Bogus Booker photo revealed!

Oh, that crazy Eric Booker! Here we see the champ mugging for a few photos at the famous Denny's Beer Barrel Pub in Clearfield, Pennsylvania right before digging into Ye Old 96'er (six pounds of beef with five pounds of toppings). But wait...there's something slightly different about these pictures. Oh yes, the goofy yellow helmet! Seems someone with a fluency in Photoshop thought it would be funny to make Badlands look like he just hopped off the short bus.

And no, he didn't slip the helmet on in between shots. If you look closely, they're the exact same photo. G'head, click on 'em. The identical finger positioning and facial expression are a dead giveaway. Sadly, for the longest time I myself thought the helmet shot was the real picture. It's been making its rounds on the internet in much greater frequency than the sans helmet photo. It's the only one I'd ever seen -- until this morning.

I can see how even those who know Eric Booker could look at the photo on the right and think it was legit. Badlands is known for his larger-than-life personality (at least when he's eating) and he's someone who always seems to make people smile. So, for now, I guess the altered picture -- although it tampers with historical evidence -- is still an accurate reflection of what the mood must have been like on that day in PA.