Coach Brickma Is Back, And He's Slightly More Depressing Than I Had Hoped

You know when you grow up and realize that your heroes aren't all they are cracked up to be? That's how I felt while watching this video. Now, I am not saying that a mildly retarded pitching coach for a fictional Chicago Cubs team was my hero, but he did bring me nearly as much joy when I was a 7 year old watching him "teach" a 12 year old kid with a broken arm what it takes to play in the Majors. That's why I wanted so badly for Daniel Stern to flawlessly channel his inner Phil Brickma, but I would be flat out lying to myself if I said I wasn't disappointed with the final product.

That's not to say there weren't some high points. The chew? The eyes? The facial hair? All perfect. The talk about the hips? A reminder of cinematic excellence gone by. However, the play-by-play of the Cubs postseason reminded me more of a senile old man that yells at the television like the players on it can actually hear him. Keeping in mind it was a man playing a character he made famous 23 years ago, that fake phone call was as cringeworthy as it gets.

I needed more ridiculous advice. More "hot ice", more "3 R's", more "Scuffy McGee", more "let the big dog eat!". Basically I just need less forced improv from a man that sounded like any old schmo making home videos for 15 people on YouTube in his man cave. Where's the guy that got stuck between connecting hotel room doors, and how did he getting replaced by a guy that actually understands baseball? I don't know, but I'm going to need to go down the rabbit hole that is the internet to remember Phil Brickma as the brilliantly comedic idiot that he was in his prime...