2009 Black History Month: Favorite Black TV Characters (#6)

By: Luke Florence

My Favorite Black TV Characters

#6 - February 23rd - Alex Adeyanju/Matt Barnes - "Gridiron Glory"

What up and welcome.

Maybe I am a little biased. Okay, I am probably a lot biased, but these two guys are my all-time favorite sporting television hosts. For three consecutive years, Matt Barnes and Alex Adeyanju entertained Southeast Ohio, in particular Southeast Ohio football fans. For three years, these two hosted the Emmy-award winning Gridiron Glory.

Even though Barnes and Adeyanju have left WOUB and are now onto bigger and better things, their performance for those three years will never be forgotten. They both are pioneers in the sense, as they were the first two black hosts of Gridiron Glory. So, in a weird way, you could say they were the Jackie Robinson/Larry Doby of Southeast Ohio.

Adeyanju took over my sophomore year of college, while Barnes replaced him for my junior and senior years. Following in the footsteps of Mark Bruce is never easy, but Adeyanju pulled off the transition seamlessly. He brought his own unique personality to the position, one which made working beside Adeyjanu a pleasure.

To date, Adeyanju is now out in Las Vegas, reporting for the Las Vegas Sun, and hosting his own online show. That same flavor that Adeyanju brought to Gridiron is ever so present for his current show, All-In. On a side note, I would love to hear Adeyanju talk about the process of filming that cold-open. He always had great stories.

Along those lines, my all-time favorite Alex Adeyanju story came my sophomore year when, during an after-show get together, we played Kings. One of the rules was before you took a drink, you had to state your social security number out-loud. Everyone's S.S. number started with two, except Adeyanju's. Hearing Barrett and others rip on Adeyanju's number was instant humor.

Which brings us to Matt Barnes. The Doby to Adeyanju's Robinson. And while Barnes had to follow Adeyanju, he as well, created a smooth and seamless transition. It would have been easy for Barnes to simply try and copy how Adeyanju ran the show, but that's not how Barnes rolls. In a weird way, if you were to combine Adeyanju with Mark Bruce, the end result would be Matt Barnes.

Put the cameras and microphones on, and Barnes transforms into a true professional. If I had to pick a person to handle a crisis on air, no question it would be Barnes. He is cool under pressure, knows how to ad-lib like he was reading straight off the teleprompter, and is constantly in his comfort zone when the cameras are rolling.

Now, Barnes is down in Augusta Georgia, acting as the #2 sports reporter for the CBS station, WRDW. There is very little doubt in my mind, that if Barnes wants to get on SportsCenter one day, he will get there. I mean Coach from WWE made it to SportsCenter, so Barnes should be a shoe-in.

Okay, enough from me. Later tonight, after our podcast with Barnes, we will unveil my #5 selection, so sorry, no hints. But, it involves books. Probably a dead giveaway.

Until later tonight, "read it, roll it, hole it."