Tiki Bumbler

As the Boom Roasted Sports resident Giants fan and tepid UVA homer it falls to me to me to discuss Tiki and his pompous dumbassery.

When Tiki was playing, in college and in the pros, I never rooted for a player more than I rooted for him. For many reasons, some irrational, I was wrapped up in his success on the field. He was easily my favorite football player during his playing days. In fact, by the time he retired I was calling him my all-time favorite player, over Barry Sanders. Congrats Barry, you're back to #1.

Until I attended college I was not a die-hard fan of any football school. I attended a Division 1-AA school so I still don't have a passion for any 1-A school but have always pulled for UVA because of growing up in Virginia. Now UVA is in my backyard and I've upgraded my fandom of them to half-hearted. The point is, Tiki played for the only 1-A football school I have even half cared about. He was starring at UVA when I was playing football in high school. This was also the time in their history that the school saw the most success, including their famous 33-28 victory over then #2 ranked Florida State, in Charlottesville, in a nationally televised Thursday night game, in 1995, coincidentally the last year they won the ACC.

I won't regurgitate the statistics of what he did with the Giants, but I don't think it's an overstatement to say that from 2000 until he retired following the 2006 season he was the team's most important offensive player and from 2004 to 2006 he put together one of the best three year runs, statistically, that the NFL has ever seen.

There was also a four-year run, from '03 to '06, that he was on my highest stakes fantasy football team. Again, that might sound ridiculous but I'm a fantasy football nerd and to me his success was important.

The cherry on top of the Tiki-love sundae I was making came on December 30, 2006. I was in attendance for what would be his final regular season game, against the rival Washington Redskins, and one of his best statistical games of his career (234 yards rushing, 34 yards receiving, 3 touchdowns). The game was in Washington and on top of everything else the Giants needed to win to get into the playoffs. They won 36-28 and because everything wrapped up in that game I still say that it was the single greatest sporting event I have ever attended.

Then he retired......

The first thing he did to ingratiate himself to his fans was blast Eli Manning during the following season. I don't remember the exact quotes but essentially he questioned Eli's leadership. All Eli did that season was lead the Giants to a Super Bowl victory over the previously unbeaten Patriots. I really think the Giants don't win that Super Bowl if Tiki is still on the team. Not having Tiki's ego (nor an injured Jeremy Shockey's for that matter) on field allowed him to loosen up and play football.

Then Tiki published that completely arrogant and self-aggrandizing autobiography. The book (yes I read it and still have my copy) basically had two themes; One, I (Tiki) love my family, but only my twin brother Ronde, my mom, my wife, and my kids. Two, look at me, I'm so smart and so good-looking and so talented and so hard-working that I deserve all the money, fame, and success I have. To use a word thrown around all the Tiger stories, Tiki feels entitled.

Then it comes out this week that he is leaving his pregnant wife, of 11 years, for a 23-year-old former intern to whom he has been giving the deep dickens for some time. I almost have no words for this. He goes on in his book about how much he loves Ginny and how he had to chase her in college and how she was the one person not impressed by him. Well, turns out she was right. I hope that homewrecker makes him happy, especially because hopefully his big NBC checks and half of his Giants money are going to Ginny and his boys for a long time. I hope Ginny names the twins with which she is pregnant Brandon and Jacob, a move that would be reminiscent of when Tom Brady's baby mamma named their son John Edward Thomas. (J-E-T)

I have never liked and pulled for a player as much I did Tiki when he was playing which makes him becoming such an entitled egotistical scumbag after retiring so disappointing.