2023 Fictitious Athlete Hall of Fame - Round 1

Butch McRae

TV Show/Movie Appeared: Blue Chips (1994)
Actor/Actress: Penny Hardaway
Position Portrayed: Point Guard
Played For:: Western University Dolphins
Why you should vote:: His acting did not suck.
Why you should not vote:: This is the same guy who got upstaged by “Lil Penny”.
This may seem disrespectful to Anfarnee “Penny” Hardaway, but while compiling our ballot we forgot about his role in “Blue Chips”. It was not that he did a bad job, as he was perfectly effective as Butch McRae, the Point Guard recruited by Nick Nolte whose mother received help from Western University boosters. However, when you think of the basketball performances in the film, McRae is a distant second to Shaquille O’Neal’s “Neon Boudeaux”, which coincidentally would foreshadow Hardaway being in the shadow of Shaq as a pro in Orlando.

Come to think of it, when you think of Penny Hardaway’s career, often the first thing that comes to mind is “Lil Penny” the loud talking puppet in the shoe commercials. If he is overshadowed (and he was) by a puppet, is this a viable Hall of Fame candidate?