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John McEnroe was once the world\u2019s No.1 tennis player, winning seven major Grand Slams. But he\u2019ll always be remembered for his extraordinary rant against umpire Edward James at Wimbledon on 22nd June, 1981.\nDuring his match with Tom Gullikson, James ruled that the New Yorker\u2019s serve went out. McEnroe's reaction - "You can't be serious man, you cannot be serious!... You guys are the absolute pits of the world!" - staggered the genteel world of tennis.\nIn this episode, Arion, Olly and Rebecca discover that McEnroe had already established a bad-boy reputation with the UK press, who'd labelled him \u2018superbrat\u2019 in 1977; marvel at the reaction of the BBC commentators to the unfolding drama; and consider whether the general public would still actually remember who McEnroe was, if this had never happened...\nFurther Reading:\n\u2022 The rant unfolding (1981), from the ESPN Archives: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ransFQVzf6c\n\u2022 The Washington Post, pre-rant, record McEnroe\u2019s depiction in Britain as \u2018superbrat\u2019 (1979): https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/sports/1979/06/24/british-aim-fire-at-the-superbrat/7115ab3c-154a-4f5a-b99e-2632fbd2bc5f/\n\u2022 John McEnroe on \u2018Desert Island Discs\u2019: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b08xxfz3\nFor bonus material and to support the show, visit\xa0Patreon.com/Retrospectors\nWe'll be back tomorrow! Follow us wherever you get your podcasts:\xa0podfollow.com/Retrospectors\nThe Retrospectors are Olly Mann, Rebecca Messina & Arion McNicoll, with Matt Hill.\nTheme Music: Pass The Peas. Announcer: Bob Ravelli. Graphic Design: Terry Saunders. Edit Producer: Emma Corsham.\nCopyright: Rethink Audio / Olly Mann 2021.\n#80s #Sport #Tennis #Person #White #US #UK\n Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.\nLearn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices