| Andrew Perna. 9th December, 2006 - 12:57 am
 It’s the holiday season, and nothing represents American holiday’s better than professional sports. With New Years’ comes college football, the Super Bowl has nearly become the nation’s favorite February celebration, Memorial day means the NBA playoffs, the Fourth of July is for America’s pastime, and Thanksgiving is an unofficial football holiday.
Of course, traditionally the holidays mark the formation of multiple family gatherings. As sad as the truth sometimes is, most American families only come together around this time of year. Yours truly only enjoys time with his entire immediate family in the month of December, and before I know it the New Year comes and the family disperses.
Family values are more important to me than the NBA championship, MLB’s all-time home run record, and the NFL’s rushing record. So why have sports fans and media from around the country criticized the Giants’ Tiki Barber for deciding to retire at the ripe old age of thirty-one?
If a construction worker had the opportunity to retire in his thirties, before his back-breaking labor crippled him for the rest of his life, he would be championed in our culture. That is why Barber, who’s labor sometimes is even rougher than that of any job in the nation, should be commended for his decision. Barber will be able to spend the rest of his life crawling on the floor with his children, and eventually grandchildren.
Sure Tiki ran for over 3,300 yards and twenty touchdowns in 2004 and 2005, but he hasn’t been nearly as productive in 2006 – and with back-up Brandon Jacobs the Giants really haven’t needed him to be. Through twelve games this season, Barber had 1,170 yards, and was on pace to finish the season with over 1,500.
Jacobs, a second-year back out of Southern Illinois, has edged Barber out on two key rushing statistics – yards per carry and touchdowns. Last season, Jacobs got a majority of his carries around the goal line, where he punched in seven scores in just thirty-eight attempts all year. And guess what? He’s only twenty-four.
This season, Jacobs is on pace for well over a hundred carries, and has seen a lot more time in the backfield when the Giants are marching towards the end zone, as opposed to just when they are a yard or two away from it. Jacobs is also on pace to finish the season with more than ten touchdowns and nearly five hundred yards.
So, what right do guys like Deion Sanders have to call Tiki a quitter?
While Jacobs hasn’t shown he can be the dual threat back that Tiki is, he’s more than a sufficient replacement for the soon-to-be-retired Barber. I might be able to understand some of the bad press Tiki has received for retiring if the Giants were left without a capable runner. Barber is a grown-man and has the ability to make any decision of his choosing. It’s not like he’s leaving the NFL to smoke pot and travel the world (cough, Ricky).
What do you think about Tiki’s decision? Let me know at Andrew.Perna@RealGM.com |
