The Unbearable Burden of Being Ike
Posted by Pete Robbins on May 19th 2021
Prior to last week’s Bassmaster Northern Open on the James River, I hadn’t been around Mike Iaconelli in a couple of years, and had largely forgotten how hard it must be to be him — or at least how hard it would be for me to be him. Yes, I know that he chose his profession and depends on interaction with the public to make a living, but win, lose or draw the poor guy can’t walk five feet without getting accosted.
Actually, it might be less than 5 feet.
As he tried to make it from the stage back to his boat — a distance totaling approximately 60 feet — after weighing in on Friday, with the full knowledge that he likely had not made the cut to Saturday, he was approached by one person after another from all walks of life. There were everything from children of all ages to dowagers, all sorts of friends and fans. Some wanted a pic, some wanted to tell him how much they enjoyed watching him fish, and others stressed that they had met him at a boat show in Jersey 15 or 20 years ago. Through it all, he smiled and remained both pleasant and engaged. After a week of long days on the water, how many of us could have taken that 30-minute stroll with that kind of attitude?
Certainly not me. As a confirmed introvert, that kind of constant small talk from two people, let alone twenty, would send me into the fetal position. Just watching it made my skin crawl. I give him a lot of credit — especially as someone who has worked hard to control his emotions — it can’t be easy all the time.
