until death do us part. The bodies and stories these guys left behind in the 90's is something we should hold a lot more sacred and I feel like we're really pussyfooting around not getting MJ on the phone with Charles. And for what? Some fast and loose commentary on the Waddle & Silvy show almost 10 years ago? Give this beef the same effort you gave the Detroit Pistons, MJ. Don't leave us hanging with a 24 minute Oprah video knowing what kind of greatness lurks should you and Chuck patch it up.
But if you do (again please don't) here are the best parts:
- MJ: "I know when to eat and when not to eat."
- Charles Barkley tells a story of MJ ripping on him for giving a homeless guy some money. Oprah's audience incredulously enjoys the anecdote, objectively an un-woke move.
- They talk a lot about picking up the check. Reminder that MJ is worth $2.1BILLION and Charles is only worth about $50M. That's how big the discrepancy is. I just said "only worth about $50M" like it was nothing. I feel sick.
- Apparently Charles used to be a 3-5 handicap and the historic golf atrocities are very much just a mental thing.
You've heard the rumor before but to hear Barkley struggle through the explanation while MJ rips him mercilessly is amazing.
- 11:50 - starts a segment that ends in an absolute must listen insult on Charles Barkley. If you've learned anything from TLD, it's that MJ is notoriously petty and this dig seems like no exception. MJ smells blood and he rips your heart out, that's a fact.
- Should go without saying, but this interview gave birth to a coveted MJ meme
- How about Chuck sitting there in MJ clothes, next to MJ in a tailored suit? Then in the same conversation explains that MJ likes him more than other people because he doesn't follow him around like a puppy dog. Look no further than this sequencing when attempting to grasp MJ's influence
- Obligatory MJ hating on younger basketball players because they get their endorsements up front. Love that.
- The part at the end just hurts about them being friends and it makes me realize I need primetime MJ back in my life. I won't stop with the end of the TLD and neither should any of you. His Charisma is a flat 10.0 on the charts, even alongside Barkley when he's objectively revered for being the best TV personality in the sport. Except of course when seated next to MJ because it's impossible for him to steal the show.
- And that's a 500+ word blog breaking down a 15 year old interview between two guys that dominated the NBA in the 80's and 90's
Love,
TBC