It was the end of the 1995/96 season and Kevin Keegan's Newcastle United had just defeated Leeds United 1-0. It was a much needed win as Newcastle had surrendered a 12 point lead at the top of the table to Manchester United. What happened next was one of the most iconic moments in Premiership history.
In the after match interview Keegan passionately criticised Alex Ferguson over comments in the previous weeks claiming that teams tried their hardest to defeat his outfit but wilted against Newcastle. Keegan was not impressed and to no good of his own, reacted. He declared that he would "love it" if he beat Man United to the title. Alas Newcastle drew their two remaining matches and were four points behind Man United as the season concluded. Ferguson's mind games had secured the war.
Interestingly in the 2008/2009 season Rafa Benitez made similar remarks criticising Ferguson and Man United regarding their light treatment by referees. Benitez didn't quite receive the same level of flak as Keegan did. Indeed Liverpool hunted United down relentlessly for the second half of the season winning ten of their remaining eleven matches. However they only won two out of the seven matches that followed Benitez's outburst. The immediate three matches after the speech were draws. Much like Newcastle before them Liverpool finished the season four points behind United.
It is not just soccer where mind games are prominent though. Rugby is a rather interesting sport when it comes to psychological battle. It's probably easier to channel a team or player's response such is the sheer aggressive nature of the sport. There are numerous cases in which Irish rugby teams have had to respond to verbal grenades and more often than not they have replied well.
This is emphasised in particular by a few matches. Firstly in 2004 South Africa rolled into Dublin coming off the back of a successful Tri Nations with Jake White in charge. His first faux pas in the job however was to declare that Brian O'Driscoll would be the only Irish player who would make the South African team. He also added that one of Paul O'Connell or Malcolm O'Kelly would make the squad.
Fortunately Ireland were able to digest his comments in a positive manner. I was lucky enough to attend this match and the atmosphere prior to and during the game was sensational. Ireland went toe-to-toe with a good South Africa team that day and claimed a 17-12 victory. At the time it was one of the great Irish rugby victories.
Another notable incident included Munster in 2009. Yoann Vivalda may not be the most heralded rugby player in the world. He was though apart of the Perpignan team that were narrowly beaten by Munster 24-23 at Thomond Park. Vivalda was not impressed however and claimed that playing Munster was akin to playing the Perpignan academy team. Munster travelled to Perpignan a week later and crushed Perpignan 37-14.
However the most notable event where Ireland overcame some trash talk occurred in 2009. Before their Grand Slam match with Wales, Warren Gatland upped the ante. He suggested that the Welsh players disliked the Irish team more than any other in the Championship. He also expressed the notion that Ireland were celebrating and singing as if they won the tournament after overcoming Scotland in their penultimate match.
Though it was a nervy affair Ireland triumphed in a titanic tussle 17-15. Led by Brian O'Driscoll and Paul O'Connell they secured one of the most famous victories in Irish sport on a day when the most intense of pressures could have choked them.
In addition to this GAA also has had its share of drama with regard to mind games over the years. Undoubtedly one of the most dramatic and sensational moments in modern GAA came in 2006 when Mayo played Dublin in that year's All Ireland semi-final.
The Mayo team entered the pitch to do their warm up in front of Hill 16, the end in which Dublin normally warm up. Dublin responded in the worst away imaginable. They marched up to the hill and made a half-hearted attempt at moving Mayo out of the way. It was utter chaos but unbelievable theatre.
Mayo raced into 0-4 to 0-0 lead after 15 minutes and though Dublin did eventually regain the lead it was Mayo who finished stronger and won a memorable game by a point.
Undoubtedly mind games have a huge part to play in sport nowadays. It is how a team or individual reacts which sets them apart. If they cant respond adequately disaster could ensue. If they do react well though...id say they'll "love" the outcome.
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