Tennis needs a "Bad Boy" to revive it's low status

[powerangle]

Okay well we will get right on that and tell him to stop lying. Really though, I don't think Nole was ever 'bad' but he definitely used to have more of an in your face and fun personality. Now we get Twitter posts like this from him:



Could that sound any less like him? 'Race, religion, sex, or origin'?

Actually I can imagine him saying that. That does sound like him. At least the Nole of today. Novak was never a bad boy, I don't know why some try to make him out to be one.

 

[GoodVibrations]

Actually I can imagine him saying that. That does sound like him. At least the Nole of today. Novak was never a bad boy, I don't know why some try to make him out to be one.

I said I didn't think he ever was either but he used to be more of a " smart arssee" as 90's Clay said. He was probably told to suppress as much of his real personality as possible.

 

[InspectorRacquet]

As far as I can tell, no one actually wants a "bad boy." When Berdych made some slightly offensive comments before the DC Final, everyone was up in arms and thought he was way out of line. Federer calls Djokovic's "shot heard 'round the world" a lucky swing and suddenly Federer is more arrogant and self-centered than ever before.

Both cases proved that no one actually likes when a player shows human emotions, or what they are actually thinking. I think if we actually start embracing the players to actually speak their minds without fear of more people being turned off of tennis, then the bad boys will surface.

Until the double standard stops, we don't get one. Tennis was a different sport back in the days, be it the technology, the style, or the PR.

 

[Netspirit]

We need a Ali or Tyson in Tennis, that's the only reason Tennis is a second rate sport

It is a joke of a sport if you need Ali or Tyson to prop it up.

Tennis is a "second rate sport" because it is BORING. For normal folks, who would not understand why a grand slam final must include 2.5 hours of toweling, all that nonsense about "first serves" vs. "second serves", those ridiculous "lets" (does not work during rallies), all those ridiculously-unbounded "deuce" games, all that sitting (after 2 games and after each set), all that pre-match practicing (can't they practice someplace else BEFORE the match starts?).

Now we, hardcore fans, are OK with that, since tennis is the love of our lives. It is not about us, it is about normal TV audience that has to watch a smallish yellow ball on a red (yes, red) surface repeatedly flying back and forth cross-court 40 times before anything meaningful happens.

Tennis is slowed down, has archaic rules, and no Ali or Tyson will fix that.

Sorry for some lightweight trolling, but I hope I made my point.

 

[BevelDevil]

Here's why "bad boy" hype building doesn't work in tennis, unlike, say, boxing:

1. Tennis is mostly a tournament format, which means:

• Players get paid the same, regardless of the hype
  
• The "bad boy" can lose to the at any time field, and have his hype completely deflated from it
  
• Tournaments can't advertise the "grudge match" because they have no idea who's going to be the final/SFs.

2. Top tennis players make a ton off endorsements (in some cases, more), and much of those endorsements revolve around "high status" products.

3. There's very little "team" atmosphere in tennis, in which fans are willing to forgive the flaws of their players. e.g., the AO crowd hated Azareka for her gamesmanship against Sloan Stevens, yet that happens all the time in team sports and fans basically don't care as long as their team wins.


Compare points 1 and 2 with something like boxing:

• Boxers are paid, in part, by how much hype they can create.
  
• Boxers mostly choose their opponents, which means a good manager can build hype by cherry picking the right opponents and avoiding dangerous ones.
  
• Match ups are pre-determined, which prevents hype from being "wasted", and which allows organizers to add to the hype.
  
• Boxers make little from endorsements. Floyd Mayweather was the top sports earner in 2012, and none of that came from endorsements. Federer is 5th on the list, and most of that came from endorsements.

So unless tennis changes its business model, I think the clean image will stay the norm.

 

[Mick3391]

Okay well we will get right on that and tell him to stop lying. Really though, I don't think Nole was ever 'bad' but he definitely used to have more of an in your face and fun personality. Now we get Twitter posts like this from him:



Could that sound any less like him? 'Race, religion, sex, or origin'?

Yea, what a bunch of lying PC nonsense. I wish he said "I kicked everyones ass, Wawa tried to take me down, but did you see my last shot, I'll kill fed when I see him next, I'm getting better".

Or anything! Whatever is TRUE, Truth sells more than anything. I understand "Reality TV" is a joke, that is because it's not TRUE reality TV, true reality, not staged reality TV sells, wish these guys would just be themselves.

I'm reminded of a ad Nadal and Fed did, just two tennis players, Nadals lines were "I'm getting on a plane from Spain to Switzerland to come beat y....." and they could't get past it, because it was so insane, the money men, who don't fully understand human psychology make these silly decisions.

As a HUGE Fed fan, if I had one word for him, it would be "BE AUTHENTIC", He actually might be, it's hard to fake it over the years, but I wish he'd say what he thinks, like in the Murray match, watch him, he misses a shot and goes back, his face looks like a GW shark, F. ..... A... F....

It's good he hides this for kids sake, but kids are not stupid, at least not mine, he knows what's going on, so who is he fooling? The moron blue blood adults primarily in America where we judge everyone's wrongs but never look in our own backyard!

 

[TheBoom]

Someone should yell at a linesman instead of challenging one time that would be so entertaining. Tomic is our only hope for a bad boy

 

[namelessone]

LOL at the OP.

Boxing is a sport that started among commoners(and really, what's more common than punching your fellow man) whereas tennis started among ARISTOCRATS. That alone should tell you that these two sports have different roots. One is from commoners and more violent, the other is an aristocratic sport where there is little violence and SKILL is valued.

As fake as these PR personalities can be nowadays, a "bad boy" really has no place in tennis because there is no need for one. Trash-talking, staredowns are common place in boxing because you know who your next fight is gonna be and you need to psych yourself up to beat this rival into pulp. In tennis, you just need to put the ball away from your opponent while taking time away from him. The need to antagonise simply isn't that big. Agassi-Sampras, one of the biggest rivalries in tennis, had its lowest point when Agassi made fun of Pete's bad tipping habits. LAWL.

As for the "bad boys" of tennis I have to laugh. They were liked because they could be OCASSIONALLY funny with their tantrums(McEnroe,Nastase,Connors) but they were most remembered for their SKILLS. If they were justa ******bags with little skill, they would've been lambasted just like today, see the extremely ******y Koreller. People will take a little "dirtyness" with their tennis if the tennis is good.

But if you check out the reactions on this forum and in the stands, most people disagree with ******y behavior. The moment a player disagrees with the ump or does ANYTHING remotely controversial they are over him in droves.

To finalize my analysis, just look at the "bad boys" of the 2 sports:

Tyson looks like he could punch anyone out if he wanted to.
McEnroe looks like a big baby that didn't get his way.

 

[Mike Sams]

Bernie is already showing signs of being a top player, and he'll get there within a couple of years, I think. Problem is, along the way, he may discover the profitability of being a PR robot and lose whatever personality he's shown so far.

He doesn't have any personality whatsoever. Being an arrogant jerk isn't a personality.

 

[Mike Sams]

What personality did Tiger Woods ever show that made him one of the most popular athletes ever? (even before the controversy a couple of years back)

 

[Mike Sams]

I was about to say you are an idiot until I realized you are 100% correct, sadly you are correct, still..........

It would not be a problem if say Novak went off, over and over again, the caption would be like on this forum "Is Novak doing roids", and everyone would pay attention. If he freaked on a judge like Mac, yea he'd lose a fine but get it back in exposure and endoresments, but yea you are right, what you described is how these guys look at the game, plus they see Feds success being a "Nice Guy", in real life he probably burns his cat for fun, just joking......

Do you think players are going to stand for that kind of behavior from Novak in the locker room? Likely he's going to get beaten to a bloody pulp if he crosses the wrong guy.
Not even John McEnroe was stupid enough to spew the kind of garbage that you want somebody like Novak to spew towards his fellow players. :lol:

 

[Mike Sams]

Someone should yell at a linesman instead of challenging one time that would be so entertaining. Tomic is our only hope for a bad boy

Tennis fans don't want to see that kind of behaviour. Notice Serena didn't get any cheers from the crowd after her outburst towards the female linesperson at the USO in 2009?

 

[GoodVibrations]

Yea, what a bunch of lying PC nonsense. I wish he said "I kicked everyones ass, Wawa tried to take me down, but did you see my last shot, I'll kill fed when I see him next, I'm getting better".

Or anything! Whatever is TRUE, Truth sells more than anything. I understand "Reality TV" is a joke, that is because it's not TRUE reality TV, true reality, not staged reality TV sells, wish these guys would just be themselves.

I'm reminded of a ad Nadal and Fed did, just two tennis players, Nadals lines were "I'm getting on a plane from Spain to Switzerland to come beat y....." and they could't get past it, because it was so insane, the money men, who don't fully understand human psychology make these silly decisions.

As a HUGE Fed fan, if I had one word for him, it would be "BE AUTHENTIC", He actually might be, it's hard to fake it over the years, but I wish he'd say what he thinks, like in the Murray match, watch him, he misses a shot and goes back, his face looks like a GW shark, F. ..... A... F....

It's good he hides this for kids sake, but kids are not stupid, at least not mine, he knows what's going on, so who is he fooling? The moron blue blood adults primarily in America where we judge everyone's wrongs but never look in our own backyard!

As someone else already pointed out, no way that Novak or any player could say something like that and not get punched in the lockerroom. Come on, there is no way he could say that and I don't think he would really want to either, but I still wish he would show more personality. I agree that w/ Novak there is a disconnect between him and his image.

Federer's stuffy Swiss (I say this with affection) image is actually perfect for him.

 

[Mike Sams]

As someone else already pointed out, no way that Novak or any player could say something like that and not get punched in the lockerroom. Come on, there is no way he could say that and I don't think he would really want to either, but I still wish he would show more personality. I agree that w/ Novak there is a disconnect between him and his image.

Federer's stuffy Swiss (I say this with affection) image is actually perfect for him.

Federer has lots of personality. Examples:

"Be Quite, Ok!"

"I don't give a sh*t!"

"F*cking Stop!"

:lol:

 

[TheBoom]

Tennis fans don't want to see that kind of behaviour. Notice Serena didn't get any cheers from the crowd after her outburst towards the female linesperson at the USO in 2009?

I love seeing Serena blowing upeven if people think it is rude it makes the game more interesting but that's jus my opinion

 

[T-ennis 888]

To the OP - sounds like you would enjoy professional wrestling. Lots of swagger and attitude there. Mac, Connors, Lendl and bad boys of previous years would have thrived in such an environment.

 

[Roddick85]

It's kind of funny to me that people talk about a need for a "bad boy", yet as soon as one of the players makes or says something that isn't "politically correct", you guys are the first one on the fence saying how offended you are and how disappointed you are about the player etc...

I surely didn't see anyone claiming they enjoyed the Serena controversy a few years back at the US Open, or Nalbandian kicking the box of the line judge and hurting his knee. What about when Federer makes a comment about Djokovic or someone else and all of a sudden, he's arrogant or a sore loser? What about when Roddick was acting up during his matches when he was losing to lower ranked players before the end of his career? Must I go on? Everytime these things happened, people were acting very offended, yet you want a bad boy? Quite a contradiction....

Fact is, Tennis is regarded as a gentleman sport, and like any other sports, a lot of money has come into it with sponsorship. Sponsors aren't interested in giving contracts to hot headed people that make a fool of themselves on national TV, it's bad for the players image and for the brand they represent as well as the ATP. People are so quick these days to judge an athlete for the smallest mistep, therefore if the players want to make money, they gotta behave in a manner that's "socially acceptable", hence the whole typical PR answer. As others have pointed out, I don't think Tennis is a dying speed by any mean, Federer/Nadal and even Djokovic are great ambassors for the sport. Federer/Nadal are icon's that helped Tennis become even more popular across the world. Just here in Montreal, year after year at the Canadian Open we establish records of assistance, so I don't see the interest level going down.

 

[ProRadTour]

All sports have become about building a brand. Elite athletes start building a brand that will survive and generate cash for many years after they retire. Last I checked Fed is a top 3 earner for mail athletes worldwide with 45 mil a year. Not even 20% of that would come from prize money.

Unfortunately for us fans you won't see any bad boy antics and the real status of the rivalries unless you are real close to the locker rooms.

 

[mbm0912]

If wrestling men in hot tubs isn't "bad boy" status, I don't know what is...

 

[sureshs]

It's kind of funny to me that people talk about a need for a "bad boy", yet as soon as one of the players makes or says something that isn't "politically correct", you guys are the first one on the fence saying how offended you are and how disappointed you are about the player etc...

I surely didn't see anyone claiming they enjoyed the Serena controversy a few years back at the US Open, or Nalbandian kicking the box of the line judge and hurting his knee. What about when Federer makes a comment about Djokovic or someone else and all of a sudden, he's arrogant or a sore loser? What about when Roddick was acting up during his matches when he was losing to lower ranked players before the end of his career? Must I go on? Everytime these things happened, people were acting very offended, yet you want a bad boy? Quite a contradiction....

Fact is, Tennis is regarded as a gentleman sport, and like any other sports, a lot of money has come into it with sponsorship. Sponsors aren't interested in giving contracts to hot headed people that make a fool of themselves on national TV, it's bad for the players image and for the brand they represent as well as the ATP. People are so quick these days to judge an athlete for the smallest mistep, therefore if the players want to make money, they gotta behave in a manner that's "socially acceptable", hence the whole typical PR answer. As others have pointed out, I don't think Tennis is a dying speed by any mean, Federer/Nadal and even Djokovic are great ambassors for the sport. Federer/Nadal are icon's that helped Tennis become even more popular across the world. Just here in Montreal, year after year at the Canadian Open we establish records of assistance, so I don't see the interest level going down.

^^^^ attendance

 

[marc45]

I thought I said that, the POINT is that they picked him, why? Because of ratings, everyone knows who Mac is! Ask anyone, they know, we need that in Tennis.

It's interesting when they asked Mac about his antics, he said "I just thought that's how you act, we did in NY, I never thought there was anything controversial about it at the time", paraphrase of course, but the point is that he was AUTHENETIC! Can we REALLY say these guys speak their minds?

Yea that one guy hit a good point, they worry about sponsers, but sponsers are into money, and if they get more press, it's more times people will see the W, or the Mercedes or Nike logo! Remember these sponsers are a bunch of non tennis playing junkheads who think we are all blue bloods, let a player prove them wrong.

Look at the die hards on this forum, they will call you names if you don't like their player or idea, actually call you stupid or whatever for disagreeing, trust me Tennis needs someone who stands out.

you said what, that mcenroe's show stunk?...i didn't see that at all, it's not there....my point is that yes they picked him and he then went ahead and embarrassed the sport to a degree by being as bad at communicating his ideas as you claim murray is...again, i understand your frustration, there are others here that agree with you however so while your passion is admirable you're not on an island.....let me add this...i'm an american and i used to root for borg against mcenroe and connors for various reasons but one was i thought mcenroe and connor's behavior, and nastase as well, was atrocious...connors always grabbing his crotch (way before michael jackson, so i'll give him credit for originality) and mcenroe acting like a child..i don't know if this is the way to gain a more mainstream audience while still being proud of your sport, or even to enjoy the sport more for the current audience...you can lose people too...and as far as standing out, give me a break...very few athletes stand out anymore than federer, nadal, williams, and sharapova, and increasingly novak..and look at all the attention stephens is already getting, especially here in the us...i guess you just don't like the way or manner they're standing out, and that's fine, that's your opinion, but i don't want tennis to be professional wrestling....a "sport" i used to love btw, but now i never even bother with

 

[marc45]

If wrestling men in hot tubs isn't "bad boy" status, I don't know what is...

i don't know if it's bad boy but it's definitely something...where's that photo?....mick might want it on the atp's media guide...just kidding mick, relax

 

[m2nk2]

Tennis just needs top players who are more verbally confrontational. Not mean or poorly behaved or reckless. I want to see one major final in which the two finalists actually butt heads and talk sh*t about eachother.

Nadal and Soderling had a bit of that going on.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cas8Ttmlwnk

But I do agree, I think the top players today are all too diplomatic and humble. Tennis lacks a real rivalry between the top 5 players.

 

[dman72]

There is enough of this in other sports, especially in American Football and Basketball, with the in your face stuff and all the bragging..and then there's hockey where the fights breaking out recently that are obviously staged as soon as the puck drops. It turns the game into a farce.

There's plenty of ugliness, thuggery, and general d-baggery in other sports if that's what you want.

Again, I think a big part of the "tennis is boring" stuff is that there are no Americans for the loudmouths to cheer for.