Old Man Mutombo Is Tired…
…of your silly, little jokes.
Great story by Marc Stein over at ESPN (dot) com today. I guess he does more than just break ever single trade in the League.
It seems that after putting up with jokes about his age for nearly 40 years now (I’m pretty sure people were telling them as soon as he emerged from the womb), Rockets dinosaur center Dikembe Mutombo–who recently became the second leading shot blocker of all time–has had just about enough:
“My wife [Rose] just mentioned that to me a few days ago, she said: ‘Honey, I think this joke has gone on too long and it has to stop. Is there a way you can tell the commissioner during the All-Star break to let the world know that this thing needs to stop, from a media standpoint all the way to the players?”
“It really doesn’t disturb me, but it hurts when your wife starts feeling uncomfortable about it. Even my daughter [Carrie] says, ‘Daddy, why are they talking about your age?’ She’s nine years old and she knows about it.”
“When people think your father is a liar, it makes you look bad in front of your children,” Mutombo said. “Kids don’t know when it’s a joke and when it’s not a joke. It never bothered me before, but it starts bothering me more as I’m getting questions from my wife [and] especially my daughter. She left me a voice message in the middle of a game [recently that said], ‘Daddy, they’re talking about your age on TV. That’s not funny.’ ”
“The commissioner and I are good friends,” Mutombo said. “I will find a way somehow to talk to him.
“He’s a great man. He can make it stop.”
No word on whether or not we can still make fun of his accent, cookie-monster voice, lethal elbows, finger-wave, or general on-court awkwardness. I’ll keep you posted.
(tip o’ the hat: Can’t Stop The Bleeding)
20 Responses to “Old Man Mutombo Is Tired…”
Jan.18 at 6:11 pm
akimana says:
cmon mutoni, as a neighbor of congo u shouldnt be makin fun of his accent, but the voice is definitely joke-worthy
Jan.18 at 6:13 pm
dez says:
So i was just listening to Nappy Heads, by the Fugees..and the part where Wyclef imitates Louis Armstrong, that sounds exactly like Dikembe.
Jan.18 at 6:49 pm
true says:
That is really sad.
Jan.18 at 6:54 pm
Chris says:
I guess people just start getting sensitive about their age in their 50’s
Jan.18 at 7:13 pm
Elwaldo says:
dikembe id a cool name.
Jan.18 at 7:36 pm
Bryant Reeves says:
Are we still allowed to make fun of the whole “Who wants to sex Mutombo” thing?
Jan.18 at 7:44 pm
Myk says:
?
Yeah I wonder what his daugher thinks of the Who Wants To Sex Mutombo thing.. think the website shut down after she asked him about that
Jan.18 at 7:52 pm
Russ Bengtson says:
Keep in mind that his daughter is actually 47 years old.
Jan.18 at 9:15 pm
Ryan Jones says:
I believe the actual phrase is “Who Want To Sex Mutombo?” Small difference, I know, but a vital one.
Jan.18 at 9:42 pm
Marcel Mutoni says:
akimana, what are you talking about? i was born in the north pole.
Jan.18 at 10:44 pm
Chief says:
Fucking Mutumbo rocks, he is just showing what hard work can do. The man is still in shape adn kicking it…props to him.
I don’t care how old he is i like him more than Yao who has been an all star just cause of the asian invasion.
Yes i said it.
Byeah
Jan.18 at 11:25 pm
G says:
Chief, in regard to Yao Ming and this “Asian Invasion”.. he might not have deserved his previous allstar trips, but he sure as hell deserved this year’s. Look at his numbers and his team’s standings before you pull out the race card.
Jan.18 at 11:53 pm
Russ Bengtson says:
All—well, at least most—joking aside, do you think Dikembe understands that a lot of people actually DO believe that he’s older than he says he is? That it’s not all jokes?
Jan.19 at 2:00 pm
mutoni says:
um, pretty sure he doesn’t, russ. i, for one, don’t believe he’s anywhere under 50.
Jan.19 at 2:49 pm
akimana says:
are u serious though? a 50 yr old averagin 10 boards a nite…seems unlikely… he’s at most 47
Jan.19 at 4:31 pm
Mike says:
Dikembe is so old that his drivers license picture is actually Greg Oden.
Jan.19 at 7:40 pm
Drolfe says:
Russ made a good point - in all seriousness i actually thought Dikembe Mutombo himself wasn’t exactly sure how old he was. His birthday on nba.com is June 25, 1966. Doesnt that sound a little made up?
Jan.19 at 10:03 pm
mdshuai says:
I don’t know; how would it sound made up? Maybe if it was like December 25, or July 4. Or especially April 1; if that were the case, then sure, it sounds made up; I see nothing made up with june 25 1966. Maybe it just seems made up ’cause you think it is. Or maybe I’m just missing the significance of the date…it’s been known to happen.
Jan.20 at 5:26 pm
Dikembe Mutombo Mpolondo Mukamba Jean Jacque Wamutombo says:
Dikembe Mutombo Mpolondo Mukamba Jean Jacque Wamutombo
Jan.23 at 3:20 pm
KB24theBEST says:
Still one of the best All-time shot-blockers of the NBA get off his jock…hes still cold!