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Pressure plays a huge role for any sportsman when competing but those who make it to a professional level have the added stress of expectation brought around by the media, coaches and spectators who follow them. At times the pressure to win is so intense that competitors find their emotions uncontrollable and this can lead to a public display of anger, otherwise known as a tantrum!
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I have compiled my top 5 sporting tantrums, read on and discover how some competitors completely lost the plot:
John McEnroe
I only have to write those fabled words “you cannot be serious” and the majority of sports fans will know who I’m talking about. When sport and tantrum are used in the same sentence it’s hard to think of anyone else other than tennis legend John McEnroe. McEnroe was renowned for his outbursts and despite the fact he won seven grand slam titles he will always be remembered for his less than cordial on-court behaviour.
The sheer number of temper tantrums that McEnroe threw was quite astonishing and these, combined with the sublime tennis he played, made him extremely entertaining to watch. Whether you loved him or hated him there was never a dull moment.
One particular rant that McEnroe became famous for came in 1981 during a second round match at Wimbledon. Having had one of his serves called long McEnroe erupted into a fit of rage and despite several warnings proceeded to tell umpire Ed James exactly what he thought of him and the decision.
It was at this point McEnroe introduced his legendary phrase “you cannot be serious” and following a series of expletives he concluded by calling James “the pits of the world”. His foul mouthed rant earned him a fine, an official warning and the deduction of a point but this did not prevent him from continuing to terrorise officials for years to come.
McEnroe went on to win the 1981 Wimbledon title and he came away from the tournament with championship status and a catchphrase which still serves him to this day.
Learn how you can perform under pressure with this training guide- click here!
Watch a classic McEnroe rant below:
Eric Cantona
Unlike characters such as John McEnroe, Eric Cantona was a man of few words but on January 25th 1995 he certainly let his actions do the talking.
At the time Cantona was playing for Manchester United in a football league fixture away at Crystal Palace. After lashing out at an opponent on the pitch Cantona was sent off for violent conduct but this was only the start of his aggression. As he walked down the touchline towards the changing room Cantona was on the receiving end of the home crowd’s scorn and although it was indeed insulting this has always been typical treatment by unforgiving fans to opposition players.
Having been sent off for violent conduct the fans were particularly unforgiving and a certain fan, Matthew Simmons, said something that made the Frenchman switch. In a moment of sheer uncontrollable madness Cantona leaped over the advertising wall and kung-fu kicked Simmons before following up with a flurry of punches. Eventually he was dragged away but this extreme reaction proved very costly indeed.
Cantona was banned from world football for nine months, sentenced to community service, fined £10,000 and stripped of his captaincy of the national side. It had been a disastrous incident for both Cantona and football in general and he nearly quit the game completely.
Sports stars, particularly footballers, often face unacceptable abuse from fans and in this instance it seems Cantona had had enough. However he could not have reacted in a worse manner and many were left appalled by his behaviour.
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Watch Cantona self destruct below:
Jon Drummond
Injustice is an unfortunate side to sport which often leaves a sour taste in the mouths of those unlucky enough to be on the receiving end. In 2003 American sprinter Jon Drummond was unjustly disqualified from the quarter finals of the World Championships following a false start.
Drummond was convinced of his innocence and felt that he had been unfairly disqualified so decided to stage a remarkable on-track protest. He managed to delay proceedings for over an hour by laying on the track and shouting “I did not move”. Initially the crowd did not take too kindly to the hold up of their games and so Drummond was booed and jeered but he would not be moved.
Unfortunately for the official’s the replay of this supposed false start appeared on the big screen and showed that he had not moved. The crowd switched their attention towards the officials and this only served to spur Drummond on. Unfortunately the decision was never going to be reversed and Drummond’s tantrum was verging on desperate.
Drummond’s desperation has left him looking rather foolish and instead of looking like a professional sportsman he turned into a circus entertainer. Eventually he left the track, in floods of tears, and was forced to accept the disqualification. The sympathy that had been felt for him seemed to dry up as his temper tantrum was making a mockery of the occasion and holding up the proceedings.
Post race analysis found that although he had flinched he did not commit a false start and so Drummond was right to feel hard done by, it was just a shame he acted so foolishly.
Learn how you can perform under pressure with this training guide- click here!
Watch Drummond’s protest below:
Angel Matos
There is a list of sporting taboos which should never be broken but in the 2008 Beijing Olympics Taekwondo specialist Angel Matos did just that.
During a timeout in the bronze medal match between Matos and Kazakhstan’s Arman Chilmanov the referee was forced to disqualify Matos due to exceeding the time limit. Matos was receiving treatment for an injured foot but was deemed to be taking too long and thus lost out on the chance of winning the bronze medal. It was a simple case of Matos not following the rules and the referee had no choice but to disqualify him.
Livid at the decision Matos briefly remonstrated with the referee before unleashing a brutal kick to his face. He followed up by spitting on the arena floor in an act of disrespect to the competition before being eventually escorted from the ring.
This split second of madness cost Matos and his coach a future in Taekwondo as both received immediate lifetime bans and he will never be able to compete at the Olympics or in any future World Taekwondo Federation event again.
Striking an official is one of sport’s most heinous crimes and you can be sure if your frustration boils over in the direction of a referee you will always be hit by the letter of the law like a ton of bricks.
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Watch Matos perform his last official Taekwondo move below:
Byun Jong-il
This next episode is a classic example of throwing a temper tantrum and the best part about it is Korean boxer Byun Jong-Il really had no right to do so.
It was the gold medal match for the bantamweight title at the 1988 Olympics and Byun Jong-il was facing Bulgaria’s Alexander Hristov. Hristov had spent the majority of the bout dominating the hapless Korean and if ever there was a one sided affair this was it. Frustrated by the beating he was taking Jong-il landed several head butts to his opponent and as result had the few points he had accumulated deducted.
By the end of the bout it was clear that there was only one winner but amazingly Jong-il had thought it was him. Hristov and the rest of the people in the real world celebrated his gold medal but Jong-il and the Korean camp were convinced they had been robbed.
Byun refused to accept defeat and decided the best way to rectify his problem would be to sit himself down in the middle of the ring in a silent protest. It took 67 minutes for him to realise that he was fighting a lost cause and finally settled for silver, but not before the lights had been turned off and everyone else had gone home.
Click here to purchase your copy of Training for Combat Sports!
 | Author: | The Sports Nut (The Sports Nut's profile, The Sports Nut's blog) |
 | Posted On: | Fri, 2008-10-17 17:33 |
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