Bizarre incidents in the world of sport

The word ‘sports’ is synonymous with the word ‘entertainment’. Sometimes the entertainment that we witness borders on the insane. Here is a look at a few bizarre, out of the ordinary incidents that I have witnessed:

2005 United States Grand Prix:

This Grand Prix became famous for the strange tyre controversy that enabled only six out of the twenty cars to participate in the race. Following several tyre failures before the race, Michelin advised their fourteen cars to withdraw from the race. I was a seven-year-old Formula 1 fan who didn’t really understand what was going on. I was all geared up for the race, then something strange happened. After the warm up lap, fourteen of the twenty cars retired into the pit lane. What surprised me even more was that the race took place with only Ferrari, Jordan and Minardi competing. The race had a significant impact on the eventual standings of the Drivers and Constructors Championships, boosting Ferrari’s season considerably as no team above them in the Constructors standings competed. The Ferrari one-two was also the 24th one-two between Michael Schumacher and Rubens Barrichello, making them the most successful teammates in terms of one-twos in F1 history. The only reason the warm up lap was held was to officially show that all twenty cars had participated in the race, thereby avoiding an otherwise necessary penalty. It was also the first time that both the Jordan and the Minardi team earned points in the same race.

The Nine Slips:

I was nine when I witnessed this incident. I was at home, flicking through the channels on the television when I stumbled upon an insane occurrence on the cricket channel. It was the highlights of the second ODI of the 1999/00 series between Zimbabwe and Australia. I saw nine Australian fielders in the slip cordon. Zimbabwe’s batting was embarrassed to such an extent that the Australian captain, Steve Waugh, briefly lined up all nine fielders in an arc from slips to point, probably a first in one-day cricket. The home side had crashed to 98 for nine in the 33rd over of the innings, and No. 11 Mutendera had just come in when Waugh called all his players into the slip cordon. Needing a mere 117, Australia lost only Gilchrist as they won with more than 21 overs to spare. The incident was probably the strangest thing I have ever witnessed on a cricket pitch.

The Zidane Controversy:

As a football lover, I thoroughly enjoyed the first 90 minutes of an entertaining World Cup Final between Italy and France. Zidane, the French legend playing his last match, had put France ahead early on with a coolly-taken chipped penalty before Materazzi levelled with a header from an Andrea Pirlo corner. As we headed into the last ten minutes of extra time, I was prepared for the inevitable penalty shootouts which would be extremely entertaining as both Zidane and Pirlo, probably two of the best penalty takers of all time, would take penalties for their respective sides. Alas, it wasn’t to be. Ten minutes from time, the French veteran saw red. Only Zidane will know why he chose to shove his head into Materazzi’s chest after the two had exchanged words. The legend’s professional career ended in shameful circumstances as referee Horacio Marcelo Elizondo from Argentina had no choice but to send him off. Pirlo, Materazzi, Daniele de Rossi, Alessandro del Piero and Grosso made no mistake as Italy beat France 5-3 in the dramatic and tense conditions of the dreaded penalty shootout after an entertaining 1-1 draw in Berlin. The Zidane-Materazzi incident was immortalized by the unveiling of a statue in memory of the bizarre incident in the heart of the French capital. It was titled ‘Headbutt’, but was later renamed to ‘An ode to defeat’.

The above mention incidents just go to show how the world of sports can never cease to amaze, surprise and entertain you.