Fellas, chill. It’s just a game, right?
Losing stinks. We totally get it. Athletes and coaches have been angry about coming up on the short end since cavemen looked at each other, pointed to a spot in the distance and took off to see who could get there first. Granted, losing cavemen probably didn’t have some sports writer milling about wanting to get comment about what happened, why or produce a Vine of them sulking back home retweeted for all the world to see.
Oh, those were the days. Fast forward a handful of millennia and the veil has been pulled back. Cameras and microphones are everywhere. The one thing that hasn’t changed? Coaches and players have their limits. Only now, when those limits are met the ensuing meltdown will live on in YouTube infamy.
It doesn’t matter if we’re “talkin’ bout practice” (much love Allen Iverson) or incredulously wondering about the “Playoffs? Playoffs?” (here’s to you Jim Mora) the well-executed, impassioned rant is something to behold and in some ways cherished. It’s proof that these guys care so much that decorum takes a holiday and we can get some #realtalk.
So relax, Cincinnati Reds manager Bryan Price and Pittsburgh Penguins general manager Jim Rutherford. Your Monday night meltdowns – Price went on a profane tirade (77 f-bombs in 6 minutes? We’re checking to see if that’s a record) against one of the team’s beat writers for daring to report the news while Rutherford dressed down a Pittsburgh columnist critical of Rutherford’s personnel moves – are in good company.