Flabbergasted. That's the word Tiki Barber's agent, Mark Lepselter, used to describe how he felt about his client not getting the opportunity to make an NFL roster this offseason, save for a single workout with the Dolphins in early August. I must ask, though - were you really flabbergasted, Mark?
You were flabbergasted that no GM wanted to take a flyer out on a 36-year-old running back who hasn't put on pads in four years? Flabbergasted that no team wanted to face the added media attention that having Barber's presence at its camp - let alone on its roster - surely would have produced? Flabbergasted that no coach wanted an ex-superstar with a bloated ego and several ongoing feuds with former teammates in his locker room?
I like the word choice, Mark, I really do, but I don't like it in context. In a sense, I too find myself flabbergasted. But not because Barber's name isn't going to appear on an NFL roster in week one, or because it looks like he is getting blackballed by the league - akin to what Barry Bonds endured at the beginning of the 2008 MLB season. No, the source of my flabbergast - flabbergastion? - stems from Barber himself. What happened to him?
For many years Barber was very near and dear to my heart. I grew up an avid fan of Virginia athletics because once upon a time, my father also went to school here. And although I may not remember Barber's junior and senior seasons at Virginia vividly - the 1995 and 1996 seasons, the years he rushed for nearly 1,400 yards and 14 touchdowns for those keeping score at home - I do remember my dad's jubilation when Barber was drafted by our very own New York Giants in the second round of the 1997 NFL draft. It's always nice when a former Cavalier ends up on your favorite professional team - except for the Redskins fans shaking their heads vigorously, sighing with relief once they realize that Marc Verica got cut, and then subsequently weeping upon remembering that Rex Grossman is still their starting quarterback.
As a Giants fan, Barber was everything I could have asked for in a player. Undersized for his position - he's listed at 5-foot-10, but word is he's closer to 5-foot-8 and some change - Barber always had to get by on his guile, tenacity and fearlessness. With years of hard work, he was able to transform himself from a return specialist and third-down back with a tendency to fumble into a three-time Pro Bowler and one of the premier running backs in the league. His 2005 season, during which he gained 2,390 yards from scrimmage - good for third-most in NFL history - remains one of the best individual seasons I've ever personally witnessed.
But the love that Cavaliers and Giants fans had for Barber went far beyond his on-field success. Fans always liked Barber the person just as much as they did Barber the football player, and so did media members. In 2001, Mike Freeman of the New York Times went so far as to write, "If there is such a thing as a 21st-century football player, it is Barber. He is part great athlete ... part intellectual ... and part nice guy, who greets almost everyone with a smile. The NFL wishes it had a thousand players like Barber."
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