Falcon, Colliwobbles: sports phenomena that stick

Every now and then, a phenomenon occurs in sport that is so unique, it’s deserving of its own name. Over the years, there’s been some fine examples of the dictionary being stretched to include some famous moments.

Some of the best:

Mankaded: in cricket, when a bowler (without bowling) runs out the non-striker batsmen, the batsmen is said to have been ‘Mankaded’. Named so, because of Indian bowler Vinoo Mankad, who dismissed Bill Brown in this fashion way back in 1947.

Falcon: you can be assured that if a ball hits someone on the head, commentators and fans alike will scream ‘Falcon!’, in reference to the great Mario ‘The Maltese Falcon’ Fenech, who suffered the indignity of the ball hitting his melon in comical fashion, whilst playing for the South Queensland Crushers.

Colliwobbles: a term used to describe the Collingwood Magpies choking under pressure in the AFL (until last year).

Garryowen: in rugby union, this is what an up-and-under kick is called, made famous by the Garryowen Football Club.

The Second Year Syndrome (or ‘Sophomore Slump’ in the US) is attributed to athletes who struggle in their second year, after being successful in their rookie year.

And I’m sure there many more examples.

And so we come to The Anasta Theory, which is attributed to athletes who were/are so horribly overrated, that they actually become underrated.

The theory comes about because the majority of fans are so ruthless in their appraisal of players that there appears to be no grey area when judging them.

Essentially, we seem to rate athletes as either great or garbage. There is no middle ground.

This type of thinking is what gave birth to what I have coined The Anasta Theory – named after Sydney Roosters captain, Braith Anasta.

Anasta has quietly become one of the best players in the NRL, but he hasn’t become THE best player in the NRL, like many predicted when he was just a teenager.

He was unfairly labelled “the next Brad Fittler”, and at the time “Freddy” was probably the best rugby league player in the world.

So you can understand why many thought Anasta fans were perhaps prone to a touch of hyperbole.

When Anasta failed to reach the heights that many expected of him, he was immediately dubbed “overrated” and ended up wearing that tag for a few seasons. He wasn’t great, so he was therefore garbage.

As expectations lowered, other potential superstars emerged and the media concentrated on these other players.

Anasta was left to develop out of the spotlight, and quickly became one of the most complete players in the game, with no weaknesses.

But not only does he have no weaknesses, he has tremendous strengths: a brilliant short kicking game, a mighty boot (no one kicks the ball further off line-goal drop outs!), deft passing, tight and tough defence, and amazing leadership skills.

He hardly has a bad game, and has also developed into a crunch-time performer: with the game on the line, there are few other players’ hands that I’d want the ball in.

Right before our eyes, Anasta made the transition from overrated to wildly underrated.

And so we have, The Anasta Theory.

But the theory isn’t reserved just for rugby league:   

• Mitchell Johnson was ranked the number one bowler in the world a few seasons ago. I think it’s safe to say, that particular ranking was overrating his abilities.

But after a couple of poor Ashes series, and too many wayward deliveries to remember, everyone started completely writing him off. Suddenly Mitch has become somewhat underrated. He can be a match-winner when he’s on song with the ball, his batting can be devastating, and he’s a fantastic fielder.

It’s possible that he’s crossed over into ‘Anasta Theory’ territory.

• Kurtley Beale was signed by the Waratahs when he was just 16. Before leaving high school, he had captained the Australia Schoolboys team, and had trained with the Wallabies. Many started calling him the next Mark Ella, and with the weight of all that pressure, was it any wonder the number 10 struggled for a few years with NSW?

His defence was criticised, he was moved to the wing and he was even dropped to the bench at one stage. And, of course, he was labelled overrated. Then came a switch to fullback, a period of consistently good football, and selection for Australia.

Suddenly, Beale was performing well at the highest level, capped off by his mammoth 50 metre match-winning goal versus South Africa in 2010. But with most of the attention falling on the Queensland Reds combination of Will Genia and Quad Cooper, and young gun James O’Connor, Beale (along with Adam Ashley-Cooper) is the unsung hero of the Aussie backline. A worthy ‘Anasta Theory’ recipient.

• I personally don’t believe that Greg Inglis is overrated.

I genuinely think he’s one of the top 2 or 3 rugby league players in the world. But after a dramatic off-season, injury concerns, weight issues and a big contract, there are many fans saying he’s not worth the money or the trouble, and that he’s overrated.

Considering his talents, I think that is underrating him. Immensely. Once he’s fit, I’d prepare yourself for some ‘Anasta Theory’ backlash from the rampaging centre.

Shane Watson used to be horribly overrated, but mainly because he couldn’t stay healthy long enough to show everyone what all the fuss over his potential was about. Now that he is fit, he’s dominating world cricket, but he doesn’t qualify for ‘The Anasta Theory’ because I don’t think anyone underrates him – he’s vital to the Australian cricket team, and has become arguably the best player in the country.

The Anasta Theory: when athletes make the transition from overrated to underrated.

Any other examples?