ESPN Trots Out The Barbaro Crazies Again

We have enjoyed, in this week of Barbaro remembrance, the new focus on the kind, not-at-all-unbalanced souls who worship at the altar of the great lost champion, the ones we've been following with somewhat concerned fascination over the last year. Without fail, every reporter who talks to the Dee Miriches of the world ends up charmed by them, though it's possible they're just disoriented by all the cat hair.

Today's gem comes from ESPN's Wright "No Worries, It's On Me!" Thompson, who hangs out with the blue hairs and comes out feeling refreshed and clean. Our favorite is the interpretive dancer Martita Goshen.

"Barbaro was in many dimensions," she says. "He looked at the whole picture. That's why he had that stumble at the Derby. He was ahead of the moment. The Zen of that. That's dancing. For the rest of my life, I'll be working to move with that innocence." Many years ago on a voyage off the coast of San Diego, she came face to face with the eye of a whale. She saw all of humanity in that eye, the rise and fall of civilizations, love, hate, power, glory, ugliness, beauty, lies, truth. This realization has taken her all over the planet, trying to help save the creatures she holds dear by raising environmental awareness. ... "[Barbaro] a great messenger," she said. "He's the greatest dancer I've seen since Baryshnikov or Nureyev." "I was just as terrified when I met Barbaro as when I met the Dalai Lama," she says.

We know these are wonderful characters, perfect candidates for rich, florid prose. We're glad to see they've been granted their moment to bask in the light. But, you know, just to remind you: They're all batshit insane. Not that we wouldn't give Goshen a quarter on the subway. It seems the least we could do for someone who has seen "the fall of civilizations, love, hate, power, glory, ugliness, beauty, lies, truth" in the eye of a freaking whale.

The Church Of Barbaro [ESPN]