So many of the things that Mario Balotelli will be remembered for are the product of terrible timing, whether receiving reckless red cards or breaking into prison.
Yet his decision to reveal a t-shirt bearing the slogan ‘Why Always Me?’ after scoring in a Manchester derby was perfectly timed, given Balotelli had attracted attention for setting his house on fire with some indoor fireworks the night before.
City triumphed 6-1 at Old Trafford to deliver United’s worst Premier League defeat, with Balotelli thankfully scoring the first two to ensure he didn’t have the t-shirt made for nothing.
Rafael Nadal’s habit of biting every trophy he has won is straightforward to execute, although the act of winning the trophy in the first place is significantly more difficult.
Nadal gains points for the sheer weirdness of the sight of a tennis great chomping down on a trophy; given his glittering career, Nadal clearly has a taste for it - especially at the French Open.
Running around in a manic manner while screaming ‘gol, gol, gol’ is something that most wannabe footballers will have done in a casual kickabout, but Marco Tardelli took things to the next level by turning up the passion to eleven. That he did it after scoring in the World Cup Final does his legacy no harm.
When Phil Brown chose to conduct a team talk on the pitch with his Hull side 4-0 down at half-time, the footballing world was stunned.
There was similar shock when Hull returned to Manchester City’s ground, with Jimmy Bullard’s goal prompting a well-organised recreation of that event. Points awarded for comedy and logistics, but points deducted for it essentially being a celebration of Hull being mediocre at football.
Rather than letting Gangnam Style fade away into obscurity, Chris Gayle decided to adopt it when celebrating West Indies’ remarkable victory at the World Twenty20 tournament.
While his conviction and natural flair pull the dance off, Gayle will primarily be remembered as one of cricket’s great entertainers because of his shot-making.
Usain Bolt’s iconic ‘lightning bolt’ pose is easily replicated; it’s so easily replicated, in fact, that Bolt admits he stole it from a Jamaican Tourist Board poster.
While the ‘lightning bolt’ narrative works nicely given his name, the celebration is known as ‘To Di World’ in Jamaica as homage to a dancehall movement. Still, when you’ve broken world records for both 100m and 200m, you can celebrate however you want.
