June 21, 2005, - 6:03 pm

Homeless Spurs Fan Has $ To Burn on her Team

By Debbie Schlussel
I’m not saying Barbara Barlow is your typical homeless person, but . . . . What do you think of homeless people, like Barlow, who want your pity, but have plenty of time, money, and energy to devote to millionaire basketball players for teams owned by billionaires? In advance of tonight’s Spurs-Pistons NBA Finals game, Detroit Free Press sports columnist Nicholas J. Cotsonika’s column on Barlow is not only interesting, it’s a light must-read.
Homeless Barlow, of San Antonio, has slept in a dumpster and a box next to the highway, but she burns money on pricey Manu Ginobili jerseys, Spurs t-shirts, her large basketball card collection, and a radio (spends all day listening to Paul Harvey and sports radio). And she is an autograph hound, who regularly trolls around the away team’s hotel for their signatures–not too mention her scouting of David Robinson’s wedding. And while she won’t pay for herself to live anywhere, Barlow regularly pays for storage of her NBA memorabilia. Why is she homeless? “I’m lazy,” Barlow says. Doesn’t sound lazy to me–when it comes to basketball. She, like some other homeless, needs to get her priorities straight.




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4 Responses

“Homeless” people are homeless because they choose to be homeless. Barlow is another example of how our nation’s “homeless” live better than the average citizen in a 3rd world nation.

Yiddish Steel on June 22, 2005 at 3:44 pm

C’mon, Steel; do you really believe that ALL homeless choose to be in their condition? I agree that the majority of them (like this Barlow person) fall under that heading, but probably a good quarter of them have serious mental defects. I doubt one could walk the streets of Manhattan for a day and come away thinking that none of the homeless are a few chapters short of a chumash.
(btw, great name; catch “Jewdas” Priest on their current tour, Halford hasn’t lost a step)

Yngvai on June 23, 2005 at 6:36 am

I certainly n’t believe that all homeless people are intentionally in that situation either, but I still found this story to be pretty cute! Reminds me of the old joke (with some kernel of truth) of the person who dresses up as a panhandler, then goes home and finishes his day with more money from begging than he got at his normal job!

hairymon on June 26, 2005 at 9:22 am

Wow Debbie is now talking about other people. She’s the one who blows her money on the plastic surgery that doesn’t work. I might add that it makes her look worse! Debbie stop worrying about other people and start worrying about yourself because there is plenty to worry about!!!

Sharon Ringstaff on June 26, 2005 at 11:38 pm

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