John McEnroe Thinks You Are Disgraceful

I have vague recollections of men's tennis in the mid-80s and early '90s, watching guys like Jimmy Connors, Ivan Lendl, and, of course, John McEnroe rack up major victories, all with very different styles. As an elementary-aged kid, McEnroe was possibly the most fascinating athlete I'd ever seen: charismatic, but in a really crazy way.

Despite the inevitable inappropriate mid-game outburst, I always got the impression McEnroe believed he was right and the chair umpire was wrong. Every time. It wasn't about showmanship so much as wanting judges to work as hard at their job as McEnroe was working at his. Even as a goofy 10- or 11-year-old, I understood -- and admired -- that about him. Plus, it was roughly 20 years before Reality TV ruined everything -- A McEnroe outburst was Reality TV ... with the added benefit of actually being real.

Anyway, here's a great example of why people either loved or hated John McEnroe:

I think most tennis fans loved him, and I'm certain most chair umpires hated his guts.