We taco bout Barkley

So Charles Barkley’s in town and it seems we have to give him attention.  He’s a commentator for NBA games and a spokesperson for a weight-loss company (oh, the irony), but San Antonio feels the need to give him even more attention. 

Personally, I’ve been conflicted about Barkley for more than two decades.  He was mean to David Robinson and later went on to play for the Rockets, so I was compelled to hate him.  But then again, he was always entertaining.  Who can forget his standout performance in Space Jam?  He made Shawn Bradley look like some guy who’d never before acted in front of a camera.

Barkley criticizes our women and our river, we get offended, he does it again, the mayor makes a video, he does it again, women on city council make a video, he does it again.  Is it me, or is there a pattern?

Barkley will always be Barkley.  His problem, however, is that he is the face of all those that criticize this town without really knowing much about it.  He’s your cousin from Dallas that laughs at how small the city feels.  He’s your old college buddy from Austin that says our music options suck.  He’s the out-of-towner that eats over-priced Touri-Mex and thinks he’s seen it all.

We can fight back all we want with stats about a decreasing obesity rate and tours of Riverwalk extensions, but he’ll still have the same perceptions and make the same comments.  We know what we’ve got.    The Riverwalk is an engineering marvel designed to control flooding that doubles as one of the most beautiful places on earth.  I’ve personally meandered for miles of it under the shade of magnificent cypress trees and rested on benches where I exchanged smiles with natives and tourists alike.  My children and I have our favorite picture spots and snack-break benches. 

As for our women, they come in all shapes and sizes and we appreciate them all.  We’ve devoted much of our energy denying that our women aren’t fat, when we should have spoken more about proper body image.  There are big women in this town – so what?  I can see where maintaining healthy eating habits are important, especially with the high occurrences of diabetes and hypertension in the local population (genetics and flour tortillas), but are we talking about healthy living or the perceptions of what beauty in society are.  Why are the words "big," "fat," and "ugly" all found together?  

Let’s not forget the real reason why Charles Barkley is here – to comment on the winning ways of the San Antonio Spurs.  This team is criticized repeatedly, but I don’t hear Pop or Timmy or Kawhi or anyone else lashing back with videos or tours.  They handle it on the court.  Their winning ways show the world what it’s all about.  Let’s learn from the Spurs and keep playing our game. 

Barkley can talk a good game, but we know what the truth is.