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Anthony Mundine’s live press conference on Friday, which had most thinking he is a now a raving lunatic as well as an egocentric, managed to cater to my delight and amusement with his woeful, stuttered attempt at politics, particularly on racism.
(My personal favourite was him declaring it shouldn’t matter if you are brown, black, white or… brindle. Yes, brindle!)
This tirade got me to thinking about Mundane (no typo) and his previous long-term manager up until July this year, Khoder Nasser.
Nasser, as you may know, also represents sometimes union/league/boxer Sonny Bill Williams and sometimes Wallaby/injured/tweeter Quade Cooper. Apart from the close friendship these three athletes share, there is also one obvious tie that strings them all together.
Their egos.
All three have made personal attacks within the media, whether it be Cooper on his Wallabies coach Robbie Deans, Williams’ tirade on former Bulldogs coach Steve Folkes and Mundine on just about every opponent as well as his controversial opinion on the 2001 World Trade Center attack, “It’s not about terrorism. It’s about fighting for God’s law, and America’s brought it upon themselves.”
Brindles deserve happiness too you know.
Which now brings me to beg the question of why must certain athletes become outspoken dickheads when they make it to the top?
More to the point, what has caused them to have such a sense of self entitlement that they think we want to listen to their speeches calling for a change to the national anthem? Shouldn’t they instead be drinking a protein shake or tweeting pictures of their latest (free) Beats By Dre headphones?
NRL Dally M 2012 winner Ben Barba managed to capture the appreciation of all rugby league fans purely for the fact the fullback screams modesty, a trait that is so endearing and wonderful to see in today’s game. I just can’t imagine the boy from Mackay changing into an opinionated walking ego, we can only hope Nasser never gets his hands on him.
Muhammad Ali famously said, “It’s hard to be humble when you are as great as I am”.
One of the original frontrunners for egos, Ali was always fond of backing himself, one of my personal favourites was his take on golf, “I’m the best, I just haven’t played yet”.
It was this cheeky and always amusing nature which helped Ali get away with such statements, he was a somewhat entertainer, not an arrogant, self-involved narcissist like the few we have now been burdened with.
Thankfully, not all sporting greats are equal. 17 time Grand Slam winner Roger Federer is forever reminding us that he doesn’t feel like “the greatest of all time” and to this day still waits in line at restaurants.
Then we have 25-year-old Argentinean genius Lionel Messi. The FIFA World Player of the Year often shuns the millionaire footballer spotlight (the one where you’ll find European supermodels draped over the players’ Lamborghinis with bottles of champagne in hand).
Even after making his 21st Barcelona hat-trick over the weekend, Messi was quick to turn the attention back to the team’s joint effort. Regarded as a true gentleman, his former coach, Pep Guardiola said it best, “We will never see a player like him again.”
Let there be humble I say! The finest sporting accomplishment of them all is to still have your modesty and humility intact. ‘Fed’ and Messi are living proof you can still be a freak at your sport without having to be a wanker.
I’ll leave you with this quote from former American basketball player and coach, John Wooden, “Talent is God given. Be humble. Fame is man-given. Be grateful. Conceit is self-given. Be careful.”
So stay classy Daniel Geale. You got this.
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