Giving a McEnroe

One of the Muse's friends told her something funny quite a while ago. Her friend said that either she or one of her friends had invented the idea of the "Slap Squad," which could be sent to smack someone whose irritating qualities or behavior entitled them to some free pain administration. The Muse now uses a picture of the Slap Squad on her blog when she get mad. It's quite entertaining.



Figuring that I need a gimmick, too, I have decided to start assessing a McEnroe when something strikes me as offensive and ridiculous. This new gimmick derives of course from the 1970's and 1980's tennis player John McEnroe. The man was a brilliant tennis player, but also a ferocious jerk quite a bit of the time, at least on the court. In particular, when he felt that a call had been made incorrectly in his opponent's favor, he used to yell, "ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!?" His tantrums became iconic. A friend recently told me and some others that, in a past life, he had been a sports photographer for a newspaper and McEnroe had yelled at him during a match. We are all very, very impressed.



So, now in this space, when I comment on something that I just can't believe, I will be assessing its perpetrator a McEnroe by applying that picture of McEnroe to them. Watch out, evildoers.