As I am writing this post, the Super Bowl is thirteen days away. Yes, that is how far ahead I write. It will probably take one more day before someone on the Pittsburgh Steelers or Arizona Cardinals says something that ends up on the locker room bulletin board. The media can’t wait to make a big deal out of it! The other coach will probably bring it up in team meetings and use it (or at least try to use it) to their advantage, saying they disrespected you etc. Why is that? You are making millions of dollars, playing a sport that you probably love, and have been playing since you were a little kid. Why do you need any more motivation? Why do you need someone to say something about the way you play the game, the way you look or even say something bad about one of your family members? Why do coaches need to motivate athletes with bulletin board material? I am not sure why the use of bulletin board material has been going on for decades!
Shouldn’t you be playing at the highest level you possibly can for every play? For every minute you are on the field? For every game? I don’t get it! I never have. All eyes are on you at all times when you are playing sports and giving anything less than 100% all the time to me is just wrong.
Over the years two of the most famous people who taunted their opponents prior to their game were Muhammad Ali and Joe Namath. Great athletes — certainly could be considered the best ever in their sports. Because they are so great maybe I can understand the taunting (because they can back it up) but I don’t think that would motivate me anymore if I was playing against them.
I am not a huge fan of all of the taunting. Even though Terrell Owens has a million dollar smile I think he goes too far with some of the crap he does on the field. I also think the same is true about Chad Johnson. I also have no respect for some second string player making big predictions when they probably can’t back up their words on the field.
- Do you think the bulletin board material motivates athletes?
- What do you think about all the taunting in sports?
- What do you think when a second string player makes bold predictions?
- Do you have a favorite athlete who taunts the other teams?
I look forward to reading your comments.
Stephenie Gordon says:
what i hate more than taunting of athlete to athlete is fan to fan. quite frankly i at least feel like the athletes have the right to friendly banter and some taunting because they are playing the game. But the fans, what do you really have to do with the outcome of the game? Why do you feel you have a right to insult those around you? You don’t.
Merrill Dubrow says:
Stephenie,
I hate that. Last year I was at a game and a fight almost broke out right behind me with a number of unruly fans. It wasn’t pretty.
Thanks.
Merrill
Bill Dunn says:
I must say that I am not a big fan of the “Inspirational Message” approach. I AM, however, a big fan of intimidation tactics during the game itself – but leave it on the field of play. This is why I never enjoyed listening to people like Ali and Namath – even though they could usually back it up.
For example there are two classic examples of this philosophy that come to mind…First, given that I am a huge Steelers fan, is Jack Lambert. Who can forget all those images of that toothless scowl! He was the master of intimidating and getting into the head of those on the other side of the ball…However, he is the nicest person you’d ever meet once the game is over. In fact, I think he is currently working as a park ranger somewhere in Pennsylvania now.
Dick Butkus is another…mean as #### on the field but mild mannered and soft-spoken off the field…
Merrill Dubrow says:
Bill,
Good point. Along the same lines do you recall Mike Singletary’s (Chicago Bears) eyes. That was intimidation! I was scared when I was watching the game.
Merrill
mark sutin says:
This has been a big issue for me over the years.
I think the athletes have fun when the taunt each other, (or use bulletin board material). but cross the line when it involves fans. This goes both ways. I actually do not like taking my kid to games anymore. Just too much cursing and violent behavior that makes the game less fun.
I would say you find the athlete against athlete less prevalent in baseball then the other sports, but athletes and fans go out at BIG TIME. Just go to a Red Sox and Yankee game, regardless of the stadium.
I think if a fan crosses the line, their tickets should be revoked. If the athlete crosses the line with a fan, give them a game suspension.
If it’s athlete vs athlete….let the fun begin
Merrill Dubrow says:
Mark,
I hate when fans cross the line. Even if the fans are routing for the same team I am. I think there is NO place for that in sports. Nothing worse than having my kids at a game and seeing an unruly fan spill beer, swear at the players and not act appropriately.
Merrill
Lance Hoffman says:
When the opposition ends up taunting, it’s an attempt to get inside their opponent’s head. While I consider myself to be very competitive, I couldn’t really speak towards the professional sports arenas as to whether or not it is effective or backfires, but I would assume it might actually be effective. Being able to back up the taunts may not be necessary, as the taunting itself might cause someone to be less relaxed, thinking more about what their doing rather than letting it flow, and possibly cause their head to get in the way of their obvious natural ability to win.
Now, th COACHES using it, that’s another story, and I’m actually a little surprised at your take on this. Among the highly competitive, I think this can be a very useful tool. I don’t see much difference between what you’ve described above, and being in the office of a sales team, posting everyone’s numbers on a board. To someone that’s in the middle to the lower end of the sales range on that board, seeing someone else’s big number up there may inspire to strive harder, work smarter, and get the job done. Whether it’s on a bulletin board in a locker room, an office, or expressed verbally during a weekly conference call for a sales team – as long as you have this type of competitor on your team, I could see how it would inspire, despite the other motivators you mention.
Remember – it’s all relative. You look at their Million-dollar contract, but most people will tell you they are overworked and underpaid – even professional athletes!
Merrill Dubrow says:
Lance,
I realize that coaches try and use this to their advantage and don’t have a problem with it as long as it is behind closed doors just for the players to see. Think about what happened just last week with Stan Gundy (Orlando Magic Coach) and Shaq. Gundy said something during his press conference, he wasn’t even answering a question he volunteered to go after Shaq – saying that only one big man flopped tonight and it wasn’t our guy. I think stuff like that sells papers and gets people to watch sports but I believe it can send the wrong message to our kids.
for me when you discuss it internally regarding sale numbers chances are it stays internally it doesn’t make it’s way to your competitors.
Just my point of view.
Thanks for your thought.
Merrill
rick hurwitz says:
I have not problem with player versus player comments. where i do see issue is with self promoting which could be viewed as taunting. When Larry Bird or Mohamed Ali would make comments towards an opponent, that was a way to gain an edge. Many players, like Bird did most of their taunting quietly, in a way to attack their opponent without making a spectacle of the incident. When a player like Terrell Owens promotes himself while taunting his opponent he is selfishly disrespecting the game and the opponent. I have no issue with taunting, but i like it under wraps from the public view.
Merrill Dubrow says:
Rick,
Appreciate your point of view. Having grown up watching Bird go at it with magic, Dr J and Moses Malone it typically was quiet or at least alot more quiet than it is now. I dislike the second string player or bench warmer making bold predictions to get his name in the paper and than can’t back it up.
Merrill
Jon Last says:
I have to agree with Lance on this. As someone who has spent most of my career and a lot of my personal time, around sports and athletes, I KNOW that winning the psychological war can often be the difference between victory and defeat at all levels of sport…even more so at its highest levels when everyone has natural ability.
I can distinctly recall multiple instances as a player and youth sports coach, where we’ve used comments or intimidation (either our own or those from another team) to inspire our performance, renew our focus on the task at hand, or get inside the head of an opponent or frustrate them to throw them off their game. I hope that this doesn’t come off as mean spirited, but I’ve involved with a number of youth sports teams where we’ve deployed such tactics (though not in a tasteless way) on an opposing player, and it HAS worked! It’s part of the game. Merrill, we’ve done it to each other, playing whiffle ball!
Despite the money, the adulation and attention at sports’ highest levels, you are still dealing with people,…many of whom have fragile egos (witness A-Rod’s implosion over the last few months), and in a BUSINESS where so much is at stake, athletes, coaches and agents are going to deploy any tactic that they can, to win. As Lance suggested, it’s not all that different from a sales force within a competitive category. No one can keep it cranked to the max every minute of every day. So in those critical moments, I see nothing wrong with a little fire and brimstone to rally the troops.
Will Morris says:
I don’t like tauting, victory guarantees, choreographed end zone celebrations, or bulletin board material. I don’t like a first down celebration with 10 minutes left in the first quarter. I don’t like the phrase “he disrespected me” or drive by shootings.
I like the way Roger Maris ran the bases after his 61st home run. The same way he did on his 1st home run. He had to be pushed out of the dugout to simply tip his hat. Can you imagine Gale Sayers doing the “Iggy Shuffle”?
Play the damn game – there is plenty of natural emotion generated simply by competing and playing hard, without fabricating emotion.
howard burack says:
I don’t mind taunting. When we were kids I used to taunt you when we played baseball & basketball.
Howard
Merrill Dubrow says:
Howard,
Thats very true. I still recall playing broom hockey in the gym in Ottawa as a kid. Somehow i think that is way different than pro athletes doing it. Don’t you?
Speak to you soon.
Merrill
Harry Heller says:
Merrill:
In my spare time I am a columnist on a sports blog http://www.sportsforpresident.com
Most of the other columnists are younger kids who taunt and make fun of competitors. My role is to provide mature reflections on sports.
I addressed the issue of taunting at the end of the baseball season. Here are my comments:
To me, too many fans of too many teams have become too nasty and ill-mannered at games. They make fun of players on the other team, they boo a visiting pitcher for holding a runner close to first base with a pickoff attempt, they jeer a manager when he comes out to talk to a pitcher. I’ve heard curses shouted, and recently a player that got a divorce was derided with shouts to him about his wife and girlfriend.
I believe in cheering your team but respecting your opponent. Why is respect for an opponent important? Because the basis of a rivalry is a good and respected opponent. What fun is it to strike out a batter with the bases loaded if the batter is a .075 hitter? But if the hitter is batting .350 the drama and the accomplishment is great and enjoyable. Sports is a metaphor for drama and life. Who would Macbeth be without Macduff? What good is a war without a cause? What would Russell be without Chamberlain?
The enjoyment and challenges in baseball, or any sport, is a respected opponent. As a rabid Met fan, I have never booed Howard or Utley. When Burrell hits one of his 40 some-odd HRs against the Mets, I never jeer him.
Instead, I ponder that the Mets manager or catcher called for the wrong pitch, or pitcher. I think that with few exceptions, my way is the strategy that pro players use in a game. Thinking, scouting, understanding, not jeering. Baseball is much more fun when you think the game through and analyze it, rather then when you take off on an opponent.
Interestingly, has anyone ever jeered Joe DiMaggio? Willie Mays? Ted Williams? Probably not, because they were proven stars. But in Baseball, even average players can play like all-stars. Carlos Ruiz, in the 2008 Series, So Taguchi for the Cardinals Vs. the Mets in 2006, Al Weiss for the 1969 Mets. All excelled beyond their abilities and that’s what made the games so enjoyable.
My message for baseball fans is to cheer for your team, wave the towel, give standing ovations, but respect the opponent. Turn the notch down on catcalls, angry shouts at a player, personal attacks to ride a player, etc. Try to understand why the opponent is doing what they are. (Besides, next season they could be on your team.)
Baseball will be more fun to watch. The victory will be better appreciated and understood, the defeat will leave you with optimism for the next game.
Merrill Dubrow says:
Harry,
Appreciate you sharing your comments. Respect should be a bigger thing in sports – for some reason it gets lost way too many times. Thanks for the link to your sports blog – I will check it out for sure.
Thanks.
Merrill
Ed Sugar says:
Taunting and trash talk have been in sports (pro and college) since the beginning of time. The idea of the “noble athlete” who just goes out and does his/her job is a myth. Note that taunting and trash talk became common place once the technology allowed us the causal sports fans to get “up close and personal” before, during and after the game. I bet if Bronko Nagurski, Ty Cobb, the Babe, Chuck Bednarik, Wilt and Gordie Howe had all been wired during their heydays, mothers would of made their sons wear ear plugs.
This is a timely post, since Tuesday night ended a month’s worth of taunting and trash talk between Alex Ferguson (manager of Manchester United) and Jose Mourinho (manager of Inter Milan). The two were bitter rivals for the past 5 years when Mourinho was manager at Chelsea. United and Chelsea have been two of the top teams in England for the last ten years. If there was a match scheduled between the two clubs, one could count on the war of words between Ferguson and Mourinho to begin, like clockwork, six days before the match in the tabloids. I don’t know if it gave either team an edge, but it certainly added more drama to each game. This month their clubs drew each in the first knockout round of the Champions League. Everyday in the European press there were snipes and rants between the two that would of made James Carville and Karl Rove envious. On Monday before Tuesday’s match, Mourinho told the European press that after Inter defeated United, that Ferguson was going to be dumped and that he (Mourinho) would probably takeover the helm at United and take them to even greater glory. Amazing! That is smack that Jim Rome would proud of. But alas ManU prevailed 2-0 and Jose & Inter go back to the Serie A to keep Juventus at bay.
Joe Baldi says:
Merrill, great post and judging from the comments lots of people felt that way.
Where to start ? I could not disagree more with those who suggested that in youth sports it’s ok. What a terrible example we are setting. Youth sports should be a forum for sportsmanship rather thab gamesmanship. That being said, when I was growing up it was called bench jockeying and the “taunts were, “rag arm”,
” pitchers’ got a bellyache “, ” no batter “. As I advanced it was brought to another level but nothing like it is today.
The celebrating that goes on in sports is over the edge. A guy makes a tackle and he and his teammates are jumping up and down, high fiving. I don’t know who said it, but some of the best advice I heard was someone who said ” act like you’ve been there before ” It’s nice to show some emotion with a win but it should be a meaningful event and done in moderation.
I am not at all offended when a guy hits a homerun and admires it. His choice. What I am offended by is when he stops to admire a shot that does not go out and winds up on first rather than second.
Nothing repels me more when a pitcher shouts out at that hitter or even worse deems it necessary to throw at the batters head the next time at bat because ” he showed me up ” Think about it as a challenge for the next time since he won this battle.
I think a little banter can be fun, but to suggest that an athelete either amateur or professional needs to taunt for motivation is over the top.
Trash talking one on one can be fun but to make a spectacle is just what the media loves.
I also don’t agree with this stuff about bulletin board material. A team should feel like they are going to win and should be allowed to express that.
Merrill, I don’t agree that Joe Namath was potentially the best in his sport. He was exciting, charasmatic and talented but I can think of ten QB’s I’d take before him
Joe
Willie Martin says:
Local fans will no doubt remember all the trash that came out of Thomas Henderson’s mouth the weeks before the Pittsburgh Dallas Super Bowl 1/21/79.
‘The Rams will lose because they have no class.’
‘Terry Bradshaw couldn’t spell cat if you spotted him the C and the T’
‘I hate Jack Lambert because he has no teeth’
When fans taunt ever wonder how many are actually sober when doing so? Alcohol and other drugs tend to make for some sad commentary on the role of the so-called ugly fan!
I personally think the taunts speak more about the insecurities from the mouth of the person who said so.
Want a real taunt treat? Let one team do all the talking, the other team stays quiet, avoids the build-up game the media tries to play, then on a given Sunday (football seems to be the prevalent sport for this) go out and annihilate the tauntees by a 60-0 count. The only word you have to say is SCOREBOARD.
It is also my contention that many a taunter is an old frustrated forgotten what could have been athlete wannabe but will never be able to…
Nice topic Merrill see you Opening Day!
Merrill Dubrow says:
Now this is great bulletin board material:
Rodriguez clash before game
Mets closer Francisco Rodriguez’s exuberance on the mound doesn’t sit well with Yankees setup man Brian Bruney …
The most passion that any Met was able to muster Sunday came from closer Francisco Rodriguez, who never pitched in the Yankees’ 15-0 rout.
A day after injured Yankee reliever Brian Bruney ripped K-Rod – during a rehab stint in Trenton – Rodriguez confronted Bruney at the end of the Yankees’ batting practice, when the Met pitchers were beginning to stretch in left field. After asking teammates to identify Bruney – K-Rod had said Saturday that “I don’t even know who the guy is” – Rodriguez shouted at Bruney, gestured at him and had to be restrained by teammate Mike Pelfrey.
“I saw (Rodriguez) walking with attitude and asking guys, ‘Who is it? Is that him?’ The next thing you know (Rodriguez) was in his face. I saw words were exchanged and he was looking mad,” said Pelfrey. “Obviously, he was upset. I was just trying to pull him away. I was probably 10 feet away, and I just saw K-Rod pointing and raising his voice. I just came over and grabbed him and I said, ‘C’mon, man. Let’s go.’ He was upset, I guess. He didn’t want to (leave). I think (Yankee reliever Jose) Veras kind of stepped in, too.”
Rodriguez, who closed out Saturday’s win with a scoreless ninth inning and told reporters after that game that Bruney “better keep his mouth shut,” took his own advice after yesterday’s game.
“Boys, I got nothing to say, so don’t waste your time,” Rodriguez said. A short while later, he said the matter was closed.
“Over. Turn the page, that’s it. Over,” Rodriguez said.
Bruney, meanwhile, seemed intent on trying to defuse the controversy, saying, “I probably shouldn’t have said what I said.”
He denied that he was looking to start something with Rodriguez with his presence in front of the Mets’ bullpen during batting practice.
“I shag (flies) in left every day. I wasn’t trying to pick a fight. If anything, I was hoping we could cross paths and bury the ax,” said Bruney, who is expected to be activated tomorrow from his second stint on the DL this season with a flexor muscle strain in his right elbow. “I think that it’s ridiculous that this is a big story. To me, it’s over with. Hopefully for him, it’s over with. I don’t think either of us are worried about it.”
On Saturday, Bruney ripped Rodriguez’s animated celebrations after closing out games.
“He’s got a tired act. I just don’t like watching the guy pitch. I think it’s embarrassing,” Bruney said Saturday.
Yesterday, Bruney was pulled aside by some of the veteran Yankees and told to keep his mouth shut and not give the Mets any bulletin board material. Joe Girardi said he also talked with Bruney and that he considered the matter closed.
“I don’t think those were Brian’s intentions, for it to be a confrontation. I think Brian just wanted to talk to him and it got a little more heated than either guy wanted,” said Girardi. “It’s best just to put it to rest.”
Some Mets supported Rodriguez’s confrontation of Bruney, even though it could have became a mano-a-mano tangle.
“The only thing I know, Frankie went over there and he took care of business. And that’s the way it should be,” said Alex Cora. “Frankie’s well respected. He got one of those big things you wear on your finger and he was a big part of (the 2002 Angels’ World Series title). He’s still my closer and I’m cheering for him.”