Brian Wilson isn't The Machine, he's just a neighbor. posted by QuarterlyProphet at 7:13 PM on July 14, 2011
Finally someone with a personality in pro sports who isn't Dennis Rodman. I love how he just totally flummoxes sportscasters with his beard. posted by cmoj at 7:15 PM on July 14, 2011 [3 favorites]
You usually get the impression that there's not much going on behind a professional athlete's head other than sports (and maybe sex and drugs). It's always surprising to find one who's legitimately funny and witty. posted by codacorolla at 7:19 PM on July 14, 2011
I love the Giants, but there's something really annoying to me about the "wacky bunch of misfits" narrative. Wilson in particular. His angry outbursts are much more indicative of his real personality than his self-consciously quirky interviews. posted by roll truck roll at 7:20 PM on July 14, 2011 [3 favorites]
Isn't the history of baseball replete with bizarre and nutball characters? Like, genuine eccentrics who would be attempting to build an engine that ran on pistachios, or jogging across the country wearing nothing but a turquoise fanny pack, if they hadn't been gifted with baseball talent. Jonathan Papelbon would be hunting gators and also people if he wasn't a great pitcher. posted by solistrato at 7:22 PM on July 14, 2011 [14 favorites]
I like his weirdness. I don't care if much of it is a manufactured persona - he's a public figure, and all of them have some amount of calculated persona to them. I just like his particular take on it.
Wilson is noted for having a peculiar personality.[38] In the 2010 MLB All Star Game he debuted a pair of bright orange spikes and continued to wear them throughout the season, coloring half of them black with an indelible marker after being fined $1,000 by National League for non-conforming shoes.[39] Wilson claimed he was punished for "having too much awesome on [his] feet." In an interview with Jim Rome on September 3, he claimed to be a "certified ninja" which he learned in a dream posted by mannequito at 7:27 PM on July 14, 2011 [3 favorites]
Between Wilson's beard and Lincecum's mullet, we're dealing with an all-out follicular assault. posted by jonmc at 7:27 PM on July 14, 2011 [1 favorite]
Giants fans can purchase Timmy wigs, beard masks, and panda hats. Some wear all of them at games.
Love his beard, love his eyes and smile, love his pitching. He's a proud freak in a long historical line of baseball freaks. He and his type are the reason I keep coming back season after season. posted by hippybear at 7:34 PM on July 14, 2011 [7 favorites]
That spandex tux surely ups the ante for the next scotch meetup. posted by sarahnade at 7:36 PM on July 14, 2011 [8 favorites]
Looks like some of his fans share similar sentiments.
Ugh, I can't tell if I've just outgrown this sort of humor or what, but I just don't get the humor of appearing amateurish. The funniest it's ever been was Chris Farley's talk show skits on SNL. There always seems to be a nasty bent to this sort of style these days I can't identify or appreciate. posted by QuarterlyProphet at 7:42 PM on July 14, 2011 [4 favorites]
About the Jim Rome interview: previously (includes a link to the full audio). posted by rkent at 7:46 PM on July 14, 2011
Lincecum's mullet,
Timmy does not have a mullet. It's long all over his head. posted by rtha at 7:56 PM on July 14, 2011 [1 favorite]
Wilson is still less absurd than the amount of product placement during the All Star Game. posted by starman at 8:07 PM on July 14, 2011 [1 favorite]
His angry outbursts are much more indicative of his real personality than his self-consciously quirky interviews.
Do you know him personally? How would you know this? He's always struck me (a long-time Giants fan) as a legitimately quirky weirdo who's embraced his weird-ass weirdery. posted by ORthey at 8:09 PM on July 14, 2011 [1 favorite]
rtha, under a cap it's a mullet, and a beautiful resplendent one like I had at age 17. posted by jonmc at 8:10 PM on July 14, 2011
Maybe the definition of mullet has changed since I last checked, but this was Lincecum in March. That, sir, is no mullet. (Not, I hasten to add, that there is necessarily anything wrong with mullets, on the right person in the right circumstances. But that ain't a mullet.)
Also, I'm watching the game right now, and will keep an eye out for Lincecum in the dugout. posted by rtha at 8:17 PM on July 14, 2011
I liked his commercials for the MLB 2011 video game where he argued with "Digital Me". He's pretty funny. posted by mr_crash_davis at 8:18 PM on July 14, 2011
"Jonathan Papelbon would be hunting gators and also people if he wasn't a great pitcher."
I rather suspect Pap would be spending time upon the wicked stage. He loves to sing and dance and wear scanty costumes. posted by Anitanola at 8:33 PM on July 14, 2011
He's on one fo my fantasy teams, doing a great job! posted by vrakatar at 8:40 PM on July 14, 2011
In the 2010 MLB All Star Game he debuted a pair of bright orange spikes and continued to wear them throughout the season, coloring half of them black with an indelible marker after being fined $1,000 by National League for non-conforming shoes.Wilson claimed he was punished for "having too much awesome on [his] feet."
This fills me with joy for some reason. posted by swift at 8:48 PM on July 14, 2011 [6 favorites]
I'm just listening and relistening to Smiley Smile.
His angry outbursts are much more indicative of his real personality than his self-consciously quirky interviews.
I can get pretty worked up just playing foosball in the company break room. I don't think what you do on the field of competition necessarily translates to real life. posted by empath at 9:28 PM on July 14, 2011 [4 favorites]
In the 2010 MLB All Star Game he debuted a pair of bright orange spikes and continued to wear them throughout the season, coloring half of them black with an indelible marker after being fined $1,000 by National League for non-conforming shoes.Wilson claimed he was punished for "having too much awesome on [his] feet."
Did photos and TV shots of these shoes show a Nike swoosh, Adidas stripes or some such? posted by ambient2 at 10:02 PM on July 14, 2011
My other favorite pro athlete, for similar reasons, is Dane Reynolds. Of course, this year he's pretty much just said "fuck it" and stopped competing professionally entirely. Dane does his own thing, which seems to be Wilson's MO as well. posted by tylerkaraszewski at 10:05 PM on July 14, 2011
wilson was part of an amazing NYT crossword from last march. four of the long answers were world series pitchers who had the same names as musicians with #1 hits: brian wilson, kenny rogers, dave stewart, and eddie fisher (all with 11 letters!). the puzzle's fifth long answer was "perfect pitch", which made me smile all day long. posted by bruceo at 10:35 PM on July 14, 2011 [12 favorites]
Between Wilson's beard and Lincecum's mullet, we're dealing with an all-out follicular assault.
Pretty sure you're confusing mullet with hat hair. posted by desuetude at 10:51 PM on July 14, 2011
Did photos and TV shots of these shoes show a Nike swoosh, Adidas stripes or some such?
Yeah but it was the color of the shoes, not the logo, that was the problem. posted by The Hamms Bear at 10:55 PM on July 14, 2011
I think The Beard peaked last year—there were a couple of weeks late in the season/early in the postseason when Wilson looked like he'd just walked off the set of 300. It was awe-inspiring.
Baseball is full of guys who've manufactured bland, noncommittal "nice guy" on-camera personalities. A little weirdness makes for a nice contrast, manufactured or not. posted by Lazlo at 11:43 PM on July 14, 2011
i love him. HE IS DELICIOUS. and that virtual beard thing was one of the funniest things, evar. posted by lapolla at 11:53 PM on July 14, 2011
After watching that video from George Lopes I realized that Brian Wilson is just one of Zach Galifianakis's characters! Is there anything that guy can't do!? posted by chemoboy at 12:09 AM on July 15, 2011
Also, Lincecum doesn't have a mullet. Just well-kept long hair. He looks like his mom drove him to the ballpark directly from a Dungeons and Dragons game in 1991. posted by Mayor Curley at 2:31 AM on July 15, 2011 [5 favorites]
MattMangels: "I never knew until I read the Wikipedia article that he was a Born Again Christian"
This bears repeating-- this guy's weird even by SF standards. It delights me to think of him blowing minds around the nation. posted by alexei at 4:14 AM on July 15, 2011 [1 favorite]
- I thought all athletes had to be born again Christians, except for the occasional pitcher, who can be jewish.
- Seems like he is trying too hard. There is going your own way and being a nut, and then there is clowning. posted by gjc at 5:06 AM on July 15, 2011 [1 favorite]
Does the name Brian Wilson confer upon its owner The Crazy? I refuse to believe that it's just coincidence.
All he needs is a Barenaked Ladies song in his honor and a debilitating drug habit. posted by tommasz at 5:25 AM on July 15, 2011 [1 favorite]
Brian Wilson's well-rehearsed crazy wasn't half as entertaining as a likely drunk Justin Timberlake at the the All-Star Game taking shots at Joe Buck. posted by gladly at 5:54 AM on July 15, 2011 [1 favorite]
re: baseball zaniness, this is Evan Longoria being kind of funny, albeit with a much more prevalent commercial bent
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tMujgAAyH-I posted by lulz at 7:32 AM on July 15, 2011
Closers have cultivated a semi tradition where being weird is ok. Like there's so much on the line - protecting a slim lead going into the ninth. It's as if the regular crew gets us *almost* home, but we open up the cage so the maniac who's been locked in there can get us all the way home. Wilson is a hilariously theatrical extension of this movement.
posted by SomaSoda at 7:11 PM on July 14, 2011