# Tyson shares love of pigeons in show



## kalapati (Aug 29, 2006)

here's more on Mike's pigeons:


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http://msn.foxsports.com/boxing/sto...ns-in-new-Animal-Planet-show-010611?gt1=39002

Tyson shares love 
of pigeons in show



Updated Jan 6, 2011 9:01 PM ET 


PASADENA, Calif. (AP)

As a kid growing up in a bad Brooklyn 
neighborhood, Mike Tyson was fascinated by 
the pigeons that flocked around his 
apartment building.

The birds, considered a dirty nuisance to 
most people, were beautiful to him.

''The first thing I ever loved in my life — the 
pigeon,'' he said. ''They're so much like 
people.''

The former heavyweight champion 
reconnects with his childhood passion in 
''Taking on Tyson,'' a six-part docudrama 
that debuts March 6 on Animal Planet.
''This ain't no hobby,'' Tyson said Thursday 
at the Television Critics Association's winter 
meeting. ''It's a cultural thing.''

He keeps his pigeons at a coop in New 
Jersey, tended by Vinnie Torre, Tyson's 
pigeon trainer and a racer himself. The boxer 
takes pride in having his birds appear clean 
and healthy.

''If your pigeons are healthy,'' he said, ''you 
must be a clean and healthy guy.''

Asked by a New York-based reporter how to 
rid pesky pigeons from her windowsill, 
Tyson drew laughs when he replied, ''We 
don't want those birds.''

Just like in the worlds of horse racing and 
show dogs, the best pigeons are the most 
prized.

''We're dealing with the creme de la creme of 
the pigeon world,'' Tyson said. ''You want the 
best bloodline and you want your name 
attached to the best bloodline so everyone 
wants to buy your birds.''

Much to his wife's dismay, Tyson can spend 
hours at the coop, staring at the birds as they 
flap their wings and hop around.

''I'm trying to look for two dominant 
personalities I want to breed,'' he explained.

Tyson said he thinks the show will give him a 
chance to broaden the horizons of people 

who don't know anything about the birds 
that have given him solace in his tumultuous 
life.

''There's never been a case of anyone 
catching a deadly disease from a pigeon,'' he 
said.

Torre added, ''They're actually the 
thoroughbreds of the sky.''

''The pigeons are man's first feathered 
friends, before chickens,'' Tyson said. ''They 
were money in ancient times.''

Although he's a longtime pigeon fancier, 
Tyson is a novice at racing the birds. 
Typically, they begin racing a mile and build 
up to 500 miles or more, with owners 
monitoring vaccines, vitamins and 
medication given to the birds.

''There's nothing like seeing a bird coming 
home,'' said Helder Rodrigues, a competitive 
racer from New Jersey who appears in the 
show.

The show takes Tyson back to his childhood 
neighborhood and touches on what he calls 
his ''pretty colorful past.''

''There's going to be some interesting things 
about my past you're going to find out,'' he 
said.

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kalapati
San Diego

http://blubarloft.dyndns.biz:81/Aview.htm


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## atvracinjason (Mar 4, 2010)

I'm excited to see this show, I hope he does good by us


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## Pigeon0446 (Apr 22, 2007)

ProPigeon Loft said:


> anyone know when the first show is suppose to air?


I found this in the original post "''Taking on Tyson,'' a six-part docudrama that debuts March 6 on Animal Planet."


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## Pigeon0446 (Apr 22, 2007)

They actually had a special race just for the show. I was gonna ship it but it was on the last week of the season and I was already obligated to fly 3 other 300 mile races 2 money races and my club 300. With all those races already I didn't have the time to get to there to ship birds plus I was leading in average speed in my club and I wanted to ship as many as I could in the last club race to secure my win which I did.


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## Pigeon0446 (Apr 22, 2007)

I think it'll air if PETA hasn't stopped them from filming the show I don't think they are gonna stop them from airing it now. Especailly since they've invested money into this show. I actually think the controversy will be a win win for both PETA and the animal planet since they'll both be getting advertisement from all the crap that's gonna get thrown around as the air date of the show approaches.


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## Msfreebird (Sep 23, 2007)

All the negative (assinine) comments (after the article) make me sick, and I have all I can do to bite my tongue, and not comment back.........Especially the comment that "people that like pigeons end up in shelters or sleeping on park benches" 
Why are people so judgmental and ignorant?


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## Alamo (Nov 22, 2008)

Roy Rogers...Walt Disney..and many other wealthy and smart people had/have pigeons......Maybe it`s about time the non-pigeon keeper dummies find out about ALL of us smart folks who have them......Alamo


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## RodSD (Oct 24, 2008)

Msfreebird said:


> All the negative (assinine) comments (after the article) make me sick, and I have all I can do to bite my tongue, and not comment back.........Especially the comment that "people that like pigeons end up in shelters or sleeping on park benches"
> *Why are people so judgmental and ignorant?*


Maybe because they are!!!


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## bloodlines_365 (Jan 15, 2008)

You guys should seen when he got interview by Larry king about his pigeon show..... Its on youtube!!


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## It_Fly's (Dec 9, 2010)

I can't wait to watch the show.


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## Josepe (Jan 10, 2011)

Her should've been spending time with them pigeons instead of in jail and getting into trouble all those years.


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## bbcdon (Oct 16, 2007)

No one can change what has happened in the past, but hopefully he has learned from his mistakes.


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## atvracinjason (Mar 4, 2010)

I love to see people get thier "stuff" together and turn thier lives around, I'm rooting for Tyson...also on the list Lohan, Vick, Sheen, Obama, Jason Lawrence(mx guy), come on guys...make me proud


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## ptras (Jun 29, 2010)

atvracinjason said:


> I love to see people get thier "stuff" together and turn thier lives around, I'm rooting for Tyson...also on the list Lohan, Vick, Sheen, Obama, Jason Lawrence(mx guy), come on guys...make me proud


Why are you putting Obama in with that lot? Was it his drug habit? His shoplifting? Dogfighting? Assault?


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## West (Mar 29, 2009)

hahaha Obama, that's awesome.


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## rackerman (Jul 29, 2009)

ptras said:


> Why are you putting Obama in with that lot? Was it his drug habit? His shoplifting? Dogfighting? Assault?


*LOL, now thats funny........*


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## Msfreebird (Sep 23, 2007)

Obama on the list?! LOL....My mother would love that one....she's 90 and doesn't like anything about him! That's ALL I hear from her


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## Rondo769 (May 18, 2010)

ptras said:


> Why are you putting Obama in with that lot? Was it his drug habit? His shoplifting? Dogfighting? Assault?


No it's his inability to run this country the way it needs to be ran.


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## rackerman (Jul 29, 2009)

Msfreebird said:


> Obama on the list?! LOL....My mother would love that one....she's 90 and doesn't like anything about him! That's ALL I hear from her


*Mother knows best............*


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## doveone52 (Aug 3, 2009)

Good old Mike! Trying to find two dominant birds to breed, my eye! He's enjoying his birds just like we all do! I am very tired of being considered a little "off" because of my pigeons. I hope this show gives the pigeons some badly needed positive press! Can't wait to watch!


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## ptras (Jun 29, 2010)

*Tyson Finds Peace from Unusual Source*

*Tyson Finds Peace from Unusual Source*
By Kevin Iole, Yahoo! Sports

HENDERSON, Nev. – The hands that once caused so much fear, that once scrambled the brains of highly trained men, which caused elite professionals to cower in fear, now gently, tenderly, caress a pigeon.

Mike Tyson, former heavyweight champion of the world, the one-time baddest man on the planet, is now just a working stiff who hustles odd jobs to make a living.
Life is simpler now, more peaceful. He’s doing what he loves, surrounded by people and things he loves. The zany, out-of-control fighter, who once gnawed an opponent’s ear off, who bit another opponent on the leg during a news conference, who said he wanted to eat an opponent’s children, is long gone.

That was Iron Mike, and this Mike Tyson wants no part of that guy.
He calls himself a “Nevada guy” now and says he wants nothing to do with living in Brooklyn, where he was born and raised. “Not even in a penthouse,” he says, laughing nervously.

He’s at home in the desert, with his new wife, two of his children and his prized pigeons. He’s a recovering addict now, fighting daily to avoid the temptations of the drugs that nearly derailed him only a few years ago.
The Las Vegas area isn’t generally the place for people with dependencies like Tyson. And from the backyard of his home, the lights of the famed Las Vegas Strip beckon like a Siren’s song.

Tyson, though, insists he’s found peace because he came to a realization that took him more than 40 years to accept.

“I used to think nobody liked me and nobody wanted to help me,” Tyson said. “No. People were waiting for me to do the right thing. Once you help yourself, people will help you. That’s just how it goes, and I found out late. People are just waiting for you to change so they can participate in cultivating your life. Or, they’re waiting for you to kill yourself and watch you self-destruct.

“And what I finally learned is that people say, ‘So, what are we going to do? I’m not going to help you self-destruct. If you’re self-destructive, I’m going to stay away. But once I see you are trying to cultivate your life and change and throw away those bad habits, I’ll get involved in your life and try to help. Other than that, I’m not involved.’ “
He pauses and sighs.

“They’re right, of course, but that’s what I didn’t realize,” he said. “It just took so long for me to realize that people didn’t just hate me. They hated the behavior they saw and they wanted to help me if they could, if I gave them a chance and try to start by helping myself.”

Tyson makes money off of his name, but he insists he’s far from the man he once was. He’s found projects that keep him busy and pay him money and he’s found that, surprise, surprise, people actually like him and enjoy hearing what he has to say.

He’s starring in a docudrama series for the cable channel Animal Planet called “Taking on Tyson,” that begins on March 6 at 10 p.m. ET and PT. The show is about racing pigeons and Tyson challenges some of the best pigeon racers in the world.

The former champion has long had a fascination with pigeons. He fought on the streets for the first time as a 12-year-old when a neighborhood bully in the tough, gritty Brownsville section of Brooklyn grabbed his favorite pigeon and snapped its neck, throwing the dead bird at him, its blood spattering him in his face.

He now has a coop in his home and has pigeons as his pets. “I looooooove these things,” he coos, softly.

Pigeons aren’t high on most people’s list of cuddly, affectionate pets. In many areas, they’re considered a nuisance. Tyson, though, sees the birds differently.
They’re majestic animals with distinct personalities, he says, the finest animals he’s ever owned.

Tyson has had a rich history with animals, including exotics. Nothing, though, can match a pigeon in his eyes. “Pigeons are the best,” he said. “Of all the animals I’ve had – tigers, lions, bears – Oh no, none of them are even close to the same league as the birds.”
Tyson says, “Oh no, no, no,” when asked if he has a special understanding of the birds that others don’t possess. It’s his willingness to accept them that gives him whatever insight he has into their nature, he says.

“If you think you have some kind of different level of understanding of the animals, that’s when you think you’re special and that’s when you get hurt by them,” Tyson said. “That’s when you lose it. These animals don’t understand. Pigeons are man’s first feathered friend, but they need us in life. We have a relationship, us and pigeons, especially the thoroughbred pigeons. People take care of them very well, but you know what? They’d only live two years on the street, if they’re lucky. And that’s if they’re lucky.”

Tyson fooled a lot of people by surviving a wild life, much of it spent on the streets, and making it past his 40th birthday still alive. He’s 44 now and doing better than he ever has, he says.

He still loves the fight game – he enjoys both boxing and mixed martial arts – but isn’t nearly as close to the sport that made him one of the world’s most recognizable figures as he once was. Only a few days before a highly anticipated bantamweight bout between Nonito Donaire Jr. and Fernando Montiel at the Mandalay Bay Events Center that is just a short distance from his home, Tyson asks if any good matches are coming up.
But when the Donaire-Montiel bout is mentioned, Tyson is puzzled. “Are they good?” he asks. “Excuse me for asking, but I’m not familiar with them. Is it going to be a good fight?”

Tyson is still a fixture at fights in Las Vegas, but says he believes the Ultimate Fighting Championship has surpassed boxing because of the way it promotes and stages its events.
“It’s just more entertaining than going to a boxing match now,” Tyson says of going to a UFC card. “When you go to a boxing match, once the fight is over, you’re waiting for another match and there is nothing going on. We’re just sitting there with an empty ring and nothing is happening. We might as well stand up, because the audience is the show there. If you go to UFC, ‘Boom, boom, da, da, da, da,’ it’s like we’re in a club, we’re partying. Everybody’s passing their drinks and it’s a party.

“When the fighters come out, there’s more music and they build a story up about the fighters and then there is the fight. The fights are awesome – they’re awesome, really – and then, ‘Boom,’ the fight is over and then there is more music. It’s a party and a fight at the same time. I know it sounds crazy, but that’s what it is.” He chuckles and explains what he’d do if he were a promoter. He clearly has been paying attention, because everything he says makes sense. He doesn’t have an MBA but he has a sense of what moves people.

“You know, people will spend their last dime to be entertained,” Tyson says. “They’ll steal a meal and pay for their entertainment. When I was fighting, people watched because they thought I was nuts. They didn’t know what might happen next. There was an entertainment aspect to that, that they wanted to see the unexpected, so to speak. They didn’t know what might happen, but they thought something would and they wanted to see it.

“With this show, yeah, people are going to watch it because of me and because they want to hear me talk and find out what I have to say. That’s part of it. But these other characters on this show are fascinating. I don’t want to say their personal business, but when you see these guys, they’re little, dumpy white men, fat and stuff. But if you ever get to know them, they’re fearless. They’re not afraid of nobody, with a gun or without. They don’t look like those kind of people, because it’s not stamped on their foreheads like it is with me. But you watch and you’ll see.”

He’s eager to see the reaction to the show and believes it will be a hit, though not because of his presence. The birds, he predicts, will be the stars. How can you not love pigeons, he asks? They’re a huge part of his life these days and he often spends time caressing his birds, talking to them, quietly watching them soar above him.

“They all have their own personalities and there are some you like more than others,” Tyson said. “But you know what? There are some people you like more than others. Sometimes, because of what you do, or who you are, you’re forced to associate with people and you may not like them or you may not want to be around them, but you have to because of the situation you find yourself in.

“This is my opinion, but I love these birds. They’re fascinating creatures and it gives me a good feeling, a sense of peace, just to be around them every day. It’s not for everybody, but this is my life and this is what I love to do. I could be happy being around them and watching them for the rest of my life.”


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## Alamo (Nov 22, 2008)

I only PRAY that EVERYONE who is on this project,and is on screen talking with whomever,speaks CLEARLY,and uses wording that sounds like people who fly pigeons,are not bird brains !! If I hear some guy talk like he never got out of 5th grade,I will scream so loud,you will hear me in NYC....I want people on there who make sence,and add something to the value of the hobby....I don`t want to hear,we race for big money !!
Your not going to get people to join in this sport,if all you say is we race for big money,and racing pigeons sometimes sell for $5,000 each and up....Don`t scare people away !! We might get quite a few new flyers,who think this is a good hobby/sport for their sons etc...I only hope this is not a show just about the MTFRace....Alamo


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## Msfreebird (Sep 23, 2007)

doveone52 said:


> Good old Mike! Trying to find two dominant birds to breed, my eye! He's enjoying his birds just like we all do! *I am very tired of being considered a little "off" because of my pigeons. I hope this show gives the pigeons some badly needed positive press! Can't wait to watch!*


YES!!!!! Same here!!


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## abluechipstock (Nov 26, 2010)

i've seen previews, can't wait, a show about pigeons, i've seen an interview where he showed his pigeons, it was really cool, he had rollers, high flyers and homers


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## victor miller (Apr 29, 2009)

*mike*

march 6 here in mo you may be different 



ProPigeon Loft said:


> anyone know when the first show is suppose to air?


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## ptras (Jun 29, 2010)

Rondo769 said:


> No it's his inability to run this country the way it needs to be ran.


What way do we need it to be run? The way George W. ran it into the ground?


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## Matt Bell (May 5, 2010)

I think there is a place on the forum to discuss random things like politics...I know its certainly not here in the racing pigeon department though.


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## Rondo769 (May 18, 2010)

ptras said:


> What way do we need it to be run? The way George W. ran it into the ground?


LMAO!!Good one .A turkey on a stick could do a better job than that turd!(Obammy)


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## whytwings (Feb 12, 2011)

I agree 100 %


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## whytwings (Feb 12, 2011)

I should clarify .........I agree with Matt !


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## Kastle Loft (May 7, 2008)

There is enough in-fighting amongst pigeon racers without bringing politics or religion into the equation. PLEASE, let's keep it off this forum. I get enough of it in my own club and it's all I can do to keep my mouth shut. Pigeons have been a great way for me to escape the negativity of the human world and I think we're all better off trying to keep it that way. 

Mike Tyson may agree.


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## Pip Logan (Oct 6, 2009)

Ill watch the show, I hope it lives up o the hype


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## re lee (Jan 4, 2003)

At least PETA did not get there way trying to get the show stopped. It will do some good in the hobby by promoting And people can learn a little more about pigeons. MIKE has had pigeons for years and help[ed relax Just as they help most relax working with the birds. And not is not often pigeons get there time on a TV show. So its an A plus for the hobby.


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