Charles Barkley Says He Was Offered An Announcing Spot On Monday Night Football But Turned It Down. Wait, What?
PFT- Charles Barkley recently claimed he was offered Monday Night Football, and that he turned it down. The remark was made during an appearance on the first episode of The Jim Brockmire Podcast, in which Hank Azaria inhabits the excellent Brockmire character for some sports talk.
He doesn’t say when the offer was made, only that, “I like football, but I ain’t gonna be one of these jackasses get on TV and act like he know about football.”
ESPN has taken a lot of shit over the years for Monday Night Football, almost every single ounce of it earned, but I gotta give them credit for at least throwing around the idea of adding Charles Barkley to the broadcast even if he turned them down. Who gives a shit if he doesn't know much about the NFL? Jason Witten could've told you the strengths every team, the weaknesses of every player, and which coverage a defense was in once they left the huddle. But all of us would rather listen to paint dry than listen to him talk football. And while I appreciated hearing Jon Gruden wax poetic about Spider 2 Y Banana, I don't think he ever criticized one player and may have said he loved every person to ever wear a helmet on Monday Night Football.
Charles Barkley will always let you know exactly what he is thinking, uncut to the gut without any regard for someone else's feelings. Does he always know what he's talking about? Of course not! But that's part of the charm with Charles and a reason he still cashes those Turner checks during the NCAA Tournament. I don't need Charles Barkley to tell me about the X's and the O's or the Jimmys and the Joes during a Monday Night Football game. The two guys in the booth can handle that shit. Just take the Boogermobile out of the cobwebs, put Charles Barkley on it, call it the Chuckwagon and let him just say whatever comes into his head. BOOM! Even a broadcast with Steve Levy and Brian Griese can be entertaining now.
However this is all a pipe dream because Charles Barkley would rather keep the job(s) he has instead of gaining a new revenue source to gamble away when he's not golfing in his free time. I can't even hate that. Being able to turn down a dream job for millions because you are already rich enough is the American dream.