The 40 Greatest Rants, Tirades and Meltdowns in Sports History

There might be nothing more entertaining in sports than seeing a player or coach worked up over a situation or in a press conference. Sometimes they get so worked up they absolutely blow up on camera. 

From managers kicking dirt at umpires to NFL head coaches cursing and yelling at a press conference, these sports tirades became viral hits on YouTube and live with us for years. 

So without further ado, here are the 40 greatest tirades, meltdowns and rants in sports history. 

40. Colin Cowherd: "Go Shoot Yourself"

Colin Cowherd is not a fan of diehard sport fans who sit in front of their televisions, are unemployed and feel that their world should revolve around their team. 

He doesn't like emotional sports fans who try to justify mediocrity. 

Here, a Royals fan from Kansas City irritates Cowherd. He wants him to talk more about the dreadful Royals, but Cowherd sits him in his place. 

39. Ryan Leaf

Ryan Leaf was probably one of the biggest busts in NFL draft history.

Here, he expresses his frustration with a reporter in the locker room. 

38. Coach Mangino

Coach Mangino didn't want to take responsibility for a loss, so he blamed it on the officials because they wanted a bigger school to play in the BCS game. 

37. Lou Piniella

Classic Lou.

He kicks dirt, throws his hat, gives the umpire his two cents, then gets thrown out of the game. 

36. Bobby Knight's Chair Throw

Classic Bobby.

The act of throwing chairs is now synonymous with the legendary college basketball coach. Here is just one of many chair throws by the fiery head coach. 

35. John L. Smith

Michigan State Spartans head coach John L. Smith is angry after a loss, and he takes full responsibility in this angry outtake. 

People still don't understand why reporters interview the losing head coach. They're going to get yelled at, but they sure are brave men and women.

Without them, we wouldn't have these great bites. 

34. Didier Drogba: "It's a Bleeping Disgrace!"

International soccer superstar Didier Drogba lost his cool after a bad call from the official. He can't convince the official to change the call, so he decides to let the whole world know what's on his mind.

33. Jim Schoenfeld

A few decades ago, New Jersey Devils head coach Jim Schoenfeld was upset with referee Don Koharski after a game, and he let his feelings be known. 

32. John Tortorella vs. Brooksie (Round III)

This is just one of many confrontations between New York Rangers head coach John Tortorella and New York-based reporter Scott Brooks.

Here, during the 2011 Stanley Cup Playoffs, Brooks asks Tortorella an unclear and seemingly pointless question. Tortorella's patience runs thin, so he accuses Brooks of playing "logistics" with him. 

31. Shaquille O'Neal

It's OK.

We don't blame you if the only word you understand in this rant by Shaq is the "F"-word.

What's funnier is that he doesn't care that he's on live television either.

That's Shaq Diesel for you!

30. Mike Singletary: "Can't Do It"

Mike Singletary expresses his discontent with Vernon Davis not trying hard on the field. From this rant, three words stand out the most: "Can't do it!"

29. Derek Anderson Cares

After cameras caught him laughing on the sidelines with a teammate on Monday Night Football, a reporter asked him why he was laughing when his team was losing by such a large margin.

The reporter pushed it a little too far by asking the same question repeatedly. It's easy to see why Derek Anderson got so upset. 

28. Allen Iverson Doesn't Want to Come off the Bench

The great Allen Iverson states numerous reasons why he shouldn't be coming off the bench. 

27. Herm Edwards: "Put Your Name on It!"

Herm Edwards preaches responsibility in this bit.

You can guarantee he'll be on this list one more time.

26. McEnroe Goes Crazy After Double Fault

One of the most fiery athletes ever, John McEnroe expresses his frustration toward a tennis official after a double fault was reversed to an ace.

This cost McEnroe the point and set him ablaze, as seen in the footage. 

25. Izzy Alcantara Kicks Catcher

We've seen many baseball brawls before, but none like this. 

Before charging the mound, Izzy Alcantara kicks the catcher, then charges the mound to start a huge bench-clearing brawl. 

24. Deion Sanders Goes After Tim McCarver

Deion Sanders was one of few athletes to play in the NFL and MLB professionally. At one point in his career, he played for both the Atlanta Braves and the Atlanta Falcons. 

It was football season, and this meant that it was also the postseason in the major leagues. The Falcons had a regular-season game scheduled on the same day as the Braves' playoff game. Sanders opted to play in the football game and received criticism from broadcaster Tim McCarver.

As a response, Sanders tossed cold ice water all over McCarver. 

23. Jose Offerman Gets Arrested on the Field

We saw Izzy Alcantara kick the catcher and charge the mound, but what Jose Offerman did in the minors is even more shocking.

He charged the mound with the bat and used it as a weapon. He was later arrested after the brawl. 

22. Ozzie Being Ozzie

Ozzie Guillen has always been one of the most outspoken managers in the game.

Here, he is in another profanity-laced interview. 

21. Dave Trembley

Dave Trembley is very unhappy with a call, and he's letting his feelings known. It's not often the microphones are up in the dugout during one of these, which is what makes this bit pretty cool. 

It's also fantastic that Trembley heavily resembles William Shatner. 

20. Crazy Minor League Manager

Let the video speak for itself. 

19. John Tortorella vs. Brooksie (Round I)

This is the first major bout between Tortorella and Brooks. Seeing that Tortorella was in a bad mood and not answering questions, he pushes Tortorella's buttons, causing him to explode and drop an "F"-bomb. 

18. John Tortorella vs. Brooksie (Round II)

This is their next altercation when Tortorella was the head coach of the New York Rangers. As you can see, Tortorella doesn't even want to talk to Brooksie anymore. 

17. Dan Hawkins: "It's Division I Football!"

Dan Hawkins received an anonymous letter from a parent complaining that his players get too little time off.

He responds by saying that it's Division I football, and they already do get a month off. 

16. Mike Ditka Is in a Bad Mood

Generally, coaching tirades occur after a tough loss, but what's so interesting about this one is that it happened after practice. 

15. Jim Mora: "Diddley Poo"

This isn't Jim Mora's most famous rant, but it's still highly entertaining.

This one happened after a tough loss when he was coaching the Saints. The way he speaks, it's pretty apparent that nothing went right for New Orleans that day. 

14. McEnroe: "Answer My Question!"

This is a lesson for all of us.

Whenever John McEnroe asks a question, you better answer it as soon as possible. 

13. Jim Calhoun Silences an Unprofessional Reporter

A ridiculous question asked by a reporter makes Calhoun erupt.

The question was so unbelievably unnecessary that a viewer of the footage can hear members of the media groaning at the reporter. Calhoun had every right to say what he said and was very professional about it, too. 

12. McEnroe: "You Cannot Be Serious"

McEnroe again.

This time he questions the official's seriousness. He has the whole crowd on his side in this one, as they cheer when he voices his opinion. 

11. Mike Gundy Defends a Player and Gets Applause

The best part of this is when Mike Gundy defiantly states, "I'm a man! I'm 40!"

This was a major story when it happened because it brought up the issue of accurate reporting. No one will ever know if the reporter who bashed Gundy's quarterback calling him "scared" and saying he threatened to transfer was accurate.

But it's certainly nice to see Gundy step up for his quarterback. 

10. Chris Berman Behind the Scenes

Poor Chris Berman didn't know he was on camera here. 

9. Herm Edwards Plays to Win the Game

This is what people remember Herm Edwards for—and they sure are wise words. 

8. Playoffs?

Jim Mora's "Playoffs?!" rant has been so outplayed that it's even been in a few beer commercials.

Who knew a person could make one word so epic? 

7. Practice?

Allen, you sure we're not talking about the game? 

6. Mike Tyson Rambling

One thing's for sure: Mr. Tyson is not the most humble person. 

5. Dennis Green: "The Bears Are Who We Thought They Were!"

On the MNF stage, the Arizona Cardinals blew a huge lead to the Chicago Bears. The way they blew the lead was even more absurd; they allowed kick return touchdowns and had a field goal at the end of the game blocked. 

This made Green turn blue, and he absolutely exploded during the press conference. 

4. "Chris" Everett Goes After Jim Rome

After Jim Rome called the former football player "Chris" Everett in reference to the female tennis player, Jim Everett gave Rome two warnings.

Rome didn't listen to the warnings and got punished. 

3. Hal McRae Loses It

Hal McRae is not a fan of stupid questions.

In fact, he's so passionate about the topic he is willing to break everything in his room to get his point across. 

2. Lee Elia Likes the "F"-Word a Lot

Lee Elia was the manager of the Chicago Cubs in 1983. The Cubs at the time were 5-14, and were being booed and heckled by their fans.

He didn't like the fact that his home crowd was trashing their team, so he went off on a profanity-laced rant berating Cub fans. 

1. Jaw-Dropping Press Conference for the Ages

Former chess grandmaster Bobby Fischer lived a strange life. Despite being a Jewish-American, he constantly made anti-Semitic remarks. He was a disturbed genius, and because of this, he would say controversial things, but nobody seemed to take him seriously anymore because it was pretty obvious he was not mentally healthy.

Jeremy Schaap's father, the late Dick Schaap, was Fischer's mentor when he was a child. Jeremy took great interest in Fischer because of his father's connection with him and decided to catch up with him during his press conference in Reykjavic. 

Let the footage do the rest. An absolutely jaw-dropping video.