Kyrie Irving: Mustache Twirling Villain
Nearly every show, movie, play, or story has a villain of some kind. Whether it be a money grubbing tycoon symbolizing greed, or a slimy purple lizard-like creature voiced by Steve Buscemi, villains are a dime-a-dozen in both media and society. Today though, we will be talking about a very specific kind of villain….
Team Rocket (Villains From Pokemon) are the ultimate “mustache twirling villains”
A ‘mustache twirling villain’ is a character who consistently rivals the protagonist of the story, and is defeated time after time (often with seemingly little effort). Mustache twirling villains are defined by being openly evil and over the top, while having very little nuance, and a propensity to monologue. These villains usually incorporate some kind of hair-brained schemes that serve as a source of humor and entertainment for the audience. A couple good examples of iconic mustache twirling villains are Team Rocket (Pokemon), Snidely Whiplash (The Rocky And Bullwinkle Show), Dr. Heinz Doofenshmirtz (Phineas And Ferb), and Captain Hook (Peter Pan), just to name a few. These characters, despite being evil, are almost MORE endearing to audiences than the show’s protagonists. As the saying goes, “art imitates life”, and there is no better example of this than Kyrie Irving.
Former Boston Celtics point guard Kyrie Irving seems to display many of these attributes at every turn. Despite being 0-14 against the Celtics since he famously stomped on his former team’s logo (pictured below), Irving continues to provoke Boston fans. Beyond calling Celtics fans racist, jealous, and belligerent (among other things). While racism is a very serious issue in the United States, Kyrie has been known to use the word as an excuse and a deflection to avoid the very real gripes that Boston fans have with him. Additionally, Irving once referred to Boston fans as, “like the scorned girlfriend that just wants an explanation for why I left but still hoping for a text back,”. This comment is especially ironic considering the Celtics’ rise to power in the east correlating directly with Irving’s departure.
Kyrie Irving’s press conferences often can be confused with villainous monologues, doing little to help his reputation. In a recent press conference following the Maverick’s game one loss (a game in which Irving went 6-19 with 12 points), Irving stated “I thought it was going to be a little louder in here”. This innate lack of self-awareness (and continued lack of success against his enemies) makes Irving fit the textbook definition of a ‘mustache twirling villain’.
Kyrie Irving seen stomping on the Boston Celtics logo in 2021
While Irving and the Mavericks still have time to change the narrative in this year’s NBA finals, I can’t help but take this opportunity to point and laugh at Kyrie. I am someone who enjoys laughing. A good ‘mustache twirling villain’ says and does things in a make the audience laugh, and credit to Kyrie. He has made me laugh on numerous occasions over the years, and the more games he loses to Boston, the funnier it gets.
I no longer have any hate in my heart towards Kyrie Irving. I am learning to love Irving the same way that kids love watching Perry The Platypus defeat Dr. Doofenschmirtz for the 50th episode in a row. It is becoming quite hard to take Irving seriously, which is great for his brand. Once Kyrie Irving fully embraces his role as the laughing stock of the NBA, he will find that fans DO truly appreciate him for what he is….. a joke.
