New York Giants legend Tiki Barber on Barkley, Shurmur, NFC East
By Curt Macysyn
New York Giants legend Tiki Barber has become the quintessential New Yorker.
The testament to that imprimatur displays itself as he seamlessly switches from one role to the next. Still, the New York Giants all-time leading rusher, Barber remains fixated on not simply being a former NFL player but refining his media presence as well.
Beginning while he was still an active player, Barber worked the airwaves on WFAN, Fox and Friends and NBC’s Today show. Ironically, his evolution as a multi-media personality is not unlike his professional football career.
Statistically, his career may be Pro Football Hall of Fame worthy, but Tiki Barber came to the G-Men with limited expectations. He was destined to be a third-down back and sometimes punt returner.
As famous as he is, or should be, Barber easily blends into the landscape of midtown Manhattan. He’s become more than an ex-athlete though, Barber has actually morphed into a national media personality, who happened to play football.
GMenHQ caught up with Tiki Barber in New York City, where he was promoting his new partnership with POWERADE and a set of good-natured “Sympathy Cards”. These are high-quality greeting card with artistic drawings of athletes, highlight various iconic sports moments with witty apologies to competitors.
We chatted comfortably about his relationship with New York Giants fans, his feelings about rookie running back Saquon Barkley, the ever-changing NFC East division and new coach Pat Shurmur. Here’s what the former Big Blue great, Tiki Barber, had to say: