Jock Itch As free (and marketable) as a Birdman

Local sports heroes can get away with just about anything: John Elway and Joe Sakic sold cars, Ed McCaffrey peddled mustard—these guys were so well-liked, they could have endorsed the Taliban and not seen a decrease in their fan bases. It’s all about likeability, and Chris “Birdman” Andersen—a low-scoring, yet highly popular player—has this in spades.

It’s been a long, improbable trip back for Birdman: He was booted out of the league four years ago for violating the league's drug policy, but a second stint with Denver, and a lucrative new contract, have provided a rebirth for Birdman. He’s parlayed his comeback story as the tattooed, faux-hawked, sober shot-blocker into a family-friendly and ad-ready pitchman.

It’s obvious how much the fans love him: Whenever Andersen checks into the game, he gets the biggest round of applause of all the players. Maybe it’s because he only plays around 22 minutes a game (compared to Carmelo Anthony, who logs about 37), but the Pepsi Center crowds greet him like a favorite son. And that’s why Andersen is a natural choice for hawking random local merchandise. Like, here, in a commercial for Mattress King:

It’s amazing that someone as tattooed and hairspray-enhanced as Andersen can be a spokesperson for something as pedestrian as mattresses. But times have changed, after all, and skin art isn’t taboo anymore. It’s also entirely possible that Andersen, being the tall white man that he is, is much more relatable to the predominantly white basketball audience. Whatever the case, Andersen has earned his acclaim (and endorsement paychecks) with his energetic play and court presence. He’s pretty hard not to root for, no matter what he looks like.

Coming in a close second in the marketability department is Chauncey Billups. Billups, the legitimate star of the team (maybe even more so than Anthony), doesn’t need a crusty faux-hawk to get people excited. His game speaks for itself. Despite all the applause Andersen receives, everyone in Colorado knows that Billups makes this team run. He may have even one-upped Andersen with his own ad for Blackjack Pizza—it's possibly the greatest thing ever recorded by a local sports celebrity:

Andersen, however, is certainly striking while the iron is hot. In addition to his burgeoning commercial endeavors, there are Birdman T-shirts and the line of glassware at Arby’s. (The good news is that you don’t necessarily have to choke down Arby’s to get a glass; each one is available for $2.49 without purchase of the roast-beef combo.) He’s also trying his hand with radio: Andersen appears every Thursday at 8 a.m. on ESPN Radio 1600 with The Sports Insiders for “A Bird’s Eye View,” a peek inside the life of an NBA player. (It gives him a forum to justify driving this post-apocalyptic battle wagon.)

As a success story, Andersen’s is unbelievable—just like a Sandra Bullock movie. For a marginal player, who undoubtedly excites the Nuggets fan base, Andersen has done very well. It’s rare that someone who isn’t the bona-fide superstar on a team—he’s probably fourth or fifth on that depth chart—to garner this much attention. But if he and the Nuggets can keep it together through the playoffs, Birdman may be due for a Sandra Bullock movie of his own.