When Charles Barkley landed on his knee after a midair collision last Wednesday in Philadelphia, he knew his season, and career, were over.

What he probably didn't expect was the raucous standing ovation the Sixers fans, in an enemy stadium, gave him when they realized they had seen one of the NBA's 50 greatest players play his last game.

And last Friday, at the FleetCenter in Boston, Barkley also got a ten-minute ovation from Celtics fans after he delivered what amounted to a farewell speech.

My question is, why? Why do all these people love Barkley, who has insulted, annoyed, perplexed and disappointed them?

I have to admit I never liked Charles Barkley. I saw him play several years ago in his first year with the Houston Rockets, and I wasn't overly impressed. His overweight body stumbled and bumbled across the court, he seemed to play offense with his elbows and what could be characterized as an overall sense of laziness. "Sir Charles" was a goon.

His ex-teammates have said that even though he wanted to win, he never gave enough effort in games or practice to make them think he actually cared enough about basketball.

He never gave me any reason to like him. Whenever he opened his mouth, only dumb or offensive comments followed. Whenever reporters asked him for his opinion, his answer was usually a snide remark towards another player or the refs.

One time, he even threw a man through a plate-glass window after an altercation at a bar.