{"id":573898282,"date":"2025-09-23T20:29:24","date_gmt":"2025-09-24T00:29:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.kennysmith.org\/wordpress\/?p=573898282"},"modified":"2025-10-03T01:57:30","modified_gmt":"2025-10-03T05:57:30","slug":"the-good-time-blimp","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.kennysmith.org\/wordpress\/blog\/2025\/09\/23\/the-good-time-blimp\/","title":{"rendered":"The Good Time Blimp"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/center><\/p>\n

It was a long day and a long night on campus. About 10 hours, in total, I think. I had two classes, of course. We talked about sports stories in the criticism class, of course. And in org comm we discussed branding, of course, which we’ll do for another two days, of course. When classes were over it was back to the office, where I did some work. And then we went over to one of the auditoriums for … well, you can see for yourself. <\/p>\n

<\/center><\/p>\n

We were sitting some distance away, but in reserved VIP seats. Very Important Professors. The good seats went to our students, as it should be. Charles Barkley hasn’t played in the NBA in their lifetimes, but he’s still a hugely important sports figure locally, and nationally. Being on Inside the NBA doesn’t hurt that, nor does his huge personality.<\/p>\n

The guy up there with him is one of of our faculty members, and an institution in local sports media. They go way back, and from time to time Barkley comes to share his wisdom and good humor. He was very generous with his time tonight. They started taking questions from two microphones on either side of the stage, this went on for a good long while, with young people nervously reading their questions from their phones for some reason. There was still no way that they were going to answer all of the questions, almost all of which is stuff Barkley probably fields a dozen times a week, but still, some of them were good, and the man has a way of making everyone feel welcome around him. As the time was drawing late, they said, we’ll just take one more, and Charles said, no no, how about we take three more questions from each side of the room, and that was another 20 or 25 minutes. <\/p>\n

<\/center><\/p>\n

After that, there was the after-party, where you feel a bit like a hanger-on between the tables and the gladhanders and the oddly lit photo room and bar, and the more-than-reasonable food spread. Charles Barkley stood there and took pictures with everyone who wanted one. It’s not work, and he knows it, but they love him and he knows that, too. So it is work, and he’s gracious about it all. Tomorrow, he said, he has to fly to Atlanta to finally find out what his broadcast schedule will be for the upcoming season. <\/p>\n

Anyway, I wrote some notes from his talk. <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n

Sir Charles!<\/p>\n

[image or embed]<\/a><\/p>\n

— Kenny Smith (@kennysmith.bsky.social<\/a>) September 23, 2025 at 6:15 PM<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n