My Thoughts on the McEnroe Behavior...

[don_budge]

This was a post from a thread that I had started on March 25, 2011 when I was barely a month old. It was called "The McEnroe Forehand". If you go back and find that thread you will notice that I deleted my opening comment in that thread. At one point I deleted all of my comments on Tennisplayer.net.

But at any rate here is a little opening story about John McEnroe. You can hardly have a discussion about anything McEnroe without discussing his behavior or a favorite story about him making a spectacle out of himself. WBC is worldsbestcoach who was more or less sent packing...sadly enough...he had a difficult time adjusting to the culture of this forum. Be that as it may...tennis is a culture too. Culture is a strange thing...probably because it is created by that strange animal---the human being.

Johnny didn't fit in with the system for a number of reasons. And perhaps we can shed a little insight as to why not with some discussion, some favorite stories, some recollections and some rantings of our own. Even though I have titled this thread "My Thoughts on the McEnroe Behavior...", please feel free to chime in. And by all means have fun everyone!

Originally Posted by don_budge...March 25, 2011

WBC...You remind me of a movie...Total Recall. You really have a great memory and have seen a lot of things over the years and your knack of recalling things is a gift.

I remember the first time that I saw McEnroe...he was 15 or 16 at the time and for the first time he was playing in the qualifying tournament for the US Open in New York someplace. The main tournament was held in Queens. I cannot remember the name of the club but it was a HarTru surface, which the Open was being played on that year, and I think that it was 1975.

My friend and I made the trip to New York in his families Chevy Nova, and upon arriving in New York, seeing it for the first time, I said the line from Stevie Wonder's "Innervisions"..."New York...just like I pictured it, skyscrapers and everything!", I will never forget that. The first thing that happened to us on this eventful trip is we stopped for gasoline at this gas station and at the same time this baby blue Mercedes pulled up. The driver went to the door of the station and tried to enter. Unfortunately, he did not see the sign about the guard dog and he was bitten immediately when he opened the door. Apparently the dog did not recognize it was one of the Jr. Kennedy's.

At any rate, we were staying with one of my buddies college acquaintances named Jeff Wolfman, this Jewish kid from Queens, and he sort of showed us around a bit. Jeff was a funny guy...not so funny as in the "ha ha" sense, but more in an ironic, deadpan way. Funny enough, though, that he did walk onto the stage on amateur night at "To Catch a Rising Star" and did some impromptu standup routine. He was a bit outspoken, Jeff was, and he was going on and on about this tennis prodigy we were going to see the next day at the qualifier...his name was John McEnroe...he said the kid was going to be the next Ille Nastase, in the words of Jeff Wolfman.

In the final round of the qualifier, McEnroe met a player by the name of Zan Guerry from Lookout Mountain, Tennessee. They split the first two sets and played evenly to a third set tie break. They were dead even in the deciding set at 6-6 and 4-4 in the tiebreak. This year at the Open, they were playing the 9 point sudden death tiebreak. When you reached 4-4 in this tiebreak, it was double set point and the receiver got to choose which side he would return on...is this correct WBC or anyone (maybe I am confusing this with no add scoring). On the double match point McEnroe hit what he thought was a clean winner and I think Guerry challenged the call to the umpire, who subsequently over ruled and it was decided that they would replay the point. After some spirited discussion, especially on McEnroe's part, they replayed the point and this time Guerry won the point and the match. As you can imagine...all hell broke loose. The three of us were really captivated by the scene this explosive young red head made and sympathized on his behalf.

Out in the parking lot of the club...a young and angry Johnny Boy came by us, kicking at the gravel and still uttering some choice words for the umpire about the match. As he was passing us, I said to him..."you got robbed, kid." He came out of his funk for a split second and gave me a funny look. I am not sure if Mac qualifies as a "great human being", that sort of depends on your definition...but, what a character! He went on to deliver some really "great" lines. "Incompetent fool", "Pits of the world", "Answer the question, you jerk!" are a few of my favorites. These lines rate right up there with "You talking to me" from Robert Deniro's Trevis Bickle in "Taxi Driver". If he had worked a bit harder...he bragged about his Hagon-Daaz diet, no telling what the final script may of been. Be that as it may...he was an absolutely brilliant player!

[stotty]

Mac the Brat

Here in the UK Mac was considered the epitome of a spoiled American brat. A cheat. A whiner. A nasty piece of work. He was contrasted against Borg, someone who was calm, honest, impeccable...and Borg was also cool, handsome and a hero figure. It wasn't like Nastase and Stan Smith where Stan was an establishment figure, a goody two-shoes...someone half the world could root against. Nastase had it easy.

So Mac was up against over here...at the time...and the tabloids had a field day with his antics for ten years or more.

As for me, I can forgive anyone who's that good to watch. I can overlook the most terrible flaws for the sake of tennis.

[jbill]

Infantile

I can appreciatiate John McEnroe's ability as a tennis player, especially as a 50 year-old he is pretty amazing sometimes, but I really don't respect his childish behavior performing as an adult on the Champions Tour. Now maybe he does some of his antics on court in order to amuse the crowd; obviously he is an entertainer. On the other hand, when he walks off the court at the end of the match (Surprise, Arizona) and doesn't shake the hand of the chair umpire, I really can't respect him as a person. He's just infantile sometimes. After all tennis is just a game. Evidently for Mac, it is more than just a game; it has something to do with his uncontrollable desire to feed his big ego.

Along with McEnroe I will have to put Jim Courier in the same bag: infantile. He also did not shake the hand of the chair umpire after his match with Mac in Surprise, Arizona. That to me is unacceptable, especially in light of the fact that Courier is the captain of the US Davis Cup team. Not a very good role model for the kids if you ask me. I thought tennis had something to do with teaching good sportsmanship.

Jim Bill

[10splayer]

As a teacher, I find Mcenroe really an awful example, and his whole "act/career" counterproductive to what I try to teach my kids weekly. Chiefly, that one can compete like hell, while still being gracious, humble, and above all else reverent to the game and those that came before.

As an American, I am getting sick of our culture, which teaches pro athletes that they are above the law, and the spirit of sportmanship, class, and dignity.

Mcenroe was the antithesis of these virtues.

[tennis_chiro]

Coming home to roost!

As a teacher, I find Mcenroe really an awful example, and his whole "act/career" counterproductive to what I try to teach my kids weekly. Chiefly, that one can compete like hell, while still being gracious, humble, and above all else reverent to the game and those that came before.

As an American, I am getting sick of our culture, which teaches pro athletes that they are above the law, and the spirit of sportmanship, class, and dignity.

Mcenroe was the antithesis of these virtues.

Perhaps the biggest example of this mentality gone bad is coming home to roost this week for Armstrong. We are fortunate to have better attitudes at the top of the men's game today then we did in the days of Connors, Nastase and McEnroe. They pulled tennis away from the attitude exemplified by the Aussies. They played hard but were fair and had a good time doing it. Now Djokovic and Federer set a pretty good example of how to deal with defeat.

I wonder how different the careers of Nastase, Connors and especially McEnroe would have been if they had had "shotspot" and the current conduct code from the very beginning of their pro careers. I don't miss the vituperative epithets spewing from McEnroe's mouth accompanied by similarly disgusting body language in major matches at all. I think that behavior turned a lot of people off from the game and turned plenty of kids away from the game. I know it made me cringe.

I think we were fortunate to have Andy Roddick leading the American men as far as attitude goes, the last few years. Whatever else you might say about his game, you have to admire the grace and dignity with which he swallowed those Wimbledon final defeats at the hands of Federer.

But, don't worry, there are no American bad actors to turn off our juniors; at least there are none, except for Serena and maybe Venus, who will be playing after the third round of the Australian Open. Unfortunately, none to inspire them either. If Isner injuries persist at all, there will be no one in the top 20 unless Querry makes a move. And he's got Djokovic in his way if he gets past Brian Baker.

Tennis needs an American presence. And not just American tennis. As American men become less and less relevant, the sport loses something really important. I watch players; I don't care that Jerzy Janowicz is from Poland. But the American sports fan wants to see American representation. Right now, it is almost non-existent. We'll see if anyone besides Serena and maybe the Bryans make it to the second week.

don

[don_budge]

Here is a McEnroe Davis Cup Story...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v6CIttvDOA8&feature=endscreen

A little Davis Cup story. USA vs. Argentina 1980. Bud Collins narrates...John McEnroe with some very poignant observations about Davis Cup.

In the end he says...I went to his locker room to shake his hand because it was important.

[don_budge]

John McEnroe...A True American

As a teacher, I find Mcenroe really an awful example, and his whole "act/career" counterproductive to what I try to teach my kids weekly. Chiefly, that one can compete like hell, while still being gracious, humble, and above all else reverent to the game and those that came before.

As an American, I am getting sick of our culture, which teaches pro athletes that they are above the law, and the spirit of sportmanship, class, and dignity.

Mcenroe was the antithesis of these virtues.

I can see why you would make the above comments...and the others too. I can understand how John McEnroe offends the sensibility of the mature and the audiences with good taste. Especially the goody two shoes, the hypocrites and the feint of heart...not that any of you are any of these. Funny that in the land of Borg...the McEnroe mystique is almost as popular as the homegrown Björn Borg aura...he the cool, handsome and hero figure.

In a country that it has been said is the 51st state...and I didn't make this up, in Sweden John McEnroe is considered to be a true example of everything that is American. I don't think that is too far from the truth either. If you look at American culture from the outside you realize that it purports to be one thing but in reality it is quite another. In between Hollywood and Washington D. C. lies the truth of the matter...although what an influence those two cities have on the big picture.

It's easy to want to beat up on the "Super Brat" from New York City but realistically he never killed anyone, he never started a war, he never tortured anyone (except his opponents) and he has never even knocked over a party store. He served his country in all of the Davis Cup performances that he participated in around the world. The above example just one of many...he left everything he had on the red clay of Buenos Aires one time so many years ago. He played his heart out. Look at him topspinning that backhand with his continental grip. It's unbelievable! James Connors on the other hand shunned his Davis Cup calling...nearly all of the time to play in more lucrative exhibitions.

The behavior of McEnroe is of course another thing. Personally I was never offended by anything that he did or said. Nothing. Perhaps I have seen too much in the arena of life and too many American movies to be so thin skinned as to let some media event get under my skin. His behavior was pure American and the stuff that American legends are born of. They just don't take no for an answer...at any cost sometimes. Just prior to his bursting on to the tennis scene there was another world event that didn't quite get the microscopic media attention that John McEnroe did...and that would have been the Vietnam War. There was still a lot of rebellion in the air. A sign of the times. Rebels were "in". Talk to me about values again...the beat goes on. The gig was up in American sports long before he entered the stage. The culture...well that is a long story too.

At the top of his game the tennis establishment abruptly changed the course of tennis...they decided that the equipment was obsolete and made a change that redefined the game. Up to that point Johnny Boy had scratched and clawed his way to the top of the game just like every other champion had before him...with a wood racquet. Then the ITF started handing out Prince racquets to everyone and immediately it made contenders out of pretenders. Why wouldn't some hot blooded Irish dude from NYC be hot under the collar and fully intent on showing the tennis establishment what he thought of their hypocrisy and arrogance?

At the end of two epic matches in Buenos Aires where he left his heart out on the red clay with throngs cheering his every mistake and with a deafening chant in his ears...his thoughts after being defeated by Guillermo Vilas were to go to Vilas' locker room to shake his hand. Because he said that he thought it was important. That gallant little tidbit of sportsmanship never made the news either. It wasn't a good enough McEnroe sound byte...and he had some good ones.

He was no angel and he still isn't. He never tried or pretended to be one. He is a human being just like the rest of us. Imperfect and somewhat dirty in the end. The only difference between he and a lot of us...our dirty laundry never made it to the evening news.

[stotty]

Mac/Borg

I can see why you would make the above comments...and the others too. I can understand how John McEnroe offends the sensibility of the mature and the audiences with good taste. Especially the goody two shoes, the hypocrites and the feint of heart...not that any of you are any of these. Funny that in the land of Borg...the McEnroe mystique is almost as popular as the homegrown Björn Borg aura...he the cool, handsome and hero figure.

In a country that it has been said is the 51st state...and I didn't make this up, in Sweden John McEnroe is considered to be a true example of everything that is American. I don't think that is too far from the truth either. If you look at American culture from the outside you realize that it purports to be one thing but in reality it is quite another. In between Hollywood and Washington D. C. lies the truth of the matter...although what an influence those two cities have on the big picture.

It's easy to want to beat up on the "Super Brat" from New York City but realistically he never killed anyone, he never started a war, he never tortured anyone (except his opponents) and he has never even knocked over a party store. He served his country in all of the Davis Cup performances that he participated in around the world. The above example just one of many...he left everything he had on the red clay of Buenos Aires one time so many years ago. He played his heart out. Look at him topspinning that backhand with his continental grip. It's unbelievable! James Connors on the other hand shunned his Davis Cup calling...nearly all of the time to play in more lucrative exhibitions.

The behavior of McEnroe is of course another thing. Personally I was never offended by anything that he did or said. Nothing. Perhaps I have seen too much in the arena of life and too many American movies to be so thin skinned as to let some media event get under my skin. His behavior was pure American and the stuff that American legends are born of. They just don't take no for an answer...at any cost sometimes. Just prior to his bursting on to the tennis scene there was another world event that didn't quite get the microscopic media attention that John McEnroe did...and that would have been the Vietnam War. There was still a lot of rebellion in the air. A sign of the times. Rebels were "in". Talk to me about values again...the beat goes on. The gig was up in American sports long before he entered the stage. The culture...well that is a long story too.

At the top of his game the tennis establishment abruptly changed the course of tennis...they decided that the equipment was obsolete and made a change that redefined the game. Up to that point Johnny Boy had scratched and clawed his way to the top of the game just like every other champion had before him...with a wood racquet. Then the ITF started handing out Prince racquets to everyone and immediately it made contenders out of pretenders. Why wouldn't some hot blooded Irish dude from NYC be hot under the collar and fully intent on showing the tennis establishment what he thought of their hypocrisy and arrogance?

At the end of two epic matches in Buenos Aires where he left his heart out on the red clay with throngs cheering his every mistake and with a deafening chant in his ears...his thoughts after being defeated by Guillermo Vilas were to go to Vilas' locker room to shake his hand. Because he said that he thought it was important. That gallant little tidbit of sportsmanship never made the news either. It wasn't a good enough McEnroe sound byte...and he had some good ones.

He was no angel and he still isn't. He never tried or pretended to be one. He is a human being just like the rest of us. Imperfect and somewhat dirty in the end. The only difference between he and a lot of us...our dirty laundry never made it to the evening news.

A thought provoking post. I really enjoyed reading it. I'd like to add one small comment that people seldom pick up on...or maybe it's just me.

I feel McEnroe was defined by Borg. The pretender to the legend's throne and all that. Good versus Evil. Hero versus Villain. Borg was Borg before Mac came along but somehow Mac's legacy to the game hinges a great deal more on their rivalry. Mac absolutely needed their rivalry to define and hone his game. After Borg left the game, Mac went on to get even better. He owed a lot to Borg for that.

It was heartbreaking that Borg walked out on the game like he did. He collected 11 slams quicker than anyone in the history of the game...then left...shame...I had a bet running with a friend he'd win 10 Roland Garros titles. He might well have done so.

[don_budge]

The Compelling Comparative Behaviors of John McEnroe and Björn Borg...

I feel McEnroe was defined by Borg. The pretender to the legend's throne and all that. Good versus Evil. Hero versus Villain. Borg was Borg before Mac came along but somehow Mac's legacy to the game hinges a great deal more on their rivalry. Mac absolutely needed their rivalry to define and hone his game. After Borg left the game, Mac went on to get even better. He owed a lot to Borg for that.

Think about it...they defined each other. It wasn't just Borg feeding McEnroe...they were feeding off of each other. It's not good and evil or hero vs. villain. It's a bit more sublime than that sort of finger pointing definition.

How about two sides of the same coin? The two masks of drama? Polar opposites? The American Volcano vs. The Swedish Ice Bear? Borg is a flawed human being just like McEnroe. McEnroe is every bit as much of a hero as Borg. It is only that on the tennis court Borg played a different role and that was the one of being Swedish. The American counterpart McEnroe was doing the same thing...being what he was brought here to be. All American.

But together they made all of the sense in the world. It was a marriage of sorts and they danced blissfully for us to watch spell bound on the tennis court. Tournaments were played entirely for these two to make it to the finals to engage in what they were born to do...to play tennis. For us to watch.

If ever there was a more compelling matchup in sports...I would like to know who it was. These two made each other better human beings when they faced off against each other. They played the last two all wooden tennis racquet finals at Wimbledon and they played out the swan song of classic tennis. It was a ballet on the tennis court. Just like in John Yandel's pictorial...their spirits invisibly will forever glide around the center court at Wimbledon. Dueling majestically...defending the honor of the game. Stab, parry, thrust. Her honor. Johnny knew in his large heart what was at stake in those days and behaved himself accordingly when he faced his rival.

The story about the equipment change ironically further entwines them in tennis history. Borg elected to have none of it...he remained true to his Donnay's and the game itself. He took the high road out of Dodge. When he came back years later he still played with his Excalibur...his beloved Donnay. It wasn't McEnroe that chased him from the throne. It was the system that betrayed the game. McEnroe persevered and skewered the system with his ranting and raving...and the system definitely had it coming to them. He was just taking care of some rather nasty business. The system betrayed these two just as it betrays all of us today. Where is the loyalty...it's all "show me the money". Once the writing was on the wall there was no choice...it was capitulate or be disappeared by inferior opponents using superior equipment. The ultimate arrogance was to betray all of the players of that period to say nothing of the players of the past. Bill Tilden, Don Budge, Richard Gonzales, Lew Hoad, Rod Laver along with Borg and McEnroe...all relegated unceremoniously to the dust bin. The ultimate betrayal and a sign of things to come. Take a look around you. Betrayals come easy nowadays.

Yeah...the gig was up and the fix was in. The smart money was betting on oversized and graphite. So was human nature...the lower players had nothing to lose and everything to gain. They took the pill and swallowed the whole thing hook, line and sinker. They sold out for their pieces of silver too. These two hero's stood up on top of the mountain that they had climbed together...they looked down together too...knowing full well what was coming. The last two duels that they staged on center court will forever be etched in any true tennis students heart...leaving it broken with thoughts of the past. Those two belonged together if anyone ever did. It's a sad story. And it is only the beginning. Men du?

[stotty]

Yes, I get the match up thing. We all do. But I think Mac needed Borg to make him come good...good as a person. He might have been a much worse brat were it not for Borg. In the end we came to respect the Brat because of Borg...even over here in the most traditional and conservative tennis nation in the world.

Not sure about the betrayal argument. Everyone gets to make their own choices. Borg, Mecir...it's their problem if they chose not to change with the times....especially Borg who had the game to benefit most by switching to graphite.

I don't think it was feasible to stay with wood forever....a separate market would have evolved anyway...for the public...who have benefited greatly from all the technological improvements...perhaps far more than the pro's.

[10splayer]

In my opinion, Mac's whole act/on court behvior was both a result of an incredible degree of narcissicm and a contrived persona that he created. Esp. give (and it would appear world wide) there is a segment of the population that is attracted to the whole "bad boy" image that he personafide. One thing for sure, John is no dummy. He played it for what it's worth. At any rate, neither one of these reasons merit any sort of admiration.

Come on DB, "leaving his heart on the court"? Many do that everyday (without the nonsense) Besides he's playing a tennis match, not storming the beaches at Normandy, or saving lives in the ER, or teaching school in the Bronx........

Call me old fashioned, or too idealistic, but my believe is that with fortune or fame, comes responsibility...Mcenroe was blessed with incredible talents, and he used them in a most self serving way. Not for the greater good of the game, as so many before him have done....The fact that he played Davis Cup matters little to me...or mitigate the poor example that he was. He certainly doesn't represent my ideal of an American representive. Never will.

I wouldn't walk across the street to meet him...

[DougEng]

From a sport psychology viewpoint, years ago, Jim Loehr made the observation that John MacEnroe's anger was external displacement directed at objects. Negativity usually is detrimental to performance because most players internalize it. For example, Mikhail Youznhy's racquet banging on his head until he bled is internal mentally although shown in an unusual external manner. Head down, negative thinking, self-berating are typical detrimental negative behaviors. Johnny Mac always used his negative emotions directed at objects.
So he kicks the chair over, shouts at a linesperson, argues with the chair umpire. All these were directed externally which means "it's not my fault, you cheated me" as opposed to "I can't hit a ball today" which is most players response.

Therefore, Johnny Mac's negativity did not affect his play too much. In addition, he also used his outbursts at critical moments, not throughout the match. So a match might be 150 points but Johnny Mac only had outbursts twice. It became sort of a psychological booster. The rest of the points, he was able to relatively focus. Unfortunately we only remember the negative statements he made, even if only 2 such comments were in the match.

Best,
Doug

[stotty]

From a sport psychology viewpoint, years ago, Jim Loehr made the observation that John MacEnroe's anger was external displacement directed at objects. Negativity usually is detrimental to performance because most players internalize it. For example, Mikhail Youznhy's racquet banging on his head until he bled is internal mentally although shown in an unusual external manner. Head down, negative thinking, self-berating are typical detrimental negative behaviors. Johnny Mac always used his negative emotions directed at objects.
So he kicks the chair over, shouts at a linesperson, argues with the chair umpire. All these were directed externally which means "it's not my fault, you cheated me" as opposed to "I can't hit a ball today" which is most players response.

Therefore, Johnny Mac's negativity did not affect his play too much. In addition, he also used his outbursts at critical moments, not throughout the match. So a match might be 150 points but Johnny Mac only had outbursts twice. It became sort of a psychological booster. The rest of the points, he was able to relatively focus. Unfortunately we only remember the negative statements he made, even if only 2 such comments were in the match.

Best,
Doug

Great post...I'd never really thought about Mac in that way. Looking at him in that light makes him psychologically sound and tough...which he probably was.