Wayne Rooney was knocked out cold in his home in Cheshire!? What a title. It went viral, as did the video as soon as it came out. Wayne and his former team mate Phil Bardsley put on boxing gloves and started playfully sparring. But before you could realize are they for real or not, one of Bardsley’s jabs landed on Rooney’s chin, and he fell straight on his back on his kitchen floor.
You can say anything you want, but he is unconscious. A few of those punches that both guys failed to land weren’t playful, and this one, although it didn’t seem powerful, probably hit the sweet spot and knocked Rooney out cold. Someone published the video, and it went viral (over 500,000 views). Some of the social media reactions were pretty funny.
All I want is a Rooney goal and this celebration. Is that too much to ask for? https://t.co/Uk0Zmi0n9W
— Scott (@R_o_M) March 15, 2015
The @WayneRooney video is quite amusing, but it does provide further evidence of what we already knew….he’s much better in attack. — Gary Lineker (@GaryLineker) March 15, 2015
has rooney woken up yet? — Professor Green (@professorgreen) March 15, 2015
From knocked to the floor to setting the roof on fire
Wayne Rooney did not respond to any of the comments made on social media. He waited to score his first goal after the incident, and he didn’t wait too long as he scored the day after the video was made public. In his celebration he mocked the ‘boxing’ video. It was pretty darn creative of him.
Maybe it was really his idea to do this, but I believe his social media manager advised him on how to best handle this situation. The comical boxing celebration sure earned him a few more fans, and it showed a good way to resolve a bad situation. After the game, he admitted there was some playful boxing between him and Bardsley, without a real knockout. We will never know what happened because the video was cutoff after Rooney fell on his back, but the way he handled the situation was remarkable.
Swedish Bosnian curses France
In another situation, Zlatan Ibrahimović, one of my favorite players, went a little ‘cuckoo’ after his PSG lost to Bordeaux in Ligue1 match last weekend. Ibrahimović thought the referee made some wrong calls that made them lose the game. The frustration was caught on video and many were shocked to see a worldwide celebrity lose control like this.
Once made public, video upset some of the leading French politicians. Some, such as the leader of Front National, asked Ibrahimović to “leave the country if he doesn’t like it“.
“Ceux qui considèrent que la France est un “pays de merde” peuvent la quitter.” #LeForum
— Marine Le Pen (@MLP_officiel) March 16, 2015
A kind word doesn’t always fix the problem, but it sure goes a long way
Ibrahimović cooled his head pretty quickly, and realized what he did. He was forced to apologize to the French, and the whole world for his behavior, and the best way to do so is on social media. He issued a statement on his official Faceboook page.
Even though his post collected over 200,000 Likes and over 9,000 comments, and even though he apologized to ‘everything French’, it is not all over as he awaits punishment for his behavior from LFP disciplinary commision.
If you’re a famous athlete, cursing a fan is never a good idea
Which is exactly what Carlton Cole, a West Ham United striker, did! A Tottenham fan mocked him after a 2-2 draw at White Hart Lane last month, and he responded in the heat of the moment.
@CarltonCole1 for your comment towards stuarthardy the Spurs Toby! Worth every £20k! #COYI pic.twitter.com/AKZQOVot3A
— Marc (@marcjonevans) March 3, 2015
Carlton soon deleted his tweet, but some of his 123,000 followers already saw the content, and it was too late. He was forced to apologize although he complained about the amount of abuse athletes endure on social media.
I think I’ll op to be a robot on here from now on. Showing any emotion On here gets me into trouble.
— Carlton Cole (@CarltonCole1) March 13, 2015
I am hoping this was a joke because this type of approach will not help him attract more fans to his profile; it might even drive away some of his current followers. As this was not his first Twitter mishap (£20,000 fine in 2011), he was lucky not to receive a bigger fine.
Know what you’re doing or hire professionals
Star athletes are always on someone’s radar. One wrong move, and you’re all over the internet. What you can do in those type of situations is to make fun of it, apologize and/or be honest. If you want to be a superstar in the digital world, just as dominant as you are on the field, hire professionals such as Overtime to handle online communication for you. We will knock out the competition for you!
PHOTO: Zennie Abraham
