Mike Tyson is crazy. But you knew this. Here’s one thing I’m betting you didn’t know: Mike Tyson loves pigeons. No, really. Airing Sundays at 10PM on Animal Planet you can now watch Taking on Tyson, a “mini-documentary” (or so Tyson calls it) which follows Tyson as he ventures into the world of pigeon racing.
I shit you not, pigeon racing. Apparently, there is a subculture of competitive pigeon racing that up until now has, ahem, flown virtually under the radar. But as Mike Tyson, the historian, will tell you, the sport of pigeon racing has been around for centuries (“the Crusades,” “the battle between Napoleon and the Duke of Wellington”). Whatever you say, Mike.
Tyson promises that viewers will see a different side of the former heavyweight champion. He is a rookie being thrown into a sport against competitors who have been racing pigeons for decades. He got into the sport for the exact reason Mike Tyson would get into a sport: world championship.
“When the guys introduced me to pigeons, they were talking about pigeons like some trainers would talk about a world class fighter…These people are bragging about this bird like he’s a world champion fighter, and to be honest with you, some of these birds are world champions,” says Tyson.
Well, I guess this means we can expect to see a flock of world champion pigeons locked in a bathroom in The Hangover 2 as opposed to just another tiger.
-Dee Lockett
JERK 