The Best and Worst Sports Impressions

The art of the celebrity impression is undervalued despite being a relatively rare talent—some people have the capability to do a couple of very good ones, very few people can seemingly transform themselves into someone else and a whole lot of people suck at it (but it doesn't stop them from trying).

The ability to recreate the most recognizable traits of the rich and famous is so novel, it often gets treated like a novelty. This is why at any given moment there are men and women standing in front of friends or acquaintances and trying to do "their" Al Pacino or Sarah Palin, but are getting more cringes than laughs.

It's not surprising that sports personalities are often impersonated, because sports are so intertwined with life and culture—whether the subject is an athlete, coach, media personality or industry executive. Part of why we love the sports enterprise is because it has given us so many admired, notorious and otherwise compelling figures.

Comedians, entertainers and even athletes themselves have all done impressions of people in sports—a few have either made a career out of the ability or made it part of their act. Many more can just do a great impression; and others should have given it a little more thought.

These are the best and worst sports impressions.

BEST: Frank Caliendo Does Jon Gruden

Before joining Mike Tirico on Monday Night Football, NFL head coach Jon Gruden was a scowling, methodical offensive guru stalking the sidelines; Gruden the ESPN personality is every bit as intense, but with a goofy dose of boyish enthusiasm—like a cool history teacher who's on their 12th cup of black coffee.   

Comedian and flag-bearer of sports impressions Frank Caliendo captures it perfectly with his laser-Gruden-stare and "strangling an invisible man" hand gestures.

WORST: Frank Caliendo Does John Madden

Frank Caliendo owes much of his career to former NFL coach and broadcaster John Madden as he does his mastery of celebrity impersonations; his dead-on impression of Madden, when the hefty, Brett Favre-promoting Hall of Famer was a MNF fixture, was fresh and funny. Soon, Caliendo was everywhere—radio and television—and so was his Madden shtick.

A really dead-on impression needs something...more...to stay interesting and funny. The real John Madden isn't inherently funny or eccentric—so Caliendo's act wore out its welcome by the time he debuted his now-canceled show, Frank TV.

BEST: DeAndre Jordan Does Charles Barkley

Last year, Los Angeles Clippers star DeAndre Jordan played the part of Charles Barkley in a live table reading of the movie Space Jam that was hosted by Funny or Die. And despite the room spiraling into raucous laughter, he managed to maintain enough composure to do a terrific impression of Barkley.

Jordan seized on the fundamental formula that defines Barkley—a tranquilizing monotone with a hint of southern drawl, regardless of how absurd the words being spoken are. 

WORST: Shaquille O'Neal Does Chris Andersen

I'm not sure if what Shaquille O'Neal is doing here qualifies as an impression of Miami Heat power forward Chris "Birdman" Andersen by society's standards, but I think it exceeds the standard set by Shaq himself. Personally, I never get enough of Shaq doing an impression of a very large man careening into a Christmas tree.

BEST: Blake Griffin Does Austin Rivers

Los Angeles Clippers star Blake Griffin probably wishes his impression of teammate Austin Rivers was an exercise in farce, but for Griffin and the rest of the team, it surely looks far too familiar. Austin Rivers is the son of Clippers head coach Doc Rivers, and the guard has been a high-profile example of an amazingly inept bench.

WORST: Ronda Rousey Does Honey Boo Boo

In 2013—which I guess would be considered the pinnacle of Alana "Honey Boo Boo" Thompson's reality television career—UFC superstar Ronda Rousey and her team put together a parody of the program. Rousey stars as then-seven-year-old "Honey Boo Boo" with the rest of crew playing the various miscreants who appear on the reality show.

Rousey is a badass, but when an adult pretends to be a small child, it's just upsetting—no matter how ridiculous the premise. 

BEST: Aries Spears Does Mike Tyson

In this clip, comedian Aries Spears tells a story about doing his Mike Tyson impression—in front of Mike Tyson—at the behest of fellow comedian Tom Arnold.

The story alone is hilarious, but the way Spears is able to take Tyson's antithetically tuned voice and string together a statement that's upsetting in its content, but matter-of-fact in its delivery (if not some of the word choices) makes his Mike Tyson impression one of the best.

WORST: Kevin Hart Does Avery Johnson

Actor and comedian Kevin Hart was a guest on Conan when he shared a story about auditioning for Saturday Night Live—an audition that included this hilarious, four-word impression of former NBA player and current University of Alabama head coach Avery Johnson.

Perhaps it just wasn't Hart's time, but it's hard to believe that the biggest impression at the audition wasn't the one he made—in a bad way.

BEST: Seth MacFarlane Does Ryan Lochte

Let's be real: If Ryan Lochte wasn't an Olympic swimmer, there's a good chance his life could already be over, likely after chasing a pigeon into oncoming traffic. The man is handsome and has amazing physical talent in the water, but he's dumb as a rock.

When Seth MacFarlane, the creative force behind Family Guy, hosted Saturday Night Live, his impression of Lochte as a juice-box-wanting man-baby who's lost when outside of a pool was terrific.  

BEST: Tom Hanks Does Rex Ryan

During a segment on The Late Show With David Letterman in February, actor Tom Hanks reeled off a number of solid impressions of active and former NFL head coaches while imagining what kind of stepfather each one would be.

His take on Buffalo Bills head coach Rex Ryan is just great—and the idea of Ryan being a guy who would want to make sure his stepson has shot a crossbow is perfect.

BEST: Will Ferrell Does Harry Caray

Baseball fans (and anyone with a soul) understand how great of a sports broadcaster the late Harry Caray was over his 41-year career. He was that rare breed of announcer who could tell a story, recall facts like a human sports almanac and had a personality and look you never forgot, with his trademark gigantic, thick-framed glasses.

And in the latter stages of his career, his look was old—old and endearingly goofy.

Will Ferrell brilliantly takes the Harry Caray package and removes it from its natural setting by imagining Caray as the host of a talk show about space. 

WORST: Blake Griffin Does Harry Caray

It's one thing to do an impression of a celebrity after someone else has already done it and made it an instant classic; your version could be a completely new perspective. It's an entirely different matter when you just try to imitate the impression that set the standard.

It never works, because it's hacky at best and ruins the original at worst (like how there are always three guy friends at a Halloween party who make everyone watch their poorly choreographed Three Amigos homage). 

Los Angeles Clippers star Blake Griffin is a man of many talents, but bobbing your head around and talking like someone who just got punched in the stomach doesn't do justice to Will Ferrell's original Harry Caray.

BEST: Jay Pharoah Does Stephen A. Smith

It's hard to imagine ESPN's Stephen A. Smith as a person off the set, because the way he talks and expresses his emotions is almost more cartoon than man. But SNL's Jay Pharoah's impression doesn't just nail Smith's enigmatic yell-speak, it captures the Stephen A. Smith experience with just enough flair without being predictably over-the-top.