Carlos Zambrano, Meet Zinedine Zidane

June 27, 2010

To Carlos Zambrano – nice going, pal! You really made a mess of it by yelling at Derek Lee in front of everyone to see at U.S. Cellular Field this weekend. Now, you’re paying the price for making a complete fool out of yourself.

Here’s something I wrote four years after the end of the FIFA World Cup were the world’s most famous athlete-to-athlete confrontation was played out in front of a global audience. Maybe you might understand what your actions may have caused for your future with the Chicago Cubs…let alone, Major League Baseball…

So, what did Marco Materazzi say to set off Zinedine Zidane two years ago at the World Cup Final in Berlin? What induced the worst possible end to a fabulous futbol career? The “maverick” Italian star did admit to insulting one of the best soccer players to come from France, but did not talk about his mother or called the star of Algerian decent a terrorist. What was known is that Materazzi grabbed onto Zidane’s jersey and there was an exchange of words and glances.

Well, all will be revealed when Zidane is to appear on French television (Which he did, and explained the whole “talked about my momma” thing). FIFA has already begun its investigation into the incident leading to Zidane’s sending off in the 110th minute of the World Cup final in Berlin.

How is this different to any smack talk in sports? Larry Bird used to instigate a lot of smack. Michael Jordan also was quite the nasty smacker on the court. Even Shaq uses humor off of the court to induce his head game on players. Yet, these three NBA stars would never cross the line and directly insult an opponent as Materazzi admitted in doing.

Then again, Marco Materazzi has never met Ozzie Guillen. The Chicago White Sox manager is the king of insults. Ask the Chicago Sun-Times reporter who was on the business end of a homophobic epithet courtesy of Guillen. Of course, Guillen tried to spin the situation by stating that he has no problem with the GLBT community and that he will be at the Gay Games being held in Chicago (in 2008). I’m certain that fans of Zidane have heard that all before.

(Of Note: Did you know the Mr. Cub, Ernie Banks, and the Ricketts family rode on the Cubs’ first float in the Chicago Pride Parade today? Obviously, Mr, Guillen was very busy this afternoon to attend, but I’m sure he sends his regards from the South Side…ehem…back to the story…)

How does this relate to anger management? It is a very simple science, really. Even the coolest of heads will explode. Even when pressed into an extreme stress situation where, emotionally, there’s no way out, something will give. We can relate to this quite easily.

The affect of a blow up can create shockwaves of various ranges. A French cabinet member asked about how children will view the Zidane red card as they gaze eyes upon a hero. A spouse asks why they were the victim of their partner’s tirade. Co-workers, friends, people in nearby seats at an arena or theater, people on the street; all are unfortunate bystanders of an explosion that could have been diffused when encountered at the right time.

I was once an angry person. I got this from my father, who loved to blow up at what it seemed at the right time. I witnessed this on television when any team managed by Billy Martin was playing. These were all incorrect messages we get daily on how to act and how not to resolve issues. Saying the wrong thing at the wrong volume with the wrong thrust of emotion is indeed an unhealthy way to live. This is the lesson I learned later in life.

Yet, we all cannot avoid reaching our boiling points. Sometimes, we may not be aware that we are running into the emotional red line. When we do explode, there is no fourth referee reviewing your tantrum on a video monitor upstairs. There will also not be a referee coming up to you flashing a red card and sending you off.

(Or, Zambrano being indefinitely “sent off” by Jim Hendry…back to the post…)

To speculate what touched off Zidane’s reaction to Materazzi’s insult is perhaps a reflection on how we manage in our own lives. It is not a sage lesson, per se, but perhaps a mirror of how we deal with our lives when pressed into a high emotional moment. Before we pass judgment on others when they explode in a public situation, take a look at ourselves and recall how we dealt with the same situation. Never mind the affects on others, but consider your own emotional health before you even breach the breaking point in your life.

There, Carlos, this is what happens to superstars making more money than you’d ever thought of making a larger jerk of himself to millions more viewers than the game you went of on Derek Lee! Hendry is right – suspensions are never doled out by Jimmie Lee Solomon’s office for that kind of length unless it had larger repercussions on the game.

Remember, Zidane never came back to the sport.

Have a great meal with Ozzie, Carlos.

Written by Randy Stern Posted in Dailies Tagged with anger management, Carlos Zambrano, Chicago Cubs, controversy, other sports, Ozzie Guillen