Denny and Un

Sports and politics have always had a history of accompanying one another.  The gladiatorial fights were sponsored for half the year by the Roman government.  Championship teams visit the White House.  Many former athletes have pursued political careers.  But of all the unlikely combinations that the two worlds could have conjured, the dress rehearsal that took place this week may win the prize.

Dennis Rodman, not Hillary Rodham, took a trip to North Korea this past week.  That's right, Dennis Rodman, the guy who dressed up in a wedding dress.  The Dennis Rodman who has more holes, piercings, and ink than Swiss cheese at a tattoo parlor.  The guy who made a living rebounding in the NBA, grabbing enough balls to make even Richard Simmons nauseous.   

We know he made it through airport security somehow, despite wearing more rings than the Kayan people of Burma, but no one really knows what the motivation behind the trip was, but we can certainly speculate. 

Hillary Clinton was the most travelled Secretary of State, piling up as many frequent flyer miles as an albatross.  Despite all that traveling, she never made it north of the 38th parallel on the Korean Peninsula.  Rodman certainly deserves some consideration as a future ambassador.  Perhaps Hillary Clinton's intern (Bill had one) or John Kerry's assistant.  Maybe this trip was a tryout for a future in politics.

Or given Rodman's eccentricity, maybe he was looking for one of those famous North Korean unicorns.  

The most likely scenario was that both he and Kim Jong-Un shared a mutual cognitive  kinship.  Rodman spent a lot of time with the North Korean leader, enough time to consider Kim Jong-Un a lifelong friend.  Kim Jong-Un has already topped Madonna in Rodman's hierarchy of relationships.  They probably got tattooed BFF anklets together.  

But a hook up of this nature is not unprecedented.  You may recall the movie "Benny and Joon", the story of a pair of mentally disabled people becoming lifelong friends.  This story definitely has its similarities.  Two nut jobs, one living in isolation.  This storyline has the potential for the making of a new movie, "Denny and Un".

But regardless of the motivation behind the meeting, this union certainly offers a comedic break to an otherwise tense situation between North Korea and the rest of the world.  Perhaps Dave Chappelle will travel there as Clayton Bigsby.  They have too much in common.