IKE having a hissy fit. - General Discussion Forum - General Discussion Forum

Keith Nighswonger

05/02/07 Broken Window-A professional angler, let’s just call him Barry, is in the middle of a stretch where nothing seems to be going right for him. His pride is damaged, feelings hurt and he is frustrated. As he is about to enter his car in the parking lot, a wave of frustration comes over him, and holding his Mustang, PFD, (personal floatation device, mom-his life jacket,) a rather soft, non-threatening object, he slams the PFD against the side of his Toyota Tundra. As he slams the PFD against the truck, his trajectory is a little high and the PFD contacts the side window of his truck. As luck would have it, a direct hit is scored between the CO2 canister in the PFD and the glass in the truck. The rest is history, and so is the window. Did Barry mean to blow out the window in his truck, which by the way, happens to be HIS SPONSOR’S TRUCK? Of course not, Barry just lost his cool. Now, this event happened to be witnessed by a few fans who were looking to get some autographs. Children were held back, and a few chuckles, along with comments along the lines of “see what happens when you throw a fit,” were over heard. Barry was generally left alone, as he obviously needed to calm down. When word spread to some of the other anglers, there were some smiles, some chuckles and an overwhelming feeling of “been there and done that,” as most of the anglers could recall a time when they had broken a favorite rod in anger or an expensive pair of sunglasses.

On the Bass Fishing Home Page that afternoon, a post was made to the effect that “I heard from a first hand witness that Barry Bigfish threw a “little hissy” in the parking lot and accidentally broke his window.” The post drew three responses to the effect that “some pros need to grow up.” The overwhelming chatter on the internet was the fact that Kevin VanDam and Larry Nixon each won their respective tour events. Post after post about what awesome anglers the two are were made as the BFHP was on fire. The next day, every independent web site and web column were alive with articles about the greatness of VanDam and Nixon.

However the angler that slammed his PFD into the window of his car was not named Barry Bigfish, it was Mike Iaconelli, and because it was Mike Iaconelli the story sucked everyone into the vortex of Iaconelli being “Iaconelli.” The first post on the Bass Fishing Home Page was something to the effect that “I heard Iaconelli melted down in the parking lot today, broke out two windows on his truck, then he slashed his own tires, and took a sledge hammer to the front fenders. Then, out came the chain saw and he proceeded to chain saw his boat into little shreds of fiberglass. Finally, he pulled out a can of liter fluid and torched the entire rig!”

Then it was on. The anxiety of being the first to upload a response to the melt down post was thick, as BFHpager after BFHpager weighed in on what the evil Iaconelli had done. And then came the apologists, the wise guys, the freaks, the loons and even a few who inhabit other dimensions. Even the voice of reason was drawn into this one. After the initial volleys were served up, then came the personal attacks. Peoples sexual orientation was drawn into question, as the comments continued to demonstrate an eroding intellect gone wild. Threats were made. “If I wasn’t two thousand miles away from you, I’d kick your bass right now.” What is that? Luckily, most BFHpagers hide behind “handles” and aliases, so that most of those who wrote the things they wrote, are for the most part unknown. Good thing because as an employer, a spouse, a business partner? I would seriously have to reevaluate my relationship with those people based on what they wrote on a public forum.

When a regular guy throws a hissy, we chuckle and understand as we have all been there. When Iaconelli does it, the world stops. Iaconelli has done it again. Even in miserable defeat he has managed to steal the show. We should be celebrating the victories of two great anglers, and instead, all we can talk about is Iaconelli. He is the master.

Misconduct-Hidden beneath the wreckage of this story are a couple of issues that may need to be dealt with.

The first question is- Did Iaconelli violate the “angler conduct rule” that BASS has used in the past to deal with, dangerous boat driving, foul language, and of course other Iaconelli-like things? If he is found to have violated this rule, what is the punishment? Is he disqualified from the entire event? Horton was DQ’d a day’s weight because a non boater held a tree while he bed fished. Iaconelli and Swindle each had a day’s weight disqualified for unsportsman like conduct in Bassmaster Classics. Those were infractions that occurred during fishing hours on competition days. Howell, VanDam, and Jones were DQ’d for the entire event for having someone drive their boats during pre fish at Santee Cooper. Where does Iaconelli’s latest “Iaconelli” fall within those established presidents?

Keeping in mind that if Iaconelli is disqualified from this event, it will likely cost him a Classic Qualification, as he has not started particularly strong this season.

Keeping in mind that- would Barry Bigfish be penalized the same as Mike Iaoconelli? Would Barry be penalized more or less?

The second question is-By now, many if not all pros know about this “incident.” BASS rules require fellow pros to report rule infractions. If a pro is found to have not reported an infraction, then that pro is breaking a rule. Do you see how messy this gets?

Certainly by now, Trip Weldon knows about the incident. What a mess indeed.

Quote:

Quote:

Watched a bass guy catch a over-grown, Sasquatch eating muskie while smallie fishing during prime fishing time.
What a waste of 20 minutes

What really makes that funny………Is at the end of the 20 minute battle, when you reach for the fish, it breaks your line and swims off with that $20 Luckycraft lure!

Yeaaahhh……….that’s hilarious….. How do they ALWAYS know when you are using the good stuff…??

As for Iaconelli. I expect him to be on the edge of nuclear. That’s his whole mentality. It’s not something he switches on and off during tourney hours.

You either like the guy and accept his antics or hate the guy and wish he’d picked up a set of golf clubs when he was younger.

Can you imagine that guy as a golfer….??? A real-life Happy Gilmore.