The Haney Project with Charles Barkley proves that misery loves company

It has been many years since Charles Barkley has been called “The Round Mound of Rebound.”

Oh, he’s been called a lot of other things since those days, including, quite recently: problem gambler, drunk driver, horny, and “under arrest.”

But he has never been called a “good golfer.”

The Golf Channel, though, might just be calling Sir Charles “cash cow,” as the ratings for The Haney Project with Charles Barkley smashed the network’s previous record for ratings for a series premier.

Here’s my theory why the show was, at least for the first episode, such a success:

Misery loves company. You see, just about all of us suck at golf in some way (or multiple ways), and none of us play as well as we wish we could (not even Tiger). So to watch the full-body dry-heave that is Barkley’s golf swing – which is something akin to a downer steer lurching through the stockyard toward certain death – makes us feel a little bit better about the shortcomings of our own game.

No worries, Chuck, we’ve all been there.

Most of us haven’t been EVERYWHERE you’ve been, but we’ve been THERE. Sort of.

Misery does indeed love company, especially if that company knows how to get cartloads of cash, top-shelf booze, and a little, er, congenial social intercourse, all while learning how to be a better golfer.

A tip o’ the tam to you, Sir, and best of luck.

Charles Barkley: Long night of carousing ending in arrest, or long round of golf ending with a 168?