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Favorite Non-Athletes In Sports FREE Series | Volume 10 Sports Comic Book Copyright 2015 | 2nd Edition 2016 By Jim Sweeney If you’re as rabid a sports fan as me, you’ll agree that sports comprise the best form of entertainment. NFL, MLB, NBA, NHL and FIFA games showcase some of the greatest athletes on the planet. But, sports entertainment is more than just watching phenomenal athletes ply their craft on the ice, field, diamond, hardwood or pitch. What provide the extra sizzle in sports are countless non-athletes that make the games possible and entertaining. They enrich the overall fan experience. A number of non-athletic performers and icons deliver invaluable appeal and bring the entertainment aspects of sports to greater levels. I highlight them in this book. Some picks are as obvious as the bowtie I’m wearing. And, others on this list may surprise you. None are actual athletes. A few aren’t even real at all. But, all of them show up at NFL, MLB, NCAA and NHL games. You will adore one of the most unlikely sportscasters on television. You will envy the driver of the baddest maintenance vehicle in sports. You will wince at the thought of a big mouthed bloviator. You will probably scowl at the refs I feature. But, you’ll immediately recognize that games don’t get played without them. You’ll recite familiar lines from a series of iconic movies starring a fictional fighting sports character. You might proudly don the ridiculous foam hats worn by the loyal fans of this historic NFL franchise. You will certainly agree that this guy’s no athlete, but he was an incredible showman in a non-sport sport now seen regularly on ESPN. You will smile at the awe inspiring godlike figure in an imposing mural, perhaps the most recognized image in NCAA college football. You’ll cheer madly over packaged meat products racing awkwardly around a baseball field. Finally, you’ll sing along with a likeable large lady who needs to belt out a few bars, so fans in the stands can finally go home. Enjoy my FREE book Favorite Non-Athletes in Sports! Email me at [email protected] if you have a few choices that you think should have made it into this book. MIKE – thee ultimate talking head on sports! Why read this book? Favorite #10: Minnesota Fats Favorite #9: Racing Weenies Favorite #8: The Heckler Favorite #7: The Zamboni Driver Favorite #6: The Italian Stallion Favorite #5: Refs Favorite #4: Touchdown Jesus Favorite #3: ESPN’s Lou Holtz Favorite #2: Cheese Heads Favorite #1: The Fat Lady Thank You & Affiliate Disclosure FREE Books Podcast – MIKE on Sports! Meet the MIKE Makers Acknowledgements Favorite Non-Athletes in Sports is fun, witty and informative. Fans not only enjoy the humor, but also learn something new about sports. Plus, the unique sports comics that accompany each chapter cleverly capture the essence of the featured player, team, coach, play, sports expression, or in this case, my favorite non-athletes in sports. As an added bonus, I always offer something for FREE in each of my sports comic books. See the back of this book for details. Check out my author profile on Amazon.com, follow me on Twitter, fan me on Facebook and subscribe to my podcast – MIKE on Sports! MIKE – thee ultimate talking head on sports! My classic comic of a chubby-cheeked and out-of-shape pool hustler may be the best choice to break the rack in the #10 slot among Favorite Non-Athletes in Sports. Along with countless sports fans, I strongly believe that pool players, poker players and NASCAR drivers don’t qualify as real athletes. However, the pudgy pool shark pictured in this chapter’s comic was a pioneer in a non-sport sport that ESPN now regularly affords coverage. That’s why he deserves mention as one of my favorite non-athletes of all-time. Reference the name Rudolf Walter Wanderone Jr. and you’ll be greeted by blank stares. However, mention the name Minnesota Fats and talk of a portly, self-promoting pool hall hustler will quickly follow. Without doubt, Fats was billiards’ biggest bloviator. He earned that inauspicious title for his non-stop blustering about his personal exploits with a pool cue. Yes, he was once one colorful guy. Minnesota Fats called himself the world’s greatest pool shooter. Yet, surprisingly, there is no record of Fats ever winning an officially sanctioned tournament. Apparently, Minnesota Fats lived the legend he so masterfully manufactured. Early in his career, Wanderone used an assortment of sassy nicknames. They included New York Fats, Fatty, Double Smart Fats and Bank Shot Bandit. He finally landed on the name Minnesota Fats, a moniker made famous by the lead character in The Hustler, a 1961 Walter Tevis film. The clever Walderone exploited the borrowed nickname for the rest of his life, and it stuck. While still a teen, Rudolf Wanderone hustled in pool halls across New York City. He became as much accomplished for making clever trick shots as he did for telling tall tales. His combination of trickery and pool cue mastery launched him on an improbable career. Fats bounced around pool halls in Illinois, Virginia and Washington, D.C. and rose to popularity as an entertainer during the early 1970s. He fully capitalized on his borrowed nickname, while displaying amazing pool talent and effortlessly conning willing audiences. This self-styled celebrity appeared years ago on late night talk shows hosted by Johnny Carson, Joey Bishop and David Frost. In addition, Wanderone starred in his own short lived show called Celebrity Billiards with Minnesota Fats. It was on this show that he sparred with the era’s A-list celebrities that included comedians Sid Ceasar and Milton Berle as well as Hungarian diva Zsa Zsa Gabor. Fats’ career reached a high point on Valentine’s Day in 1978. That day, he faced Willie Mosconi, his long time rival and a real 15-time world champ. The match was watched by 11 million viewers on ABC’s Wide World of Sports. Fats lost badly to the superior skilled Mosconi, but his boastful antics and colorful personality caused his popularity to soar. With a physical size eclipsed by an even larger ego, Fats has been credited in the American National Biography for outlandish quotes. Two of his crazy claims include, “I’ve been hustlin’ since Moby Dick was a guppy,” and “I outdrew the Pope in Rome and that ain’t even good pool country.” In 1984 the Billiard Congress Hall of Fame inducted Wanderone into its elite club and officially acknowledged him for popularizing the game of pool. Fun, boastful and overweight, Minnesota Fats was one mighty memorable, chubby and skilled billiards player. Never an athlete, he demonstrated to the public that he could hustle in more ways than one. Minnesota Fats excelled as the consummate showman in the non-sport sport of pool. He’s certainly not an athlete. But, he’s definitely one qualified entertainer. That’s why Rudolf Walter Wanderone, Jr., otherwise known as Minnesota Fats, is an easy bank shot at #10 in Favorite Non-Athletes in Sports. MIKE – thee ultimate talking head on sports! In-game entertainment varies by venue and sport. The amazingly creative and inventive ways that sports fans and team mascots support their teams are worthy of the #9 spot in Favorite Non-Athletes in Sports. They’re represented here by my favorite packaged meat pick. Referring to these performers as non-athletes does not mean they are not athletic. Instead, the fact that they don’t compete in actual games gives them the non-athlete distinction. Before I feature my #9 choice among non-athletes, let’s first look at the multitude of excellent entertainers in sports. In-game entertainers can be especially creative to support the home team. They range from perky cheerleaders to talented jugglers. They include dancers, twirlers and tuba players. From Frisbee catching dogs on a baseball field to dunking gorillas on a basketball court, in-game entertainment absolutely enriches the sports fans’ experience at the park, stadium or arena. Sports fans can also provide big time entertainment even when they’re not the main event. They include fans with streaming shakers, those who design and display giant cardboard signs and shirtless guys with painted faces sitting in bleachers during frigid weather. In-game promotions involving team mascots are always fun, and they bring out the best in local sentiment. For example, if you haven’t been to Nationals Park in Washington, DC, you’ve never witnessed the patriotic thrills of cheering on Tom (Jefferson), Abe (Lincoln), Teddy (Roosevelt) and George (Washington) in the famed Presidential Races. Perhaps, my all-time favorite in-game promotion involving local mascots is the Sausage Race held at Miller Park in Milwaukee. This creative and fun 7th inning race involves a German Bratwurst, a Polish Kielbasa, an Italian Sausage and the All American Hot Dog. What an event, and at a Major League Baseball game no less! What fans can resist rooting on their favorite racing weenies! This one- of-a-kind foot race gets 45,000 frenetic fans cheering wildly for their favorite packaged meat mascot racing around the baseball field. Kudos to Miller Park. Way to think outside the bun! The Sausage Race at Milwaukee’s Miller Park is a real weener! That’s why its participating packaged meat sausages rank as my #9 pick in Favorite Non-Athletes in Sports! MIKE – thee ultimate talking head on sports! Because I enjoy his antics, one big mouthed sports fan is an easy choice for me at #8 in Favorite Non-Athletes in Sports.
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