For about four years I have been an avid fan of the Prime TV program, “The Crowd Goes Wild”. The program airs at 7.00pm each week night for half an hour. I enjoyed it because of its light-hearted look at sport in New Zealand and around the world. The presenters, Andrew Mulligan, Wairangi Koopu, Josh Kronfeld, Chris Key, Storm Purvis, Anna Willcox-Silfverberg, James Copland and James McOnie were genuinely funny.  For someone like me who has spent forty years working in sport, “The Crowd Goes Wild” was a breath of fresh air. It made light of the activity I had to take seriously most of the time.

But gradually, in the past six months, the shine of the program has begun to fade. For the past few weeks my cynicism has got so bad I now prefer to sit at my computer and write a Swimwatch story than watch the program’s tired half an hour. But tonight I thought I’d make another effort. At 7.00pm I sat down and endured another thirty minutes of “The Crowd Goes Wild” abuse.

Fault, it seems to me, is down to one man, James McOnie. In my opinion his fanatical and repetitive devotion to anything from Waikato has long since ceased being funny. Now he is simply and stunningly tedious and boring. At first his slightly crude jokes were funny. Now they have turned him into a dirty old man. His appearance on the show makes me feel slightly ill.

But their show tonight offered the final insult. It caused me to turn off the Prime 7.00pm button permanently. The one thing a professional career in sport requires is the character to accept defeat. In the words of Kipling

For years, as part of coaching champion swimmers I have drilled the importance of winning and losing well. I have coached national representatives from six different countries. None of them liked losing. That does not mean they were not gracious in accepting a bad result.

I had this thought in mind when I watched “The Crowd Goes Wild” today. You see Super Rugby began their 2019 season this weekend. The competition’s first result saw the team supported by “The Crowd Goes Wild” presenter James McOnie, the Chiefs, beaten by the South Island Highlanders. I was interested to see how McOnie would react to his precious Chiefs being beaten. I was sure he would be a poor loser. But how would his bad behaviour express itself? What would he do that would be an embarrassment to sport’s men and women everywhere. But what transpired was worse than anything I could possibly have imagined.

Minute by minute went by. McOnie discussed skiing, American basketball, rugby league and para swimming. But the first weekend of the nation’s national sport – not a mention, silence, nothing. Finally as the credits began to roll and the end of show music began to play McOnie mumbled something that few could hear about Super Rugby and that was it.

I have no doubt McOnie thought his childish silent treatment tantrum was hilariously funny. All those viewers poised to see him squirm had been denied. He’d given New Zealand rugby fans a two finger salute. Worse than that McOnie and his selfish ego had used a free to air television program to deny fourteen players from Otago their moment of recognition. Even worse than that by implication and association he has involved the Chiefs team in his display of bad sportsmanship. Teams get known by the company they keep. McOnie’s bad behaviour, by association, has become the Chiefs’ bad behaviour. The Chiefs must be appalled by this bad mannered supporter.

And because McOnie in a fit of spite decided the Highlander’s win would be ignored the performance of three other New Zealand teams was also ignored. A hard earned win by the Hurricanes in Australia was snubbed. The victory of the champion Crusaders over a rejuvenated Auckland side was disregarded and insulted.

McOnie might well think this is hilariously funny. In reality everything that is bad and rotten in sport was on display in McOnie’s “The Crowd Goes Wild” tonight. Sadly there is not much I can do about his repulsive behaviour apart from refuse to watch the program until McOnie has gone. Certainly that is what will happen. I can also urge New Zealand sports fans and “The Crowd Goes Wild” advertisers to withdraw their support. McOnie and his disgusting behaviour have forfeited the right to our support. New Zealand sport will be a better place when he has gone.