Sportsocracy 5th Edition - Crazed Sports Stars

On a day where David Beckham was called up to the England squad and concurring with the fact this could be his 100th international cap, the mr nice role model for the kids has not always been nicey, nicey.

On many occasions, so less few than Vinnie Jones but still, David Beckham has lashed out at opponents and took the bait and has been also sent off. The quiet cockney lad, who in interviews is very soft spoken and also a well mannered charity fund raising person off the pitch, can be a completely different character on the pitch.

Remember his lash out at Diego Simeone at the 1998 world cup, the most well known of his crazy moments. Even though he has this wild side to him he is also a good footballer and I respect what he does for kids charities.

This made me think and I pondered the question do all sports stars have this crazy side to them?. Not just footballers can have these moments. John McEnroe, tennis legend, and in my eyes one of the best ever, he had a brilliantly wild side to him, he was possibly the most fiery determined tennis player I have ever watched.

He would shout down umpires decisions regularly, so often that the media penned "You cannot be serious?" as his catchphrase as he used it that often when arguing over, more than probably, a bad line call. He had brilliant rivalries with Jimmy Connors and Bjorn Borg which brought out the best in McEnroe, and made brilliant TV.

McEnroe was definitely one of the most feared characters on a tennis court in his playing days, superb skill and a mixture of his extroverted on court actions made him thrilling to watch and a nightmare to Umpire.

Michael Schumacher arguably one of the greatest Formula 1 drivers to ever grace this planet, was a great competitor, but he had a crazy side to him. Take this from Michaels website - http://www.mschumacher.com/schumacher-crashes.html

In Adelaide 1994, the most talked about incident in modern Motor racing is the 1994 championship deciding collision between Michael Schumacher and Damon Hill at Adelaide, which was then reiterated in 1997 when Michael and Jacques Villeneuve had a collision in Jerez.

Firstly lets analyse the collision in 1994 between Hill and Schumacher. Schue made a mistake and ran wide leaving a chance for Hill to pass. Hill being a racer and seeing his chance to pass, which would give him the lead meaning he would win the championship as long as he could hold out Schumacher until the end of the race. A relatively easy feat as he had an (arguably) faster car, and it is nearly impossible to overtake in formula one today. Schumacher being a racer to did not want to relinquish his position, as he knew Hill having the (arguably) faster car would pull away and his chances for the championship would disappear off into the distance with him. So Schumacher tried to shut the door.
Make your own mind up, purpose or not, some said Schumacher lost the plot and his determination and overall ultra competitive side put him on the edge and the above just happened.

This pushes the phrase "Some people will do anything to win", does that mean even take out your opponent by putting your race position and possibly your life at danger? who knows what was running through Schumi's head at that point, all I know is his record speaks for itself in his prime he was the definition for the consumate world class racing driver.

These are just a few of many wild sports characters antics. Do any spring to mind to you? Voice your opinion, do you think all sports stars have this crazy gene which shows itself every so often? Lets have your view.