Watch Former Running Back Tiki Barber Talk Football on HBO's "Real Sports"

Tiki Barber Insists That He Needs Football Right Now

Several months ago, word came out that former New York Giants running back Tiki Barber was going to make a comeback.

And football fans everywhere said, "Wait, is this a joke?"

Nope. Barber filed his papers with the NFL on March 8, and he and his agent immediately started insisting that they already had some interested parties on the line. About a month later, Barber celebrated his 36th birthday.

Instead of support, Barber was showered with scrutiny and criticism, and was universally accused of being on the hunt for a paycheck.

Maybe that's why Barber thought it would be a good idea to sit down with Armen Keteyian on HBO's "Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel." If he explained his mindset, perhaps people would back off.

The interview is clearly meant to inspire sympathy for Barber, with the chief message being that Barber is returning because he truly misses football.

"The game never needs you, 'cause there's always someone else that comes and takes your place," said Barber. "But right now, I need the game."

We also learn that Barber only retired in the first place because he had other things he wanted to do with his life, and that he embarked on his post-football life with no notions of failure.

As we all know, things didn't pan out that way. Barber turned out to be a dreadful television personality, and then he decided to leave his pregnant wife for a former NBC intern. He didn't do himself any favors when he compared himself to Anne Frank last month.

And yet, Barber wonders why people are annoyed with him.

Does this interview dispel any of that annoyance? In my humble opinion, not really. Barber may come off as a sympathetic figure, but the whole thing comes off as being pretty fake. To use a journalism term, it has the familiar reek of a "puff piece."

I'll pass.