cover story: may 2005

john mcenroe 12 Questions

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All Hail the Raj of Rage, the (rant-now, pick up the pieces later) Titan of the Tantrum who was as distinct as his singular “sway and blast” service motion; a magician who’s sublime shot-making and poetic ball control contrasted with his wretched behavior; a trait that even prompted his mom to complain, “why do you treat me so badly?” In fact, no other tennis player’s career has been marked by more ironies, nuances and questions. Here’re a dozen.

1 Has any other athlete, this side of Mohammed Ali, cut a more rowdy, explosive, “in-your-face” swath across American (and world) sport and culture?

2 Did all his bullying help him win more than he deserved or did his tantrums cost him a much higher place in history (i.e. did his meltdown over a photographer at the ‘84 French Open, when he was up two sets to none and cruising to victory over Ivan Lendl, cost him a clay court Grand Slam win, which remains the biggest gap in his otherwise extraordinary resume.)

3 For years parents hesitated to take their kids to Mac matches for fear of an avalanche of x-rated antics. But more recently he’s emerged as an apparently caring patriarch of a big blended family and, go figure, was named the “Father of the Year.”

4 What could be more ironic than broadcaster Johnny Mac informing us that he wished a player would act in a more ‘gentlemanly manner” or that “the Sultan of Stall” complained that Argentina’s Davis Cup players used “delaying tactics, pure and simple, designed to throw off my rhythm” or that authorities should have had the gumption to toss him out of tournaments.

5 Has anyone campaigned more vigorously to land a tennis job only to flame out so ignominiously? In just one ill-fated season as Davis Cup Captain he managed to piss off and sideline both Sampras and Agassi.

6 A Member of Britain’s Parliament urged that Mac be banned from Wimbledon. He was temporarily denied the membership into the All-England Club which automatically had been bestowed on all Wimby winners and it has been argued that Mac was a cause for the collapse of Western civilization. Yet, low and behold, he’s crafted a semi-Nixonian comeback and is now a rather beloved figure in England where he and Borg were the two marquee players invited to play a charity exo for Royals at Buckingham Palace.

7 Mac long has done FAR more than his share of charity work and sticks up for the little guys and good causes. (He turned down a big pay day in apartheid South Africa, insists tennis players are overpaid while teachers and firefighters should get more and that fans, stuck up in the bleachers, should be allowed to “come on down” to empty corporate seats.). Yet sadly, some of his most problematic behavior has been directed towards the “little people”: not just linespersons, but van drivers, airline attendants, old ladies in elevators and photographers. He was glad it rained at his first wedding so photographers would have to endure bad light.

8 Is Mac’s desire to be the commissioner of tennis one of the more curious “let’s get the fox to guard the chicken coop” fantasies in sports, unless of course you fancy Jose Canseco becoming the head of drug enforcement for baseball.

9 When Mac asked himself “If I am the No.1 player in the world, why am I so unhappy?” was his predicament perhaps due to his approach. “As I moved to the top ,” he explained, “cockiness became a survival mechanism ... self-confidence was a must, and so was selfishness.”

10 Was the man who confided that “inside my head ... behind my defenses [there were] some very dark places. There was a devil inside me,” actually out of control when he melted down on court. Or could he have tamed his volatile emotions. After all he confided “I never acted like a jerk when I played Borg. I respected him too much. I respected the occasion.”

11 Was he the greatest risk-taker in tennis history? He played an all or nothing serve ‘n volley style. He risked his ranking by playing Davis Cup so much and while distinctly failing as a rock star, art dealer, Davis Cup Captain and on TV as the host of a lame reality show and semi-hapless talk show, he’s been an astounding success as an author, senior player, philanthropist and tennis broadcaster in the U.S, Britain and Australia.

12 Has John finally gotten it? In his biography “You Can’t Be Serious,” he admits “I did things I wasn’t proud of ... I was a fool, I was scared. I often hid my fear behind bravado or feigned nonchalance. I barely had respect for myself. A fair number of times I acted like a jerk ... I was beyond irreverence.” But too, he seemed to almost shrug off his excesses with a dismissive whimsy, saying I “got a little hot under the collar” or stating I was “feeling my oats” and indulging “rude expressions “ Plus, he puts his mind-boggling behavior in a kind of play-acting perspective, saying that “all the big players had their shtick ... Connors worked the crowd. Lendl looked like a scary robot ... my schtick was getting upset.”

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