I gave the great mothers of the sports world a shout out for Mother’s Day, so it’s only fair that I do the same for all the sports fathers out there. Dads are the first coaches in life, especially when it comes to sports. Think about your old man teaching you how to throw a baseball, or how to ride a bike (I guess cycling is a sport). Those are the kind of things that last forever, and that you pass down to your own kids one day. So with today being Father’s Day, let’s pay homage to the best dad moments in sports.

The Griffey’s

No brainer here. I think this is the first thought I had when I started this blog, even before my own dad popped in my head. To have a father-son duo play in the MLB isn’t necessarily extremely rare (200+ fathers/son duo’s have been in the MLB), but very few get a chance to play together. “The Kid” also had an all-time Father’s Day moment, when he in 2004, he hit his 500th home run in front of former teammate, and father, Ken Sr.

MJ Wins 4th Title on Father’s Day

MJ and his pop were super close, and he was pretty prominent throughout MJ’s career, and in the Last Dance doc. Three years after his dad was murdered, MJ got his 4th ring on Fathers Day no less! That’s an all-time moment. Twitter would’ve been blowing up if it were around back then. RIP Papa Jordan. Also, MJ was a classic old school dad. According to stories his sons have told, they were raised like normal kids that did chores and what not. Unlike LeBron’s kids, I bet they don’t do chores.

mj 4th

Dale Sr. and Dale Jr.

I don’t care if you don’t like NASCAR, the Earnhardt’s are LEGENDS. Any father/son duo that ends up in pro sports at the same time is a shoe-in to make my list.

dale sr and jr

Iconic.

Tiger & Earl Woods

Earl Woods, a former Green Beret, is also the molder of the true GOAT. Tiger is an icon, and he owes a lot of his greatness to his father. This one hits a little different as I age. Golf is such a sacred sport to play with your old man. Golf teaches etiquette and values that can’t be taught elsewhere. Any dream round I have will always have my dad in the group. Side note, buy your dad a nice set of golf balls this Sunday, he’ll appreciate it.

Bobby & Barry Bonds

“But Uncle Barnes, Barry Bonds took steroids, we can’t give him praise, right?”. Shut up, nerd. Barry Bonds is the best baseball player of all-time. I didn’t see all those other steroid users hitting anywhere near where Bonds was. Dude was must watch TV for several years. His dad was also a damn good player in his own right. As a father/son duo, they hold hold the record for combined home runs, RBI’s, and stolen bases. Although Bobby isn’t in the HOF, his son definitely deserves a spot in Cooperstown.

Tyson Fury’s Dad Ringside

John Fury, Tyson’s dad, is even more of an entertainer than his son is, which is a hard feat to accomplish. Boxers are a different breed, and the Fury’s are best in breed.

LeBron & Bronny James

LeBron is probably gonna go down as the GOAT when it’s all said and done, so his history has been written, and preached throughout the world. However, young Bronny is going into his sophomore year of high school and has his own story to write. What puts these two on my list is that ‘Bron wants to play with his son in the NBA. Imagine this, the year is 2023 (or 2024) and the Cleveland Cavaliers have the #1 pick, and LeBron is a free agent. The Cavs draft Bronny with the #1 pick, and then King James comes back to Cleveland to play with his son. A movie in the making. LeBron has always been a GOAT dad, no denying that. Maybe one day we’ll see both James’ hoist a Larry O’Brien trophy.

bron and bronny

Imagine what could be.

Khabib, his Dad, and the Nurmagomedov Bear

You think your dad was a hard ass on you in sports? Khabib’s dad made him wrestle a bear when he was 9. A BEAR! When I was 9, I was trampoline wrestling with my buddies pretending we were in the WWE. We would’ve peed our pants if we saw a skunk, or fox in the distance, let alone a goddamn bear. That’s tough love from a dad who wants you to be a world champ.

Happy Father’s Day to all the dads out there. You guys are the subtle backbone, and often times punching bag, that somehow gets everything done. From teaching us how to ride a bike or throw a ball, to showing us how to hammer in a nail, thank you for guiding us. Tell ya old man you love him today, and hand him some corny Father’s Day gift. I got my dad a new wheelbarrow this year, thing has so much room for haulin’.

P.S.

If you don’t wanna be a daddy, don’t be a fool, wrap your tool.

 

Barnes
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