Slow and steady
Barber didn’t become a football success overnight. 

When he was selected by the Giants in the second round of the 1997 draft, it was as a third down option, not a starter. After injuries early on, his durability was questioned; he struggled to overcome a fumbling problem. 

“I never failed because I never stopped trying,” Barber said. “These failures that came along, they happened to me, but I didn’t let them conquer me, so I never did fail.”

Barber figured out what it took to succeed, finding the right combination of lifting coaches, chiropractors and massages. He learned how to study up on his opponent by watching two hours of film instead of five.

“Things got more efficient,” Barber said. “That comes with experience and going through hard knocks.”

Doug Benc / Getty Images Tiki Barber #21 of the New York Giants waits on the field after losing to the Philadelphia Eagles 23-20 during their NFC Wildcard Playoff game

Barber jogged off the field for the last time on January 7 after the best playoff performance of his career with 137 yards rushing on 26 carries and two passes for 15 yards. Just the game before, his final regular-season appearance, he rushed for a franchise-record 234 yards to help propel the Giants into an unlikely playoff berth before their Super Bowl dreams were squashed by the Philadelphia Eagles.

“I have team regrets that we didn’t win to continue forward, but I definitely have not a single regret for those games and my entire career,” Barber said. “My ups and downs I wouldn’t change for the world because the struggles I went through made me appreciate when I became successful.”

The next challenge
Preparation made Barber a top football player, and preparation is what he feels will make him a great journalist on TODAY and a top analyst for NBC’s “Football Night in America,” his second assignment with the network.

For almost as long as he has been a part of the NFL, it as if he has been quietly getting ready for his second career, or as Barber calls it, his first “real job.”  He has written three children’s books and starred in a couple off-Broadway plays. He hosted one radio show covering politics, news, sports and entertainment and another sports radio talk show with Ronde.  In 2000 he started as a morning sports correspondent on WCBS and about two years ago he become a correspondent with “Fox and Friends.”

“At Fox news and WCBS, I was dabbling, I was putting my foot in the door,” Barber said. “But to actually have this as my profession is different. It’s a great responsibility to me, so I have to work to get to that same point as I was as a football player.

“That’s the challenge in it. That’s why I love it, because I love a challenge.”

And there are no more questions in his mind about who he aspires to be. That person will be right next to him on the couch.

“Getting to know Matt (Lauer) and seeing Matt do what he does and having a trust and a confidence about himself in delivering the room whether it be putting on a silly Halloween costume or interviewing the president, he’s the kind of person that I want to be,” Barber said in February. “I’m honored to be able to learn from him a little bit and direct my path.”

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