We all hate gamesmanship, except when it suits us

Jeremy says:

02:02pm | 25/01/13

Socceroos sounds much better than Footballoos.

Pattem says:

11:43am | 25/01/13

@AFR

+1

Li Na lets her tennis do the talking.  She’s no ‘glamour-puss’, no ‘squealer’, no ‘whinger’, no ‘flesh flasher’. 

I would swear many of the girls use Centre Court as a catwalk.  Li Na uses it to play tennis.

Go Li Na!!!

On the squealing: I’m waiting for the day when a player asks the Umpire to call ‘Let’ for the auditory disturbance or distraction from the squealer at the other end.

Dazl says:

12:07pm | 25/01/13

Thanks bananarama
“Na na na na na na na na
Hey hey hey
Goodbye”

Bear says:

01:15pm | 25/01/13

I don’t think Bradbury is lauded for his tactics, we recognize it was a fluke. He’s lauded for doing a real life Homer Simpson and winning the luckiest gold probably ever, but he still had to be good enough to get there so good luck to him.

Benevolent Rapscallion says:

01:57pm | 25/01/13

Steven Bradbury didn’t cheat. The winner is the first person to cross the finish line after completing the designated course and he was that person. It isn’t his fault that his opponents made mistakes and couldn’t stay on their feet.

Dan says:

01:57pm | 25/01/13

Helt, what exactly were Bradbury"s tactics? Deliberately being less talented than the rest of the field so that he could be at the rear when they all fell down and so avoid the wreckage? Or perhaps he somehow caused the others to fall by remote control. It was an immense piece of luck - he knows it, we know it. “Doing a Bradbury” has even entered the Australian vernacular as a metaphore for serendipitous luck.

SZF says:

02:44pm | 25/01/13

Damn Helt, you don’t think Steve Bradbury’s gold medal was awesome!? You have no soul.

It’s not like he just showed up a la Eddie the Eagle and somehow won. As he said at the time, “I don’t think I’ll take the medal as the minute-and-a-half of the race I actually won. I’ll take it as the last decade of the hard slog I put in.”

We don’t “laud his tactics” as you say, but rather celebrate an underdog coming through against massive odds.

T-rev says:

11:58am | 25/01/13

Agree.

It may have been desperate act to prevent herself from losing, and very unsportsmanlike, but it definitely wasn’t cheating.

MK says:

12:03pm | 25/01/13

i like it was somone else apart from the Amricans cheating for once
and then hearing the americans complaining,
and the best they could come up with was “cheating within the rules”
not like coudl old fashioned apple pie american cheating outside the rules

Jeremy says:

02:05pm | 25/01/13

She’s been world number 1 for a while now. She would’ve won the third set almost guaranteed.

LJ Dots says:

02:22pm | 25/01/13

@Huonian. Totally agree.

I saw her in Brisbane before the Aus Open (I’d never seen her before) and I thought back then she was definitely a talent to watch, devoid of the showmanship and screeching of many current players.

Players like Stephens (and Ashleigh Barty) are great role models for the next generation in womens tennis. (Good luck tonight Ash.)

St. Michael says:

12:20pm | 25/01/13

...qualified medical professionals like the ones that took and tested Lance Armstrong’s blood?

ace leo ace says:

02:35pm | 25/01/13

I see your point St Michael, in a completely unrelated sport and on a completely unrelated issue someone employed for a completely different purpose was either corrupt or made a mistake. Now that you have pointed this out I will never trust another doctor. Thank you for opening up my eyes, I once was blind but now can see!!!

All praise St Michael!! For he is the bringer of truth and reason!!

Kate says:

02:45pm | 25/01/13

Not trying to armchair diagnose here, but my thoughts would be that even if she wasn’t physically injured, a panic attack would probably count as an injury/illness that required her to have time off court. They are seriously scary and if you’ve never had one before, it really does feel like you might die.

St. Michael says:

03:55pm | 25/01/13

@ ace: the point being that just because one has the word “M.D.” after one’s name does not mean they (a) are incorruptible (b) are mindreaders, as witnessed by the number of “sick” medical certificates produced on a daily basis in Australia or (c) are not capable of being threatened with sacking if they don’t support a lie.

I’m sorry if I didn’t lay it out in terms a newborn earthworm could understand.  I thought you were smarter than that.

Sensible says:

01:11pm | 25/01/13

“Neither the screaming or the time out for nerves are against the rules but they are still cheating ...”

Say this aloud to yourself a few times to realise the absurdity of it.  Using the rules to your advantage in any sport is a perfectly valid way to play.  The only argument one could mount is that some actions may not be in the spirit of the game (e.g. Greg Chappell’s underarm delivery), but I don’t think that argument applies here.

And why does the “screaming” piss people off so much?  It’s not meant to distract the opponent; it’s the way some players get the maximum power into a shot - you know, play the game as best they can.  Enjoy the tennis, grunts and all, or turn it off.

Scuba says:

01:15pm | 25/01/13

The Soviet Union doesn’t exist any more.  Azarenka isn’t Russian.

AFR says:

01:59pm | 25/01/13

” It’s not meant to distract the opponent; it’s the way some players get the maximum power into a shot - you know, play the game as best they can.” - somebody is living in fantasy-land.

Sensible says:

02:45pm | 25/01/13

AFR, before shooting off at the mouth, perhaps you should do a little research.

Weightlifghters exhale as they lift. Tennis players grunt when hitting a tennis ball. They do it because it is good biomechanics and helps generate more power, primarily because a rapid exhalation tightens your core muscles and helps your body move as one unit more effeciently. During a punch or kick or tennis stroke, your core, your hips, are much more important for generating power than your arms.

As you tighten your core, your body comes into alignment and allows muscle groups to work together. Secondly, as your exhale your body rushes oxygen into your system for absorbtion, sending more oxygen to muscles, allow them to do more.

It is one of the reasons that powerlifters do a series of rapid inhales and exhales before lifting. It isn’t just to psyche them up, it is to accelerate heartrate and oxygen throughout the muscles allowing them to lift just that little bit more.

So yes, exhaling during exertion generates more power. Every single physical activity in the world has the mantra of “exhale upon exertion” for a reason.

This lesson is over. Google “exhale upon exertion” if you wish to know more.

Those who tell you otherwise either heard it from an instructor who doesn’t know what he is talking about, or someone who uses arm punches, and has no understanding of body mechanics.

Whether it is lifting weights, swinging a bat, a tennis racket, jumping, etc. The rule of thumb is always “exhale upon exertion”.

St. Michael says:

03:04pm | 25/01/13

“They do it because it is good biomechanics and helps generate more power, primarily because a rapid exhalation tightens your core muscles and helps your body move as one unit more effeciently.”

If so then all of them should be doing it.  Federer, however, does not.  Most, in fact, do not.  In fact the grunters are mostly players coming from one coach: Nick Bollettieri.

That would be because there’s another reason tennis players do it, and it has nothing to do with distraction.  See, by the time you’ve reached that level of mastery of tennis, you can get a pretty good sense of what type of shot the strike is—how much topspin it’s got, etc.—from listening to the way the ball comes off the racket.  You can then use than clue to prepare your response.

Martina Navratilova pointed it out: grunting drowned out the sound of the ball leaving the grunter’s racquet and prevented an experienced opponent from using that clue as to force and spin to address his or her reception of the ball and the return stroke.

Palzy says:

03:23pm | 25/01/13

@ Sensible

Bullshit!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!.......and please change your screen name, it is very misleading.

LJ Dots says:

04:03pm | 25/01/13

@Sensible, Steve TR may has phrased it incorrectly.

Using an injury timeout is for a legitimate injury, not to re-group mentally after having a bad run. Being nervous about an inability to finish a match is not an injury and I will still call it cheating.

As for the screaming and your “maximum power” comment. That is simply BS.

The tactic/technique was taught to some players (try a search for Nick Bollettieri) and from then it has then became commonplace. Grunting, squealing, exhaling etc does not deliver “maximum” power.

Just to add, I’ve seen Olympic weightlifters lifting hundreds of kilos dead weight and who make far less noise than a tennis player swinging a 300 gram racquet.

Sensible says:

04:08pm | 25/01/13

St. Michael, I can accept that as a plausible explanation.  However, what I wrote still stands.  And just because one player needs to grunt to exhale with force doesn’t mean the next player does.

Palzy, don’t talk to me, you idiot!

Aside from this debate, I think these tennis players are incredible.  How anyone could allow a bit of grunting to ruin the spectacle is beyond me.

Sensible says:

04:33pm | 25/01/13

“Grunting, squealing, exhaling etc does not deliver “maximum” power.”

Yes, it does!!!

AFR says:

04:38pm | 25/01/13

St Michael is spot on - this has been mentioned by a number of players. Squeeling hides the sound of the spin off the racket.

Sensible - the shreiking of Azarenka and Sharapova goes so far beyond what is necessary to breathe out upon even extreme exertion.

Pattem says:

05:05pm | 25/01/13

@Scuba, actually Azarenka is Belarusian.  She would have gone from being Russian to Belarusian (geopolitically speaking) in 1991.  It is not because the USSR doesn’t exist that doesn’t make Azarenka Russian; it is the fact she is from Belarus.

Also, just because the USSR doesn’t exist, doesn’t mean that Russia doesn’t exist.  I mean, of what country do you think Moscow is the capital? 

As a case in point, Sharapova is Russian while Azarenka is not.

If you really want to split hairs, Azarenka was born in 1989, so in fact she was born in the USSR.

Pattem says:

05:15pm | 25/01/13

@Sensible

So, based on your logic, these girls must be being trained or instructed to ‘exhale upon exertion’ as you so eloquently describe their ‘squealing’, to maximise their shots.

So, why don’t more of the guys grunt/squeal?

Martial Arts teaches to grunt on strike to help channel the ‘chi’.  The expulsion of air can be done without the grunt, but the noise is actually implemented as an intimidating tactic.  In other words, the noise can be a ‘pfft’ as opposed to a full on ‘grunt’ or in the women’s tennis case, a ‘girly squeal’.

Shep says:

07:27pm | 25/01/13

Couldn’t agree more, it makes Women’s tennis ridiculous, because its pretty rare to hear it from the male players, or even in the doubles strangely.

Everyone knows its “gamesmanship” or as the common folk term it, bad- sportmanship, designed to do absolutely nothing but intimidate and confuse your opponent.  Thats probably why Sloane is being so well supported, she seem to not have developed any of those affectations yet.

Chokerenka, cheated.  She had an illness break only because she was suddenly losing, and there was a very real chance that her young opponent could have built on her own momentum and Azerenka’s panic and taken the match.

Simple really.

St. Michael says:

12:23pm | 25/01/13

Pity Bradbury himself has admitted that’s exactly what he had in mind, per Wikipedia:

“I was the oldest bloke in the field and I knew that, skating four races back to back, I wasn’t going to have any petrol left in the tank. So there was no point in getting there and mixing it up because I was going to be in last place anyway. So (I figured) I might as well stay out of the way and be in last place and hope that some people get tangled up.”

Mike "summer" Bay. says:

12:43pm | 25/01/13

That dude had them all psyched out, he was mungin’ on pies n shit, stinkin’ of lamb and VB, they weren’t racing they were trying to get the hell away from him and all fell over in the panic.

They have seen the Ray Meagher doodleburger, they know what Aussies are about. Alfie Stewart is Stevie B’s media guy.

Kaff says:

12:56pm | 25/01/13

@St Michael - but when does strategy (or tactics) become gamesmanship?

St. Michael says:

01:41pm | 25/01/13

@ Kaff: I’m not sure.  “Tactics” I would term as strategies which would be recognised as legitimate according to the word and spirit of the rules.  “Gamesmanship” I would term as strategies which are legitimate according to the word of the rules, but not their spirit.  What the “spirit” of the rules are is a matter for interpretation, so that’s where the line gets blurry.

There’s an intriguing piece on contrarian tactics by Malcolm Gladwell in reference to basketball, from the New Yorker.  I think it’s called “When David Beats Goliath” or something similar.  The article is old now, but it’s thought-provoking on this whole subject.

Scuba says:

01:18pm | 25/01/13

The meter needs to be set lower - from memory Sharapova’s record is 103db so most of the shrieks wouldn’t be caught by your suggestion.

Pattem says:

01:29pm | 25/01/13

@Scuba

Well, the 100dB was an arbitrary figure, so what do you think Scuba, 80dB?  What would be a suitable benchmark.

But really…Sharapova has hit 103dB!  Wow, what a set of lungs for such a waif.

Gordon says:

02:20pm | 25/01/13

I think the crowd should groan and grunt & scream right back at ‘em. If a Melb crowd can pull off a perfect mexican wave I’m sure they could scream a perfect Sharapova each time she hits the ball. They’d soon get the message.

Pattem says:

01:25pm | 25/01/13

@Jasmine

Well spotted indeed!  

Absolutely agree with the poor word usage…and, I must admit, I missed it!

Jay2 says:

03:23pm | 25/01/13

@ Ant,’...minsk words’  ha ha , must try that at the butchers next time, half a kilo of minsk please.

@Helt, don’t generically lump all Australian’s together when it comes to examples like Hewitt, thanks!
I really dislike phoniness in general and just because it’s an Aussie or the home team (whatever) doesn’t make it okay from where I’m standing.
Frankly, that sort of faking/cheating etc, is a slap in the face for the paying crowd and those who bother tuning in,  plus it’s cringeworthy behaviour.

Kerryn says:

01:38pm | 25/01/13

I always applaud an injured player off the ground no matter what team s/he plays for - s/he’s put her/his body on the line and deserves respect.  We’re not cheering because we’re glad they’re injured, we cheer because we want them to be okay!

Pattem says:

01:59pm | 25/01/13

A pig about to be gutted squeals less!