The Iaconelli Kerfuffle

I find it interesting that anything Mike Iaconelli does tends to be such a flashpoint to fans of professional bass fishing. Last weekend at the Lake Guntersville Bassmaster Elite Series event, there was lots of talk about Iaconelli "going Ike" at some point in the tournament. The rumors were abundant.....Ike went off on his truck, broke the window out, threw a fit, embarrassed himself, embarrassed the sport, embarrassed the pros, embarrassed the sponsors.

The funny thing about it was that I never talked to a single person who saw it happen. There were several versions of the story, whispered in the weigh in lines, but oddly.....no one with whom I spoke actually saw the dirty deed.

As the week progressed, the rumors spread. A couple of internet sites discussed it. Everyone had an opinion it seemed. But still, no one could actually say they saw it happen.

I haven't asked Mike about it. I probably won't. We all know that Ike has a temper. (Who doesn't?) In my experience, he just wears his emotions on his sleeve. You usually know what's going on with Ike....there are rarely any secrets as to his mood.

But he takes a lot of unfair criticism, in my opinion. I've seen him get mad. Really mad. I've also seen him light up a room with positive energy. The thing about Ike is that he is completely and utterly comfortable on camera, in a crowd....anywhere. I don't think I've seen him uncomfortable in years. So he is okay with letting anyone anywhere know what's on his mind. Very little censorship. I grudgingly admire that.

When the cameras are rolling, he's on. He's waited for the big time his whole life. He revels in it. But he also feels bad when he makes a mistake. This I know for sure, because I HAVE talked to him about that fact.

But what's really interesting to me is how fans of professional fishing react in such an emotional way to Iaconelli. Compelling to sit back and watch. In fact, I think last weekend there were a few people who actually gleefully repeated the rumors they heard. This was juicy stuff. Was Ike in trouble again? What would happen next? I mean an Iaconelli meltdown has some intrinsic entertainment value for some. (Unless its 5:30am and he's staying next to you when the meltdown occurs.....that's just annoying... and another story entirely)

I have to admit that I even repeated the rumor. (gasp!)

But the stand up guy I repeated it to very pointedly looked me in the eye and asked if I had spoken to anyone who saw it happen. That stopped me in my tracks.

Hmmmmm.

It's easy to believe that kind of rumor about Ike. I regret passing it along. I regret that I accepted it as probable. I hate that I just assumed it was true.

I still don't know what actually happened. Maybe he did go off. Maybe it was just a burst of frustration that turned bad when the CO2 canister on his PFD hit the back window of his truck as he tossed it (fervently) into the cab. But I know a good friend (who I trust) DID speak to Iaconelli about it and it really sounds like something that was blown out of proportion.

I've been covering professional fishing for about 12 or 13 years. I remember early on some little controversy sparking up that worried me to death because people were speaking of some angler in not-completely-positive terms. Another friend who is a huge sports fan and consumer of sports culture shushed me but saying......"You'll know that bass fishing has arrived as a professional sport when people start loving and hating elements of the sport....publicly."

Every other professional sport has it's haters and it's lovers. But the fans are passionate one way or another and eager to express their opinions.

Well, bass fishing has definitely arrived. There are some serious, hard-boiled, passionate fans out there. They love and they hate in equal measure. They even love one day and hate the next. And they're not afraid to let anyone know of their love or hate.

Gotta love the passion.