In my mind's eye, I was fifteen again, just embarking on my four years at the Trinity School on Manhattan's Upper West Side. And as my kids fought for that extra minute or two of sleep before the reality of a school day set in, memories of my own boyhood bubbled up.
I smiled as I moved from room to room, mussing hair, scratching backs, patting cheeks. Our house is the top four floors the kids' rooms are on floors one, two, and three. I think about that, appreciate that, every day. We live at the top of a big apartment building on Central Park West, in what I happen to believe is the best apartment in the most beautiful building in New York City. I quickly hung up the phone, let my wife Patty sleep, and dragged myself out of bed to go rouse five of my six children— Ava, the baby of the family at two, was still too young to be part of this daily ritual. And so September 11, 2001, began like any other morning in the McEnroe household, with my seven A.M. After another debatable call, an angry McEnroe shouted at the umpire, "You cannot be serious! You are an incompetent fool, an offense against the world!"Īnd those first four words were etched in history and inducted in the pop culture! "You cannot be serious!" has now become one of the most popular catchphrases in sports! McEnroe's best-selling book also bore the same name.I HATE ALARM CLOCKS. McEnroe!"Īnd then came the pinnacle of misbehaviour. Then when he was asked not to argue his call, he quite hilariously said to James, "Why can't I argue? Is it against the law to argue?"Īfter another 'wrong' call, McEnroe slammed his racket onto the turf! James quickly quipped, " That's a 'misuse' of the tennis racket, Mr. He dethroned the then King of tennis, Bjorn Borg, but along the way also stirred up a set of controversy, in a hilarious fashion too!įirst, he verbally deflated umpire Ted James, by saying, ""You guys are the absolute pits of the world, you know that?" Wimbledon 1981, is the event that is the setting for this reporter's contribution to the "Funniest moments in Sports" series.
What distinguished 'Sir' John McEnroe from the rest, was that he crossed all the lines, all the time. The constant grunts, self-talks, occasional confrontations with the umpires, maybe the exotic racket-banging.
Tennis players are always known for letting out their emotions on the court.
0 kommentar(er)
