Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Mac

[urban]

Ha, Ha. Seems that some people don't change. Just read, that Mac was defaulted by the ref at a senior (!) event at Newport (!), the wahlhalla of tennis. Playing Washington and obviously winning (no mean feat, regarding the age difference), he got wild on the umpire and the crowd, and was sent home. I thought, that this was part of the game, that the senior tour paid him money, to go mad occasionally. Obviously the ref was not involved in the scheming. And Jimmy van Alen will turn around in his grave.

[pmerk34]

Ha, Ha. Seems that some people don't change. Just read, that Mac was defaulted by the ref at a senior (!) event at Newport (!), the wahlhalla of tennis. Playing Washington and obviously winning (no mean feat, regarding the age difference), he got wild on the umpire and the crowd, and was sent home. I thought, that this was part of the game, that the senior tour paid him money, to go mad occasionally. Obviously the ref was not involved in the scheming. And Jimmy van Alen will turn around in his grave.

He's profane and childish and 49 years old. His act got old in about 1983.

http://www.tennis.com/news/news.aspx?id=141958

[Rabbit]

It just proves that no matter how 'big' the draw is, there is a point where money no longer matters.

[joemama]

I think that this is an example of our culture today- the way McEnroe continues to act on the court is disgraceful and what do we do we reward him. I think that John should not be rewarded for his behavior any more. I wish that we could just get rid of him. Enough is enough.

[diredesire]

I think JMac feels a little pressure to get a little out of control sometimes. People love and hate him for it.

I personally think his game is exciting/intriguing enough where he doesn't need to entertain the crowd with anything but his strokes.

[pmerk34]

I think that this is an example of our culture today- the way McEnroe continues to act on the court is disgraceful and what do we do we reward him. I think that John should not be rewarded for his behavior any more. I wish that we could just get rid of him. Enough is enough.

Yes, but Tennis "needs "colorful" characters like him or people will tune out. We want to see profane outbursts right?

[pmerk34]

I think JMac feels a little pressure to get a little out of control sometimes. People love and hate him for it.

I personally think his game is exciting/intriguing enough where he doesn't need to entertain the crowd with anything but his strokes.

I've seen him lose control. I don't thinks it's on youtube but I saw the 1987 US Open match on TV when it happened where McEnroe COMPLETELY lost control with the umpire while playng against Zlobodan "Bobo" Zivojinovic. His voice was a high pitch scream for a time he looked like he turned pale and his look was venomous. It looked to me like he could not control himself. He let loose such a string of profanities against Richard Inge, I beleive that he not only should have been defaulted but should have been suspended for 6 weeks and Inge should have come down off the chair and kicked his butt six ways until Sunday. Mac admitted in his book that Inge let him off the hook but I beleive what happened is the crowd got so noisy that he he did not hear the worst part of the tirade that we all got to hear live on TV.

[gsharma]

Yes, but Tennis "needs "colorful" characters like him or people will tune out. We want to see profane outbursts right?

I beg to disagree. I saw him live, court-side, at a senior's event in Boston in May. He was playing Justin Gimbelstob and he was winning. At some point, he turned around and started yelling at the spectators. He was complaining that they were being partisan and they were supporting his opponent. He even yelled that he would pay for their tickets if they wanted to leave. So far, so good and he was only yelling up to this point. Then, after the changeover, he goes to the opposite end of the court and starts serving. Guess what he does on his first-serve? He launches the ball, straight out of the court (no bounces) at the spectators on the other side who were supposedly heckling him. But it doesn't end here - his "serve" missed the guys he was trying to hit and actually ended up hitting an elderly woman directly. Gimbelstob actually turned around to ask the woman if she was ok (they later had to get a physio to check her out).

To me, his actions that night clearly crossed the line. It is one thing to bicker and argue over line calls but to try and hit a spectator purposely is just too much.

The funny thing is that I'm sure if someone actually stood-up to his antics, he would backdown very quickly. Seems like too much of a wuss to actually get involved in anything physical.

[Moose Malloy]

I've seen him lose control. I don't thinks it's on youtube but I saw the 1987 US Open match on TV when it happened where McEnroe COMPLETELY lost control with the umpire while playng against Zlobodan "Bobo" Zivojinovic. His voice was a high pitch scream for a time he looked like he turned pale and his look was venomous. It looked to me like he could not control himself. He let loose such a string of profanities against Richard Inge, I beleive that he not only should have been defaulted but should have been suspended for 6 weeks

This outburst was not shown live, it happened on a changeover & when CBS came back Trabert & Carillo tore into Mac for the 'vileness' that we missed.
And Mac actually was suspended 6 weeks(maybe more? look up his activity for 1987 on atptennis, this was his last match for a while) In the 80s if you reached a certain amount of fines you got suspended automatically for a certain period of time.
Mac was usually very aware of this & said he sometimes went nuts when he wanted a break from the tour(yet he could still play more lucrative exos while 'suspended')

Lendl also had a few mandatory suspensions in his career when he went over the limit.

[pmerk34]

This outburst was not shown live, it happened on a changeover & when CBS came back Trabert & Carillo tore into Mac for the 'vileness' that we missed.
And Mac actually was suspended 6 weeks(maybe more? look up his activity for 1987 on atptennis, this was his last match for a while) In the 80s if you reached a certain amount of fines you got suspended automatically for a certain period of time.
Mac was usually very aware of this & said he sometimes went nuts when he wanted a break from the tour(yet he could still play more lucrative exos while 'suspended')

Lendl also had a few mandatory suspensions in his career when he went over the limit.

Yes he did get suspended on purpose at times but on that occassion he was wild. I was shocked at the time because I had only seen tapes of Tantrums of Mac from like 1981 when he DID NOT use profanity. He was so far over the line that time.

[mrw]

johnny has issues

[Too Poor for Grass]

McEnroe's obvious pathology is symptomatic of an American society in which those who attain positions of power and prestige--by nepotism, circumstance, skill, or dumb luck--are led to believe that they need not play by the rules that govern the rest of us. A fawning public has allowed scumbags like McEnroe to live their lives in a world wherein their every tantrum is tolerated and therefore condoned.

I am loath to say this because I'm not a proponent violence, but the next time McEnroe pulls a stunt like this, someone needs to punch him in the mouth and knock him right on his 50-year-old ass. McEnroe has to understand that there are consequences for this kind of behavior. Enough is enough.

[pmerk34]

McEnroe's obvious pathology is symptomatic of an American society in which those who attain positions of power and prestige--by nepotism, circumstance, skill, or dumb luck--are led to believe that they need not play by the rules that govern the rest of us. A fawning public has allowed scumbags like McEnroe to live their lives in a world wherein their every tantrum is tolerated and therefore condoned.

I am loath to say this because I'm not a proponent violence, but the next time McEnroe pulls a stunt like this, someone needs to punch him in the mouth and knock him right on his 50-year-old ass. McEnroe has to understand that there are consequences for this kind of behavior. Enough is enough.

McEnroe will never understand and there is a large segment of the press who cover and public who watch sports who say we need personalities like that and as long as he doesn't say anything that the press considers "racist" or "sexist" he'll continue on spewing f this and f that because after all no one is offended by those words at least no one who matters.

[GS]

McEnroe's crazy history is, well, crazy. Overall, he's a nutcase who's hosted numerous TV shows that have failed, is an idiot musician who went on tour for awhile with lousy reviews, and who has only won on the Senior's tour with his volley touch and lefty serve. (Yes, I know, he won the doubles title in San Jose awhile back.) Now he's on TV commercials again, since they pay bucks and he's a name. I used to be a fan of his, but not anymore. Oh, he's a decent tennis commentator, so, okay, he's a good person for tennis, I guess....
The thing that really bugs me is reading that when he signed onto Jimmy Connors' Senior Tour years ago, that he was 'required' to flip out at least 2 times during each match. Yep, you can look it up....