When most people think about signature shoes, tennis isn’t the sport that typically pops up in their minds. Instead, it’s basketball.
But what most people don’t know is that a literal tennis shoe is the sneaker that paved the way for all of the signature basketball footwear that we’ve come to know and love today. Simply put, we don’t get to the Air Jordan signature line from Michael Jordan without John McEnroe’s Mac Attack.
The Mac Attack is the sneaker the former tennis superstar wore in the late 80s on the tennis court. It was originally created in 1984 in one lone grey, black and white colorway.
Perhaps Durant would be happy in an entirely different part of New York City had McEnroe’s dreams become real.
Kevin Durant as a New York Knick? If famed tennis great John McEnroe had had his way, a Durant-led Knicks squad might be the challenge for the current Boston Celtics to deal with. Instead, the Slim Reaper took his talents to the Brooklyn Nets in free agency to team with Kyrie Irving.
McEnroe’s hopes and dreams were not realized, though McEnroe did get a chance to tell another famous Kevin — Garnett — about his Knickerbocker hopes when the tennis legend stopped by Garnett’s Showtime Basketball podcast “KG Certified.”
Take a look at the clip embedded below to hear the daydreams of an all-time great in one sport sharing how he would have had Durant unhappy in an entirely different New York franchise.
Known for the intensity he brought to tennis courts around the world, the two in many ways are birds of a feather.
When you look at Hall of Fame Boston Celtics champion Kevin Garnett, “fan of tennis” is not the thing that readily pops into one’s mind.
But the Banner 17 icon has been known to get into some surprising stuff in the past — ask him around about his “Making The Band” show addiction — and as one of the more competitive sports out there, it probably ought to surprise less than it should that KG is a U.S. Open fan.
So much so that on a recent episode of his Showtime Basketball “KG Certified” podcast, the Celtics legend had tennis superstar John McEnroe on for an interview.
McEnroe was known for the intensity he brought to tennis courts around the world, so the two are, in many ways, birds of a feather. After their talk, you might think that if McEnroe had had a stanchion to headbutt before games, they might have even more in common.
Take a look at the clip embedded above to hear what the duo touched on in Garnett’s interview.
Since 1993, Sue Barker has seen more than her fair share of tennis greats. As BBC’s official presenter for Wimbledon for nearly three decades, Barker has had the pleasure of regularly meeting people such as (ho-hum) — Pete Sampras, Martina Navratilova, Serena and Venus Williams, Roger Federer, and Rafael Nadal.
Following Wimbledon 2022’s emotional end, filled with red caps and inspiring words, the iconic Barker officially stepped down from her longtime role. Wimbledon being as prestigious as it is, John McEnroe ensured Barker knew how much he and the rest of the greater tennis world appreciated her work over the years.
In essence: McEnroe effusively sang her praises:
"You're like the Roger Federer of the broadcasting world." ❤️
Aww. It doesn’t get any better than touching moments that elicit beaming smiles like Barker’s. The Wimbledon presenter and former French Open winner has definitely earned every last bit of these flowers.
It’s not the first time we’ve seen this kind of angry behavior on the court from the star men’s player, and ESPN’s John McEnroe said after the incident that he thinks it’s an incident that will stain Djokovic’s career forever.
But McEnroe — infamous for his verbal abuse of officials during his career, something he alluded to in what he said — did say Djokovic could come back from it and continue trying to break the record for most Grand Slams ever.
“The pressure just got to him, I think. I think a lot’s been going on off the court, it’s obviously affected him. And now, whether he likes it or not, he’s going to be the bad guy the rest of his career. It’ll be interesting to see how he handles it. …
“I didn’t say he couldn’t recover. If he embraces that role, I think he could recover, absolutely. He’s chasing history, he’s trying to pass Rafa and Roger, we all know that, he’s younger. He’s got a lot of things going for him, obviously, but this is obviously a stain that he’s not going to be able to erase, whether he likes it or not. … It’s emotionally how he’s going to handle it. It’s not about the physical part and him getting older.”
Mindy Kaling and Lang Fisher’s new Netflix series, Never Have I Ever, is a big hit — it’s the story of Devi Vishwakumar (played by Maitreyi Ramakrishnan) and her social struggles in high school, her relationship with her family and so much more.
And yes, it’s narrated by John McEnroe.
That’s blowing a lot of people’s minds when, in the first minutes of the pilot, his voice comes in and highlights from his incredible tennis career play on screen.
“Why is sports icon John McEnroe narrating this tale?” he asks in that moment. And, sure enough, he makes an actual cameo later in the season.
That’s also something he and Kaling have been answering ever since the first season premiered (WARNING: Some NSFW language is in this video with some of his best moments):
“One thing that’s common for a lot of Indian parents is a love of tennis. It’s like an English Anglophile kind of thing,” Kaling tells USA TODAY. “When we decided that the character of Devi would have a temper, the McEnroe thing just kept coming back: you know, someone who’s high-achieving but is undermined by their own temper. He has really high standards for himself and everyone around him. We kept talking about him and were like, ‘Wait, should he be doing the narration?’ Devi’s dad loved tennis, and it timed out that he would have grown up watching McEnroe.”
My wife (singer and songwriter Patty Smyth) and I were at the Vanity Fair Oscars party last year, and we were on our way in to do [portraits] with Mark Seliger, he’s a great photographer. Mindy was walking out. She was like, “Oh, my God! I can’t believe it’s you! I have this idea about you doing a show that I’m writing!” I’m like, “Oh, OK.” Well, you know how that goes. Most of the time that doesn’t end up happening. So, I took that with a grain of salt, but I told some of my kids the next day that I had met her and what she said. They were like, “You have to do it!” And then it actually happened.
The result? He’s a star:
why did nobody a) understand that what I really need at this time in life is Tennis Content and b) that Never Have I Ever is narrated by John McEnroe??
