Is Too Much Yelling Bad for Pickleball?
We’re not going into a full takeaways post because it was a busy weekend for us and we haven’t been able to watch much of MLP Dallas yet. One thing we are happy to keep sounding like a broken record about before getting into the meat of the article is about MLP Dallas being another data point for MLP’s long-term ceiling being much higher than the PPA’s as a product.
It’s hard to believe that just two weeks after Beer City, we would have another event that, at a minimum, matched that level of excitement and energy, and most likely exceeded it significantly. Team based pickleball, man.
Okay, onto the main event!
It is one of the more controversial things posted on pickleball Twitter that we have seen. On Sunday, The Kitchen’s Twitter account, run primarily by founder and Nashville Chefs GM Jared Paul, posted the following about Kate Fahey:
These comments were made during the Shock match against the New Jersey 5’s. It sparked a big debate on both sides of the coin, as it is something that is often one of those hotter topics when you find your way scrolling through an old-school Pickleball Forum post on Facebook.
Yelling and screaming in pickleball is a touchy subject. There are many old people and old-school minded who don’t like it. Sportsmanship. Respect for the game. All that jazz. There are also many new-school thinkers who believe it is great for the sport. It’s one of those weird topics that is about as subjective as it gets.
It wouldn’t take long for someone to dig around on the interwebs and find our personal, joint pickleball Instagram account (here it is to save you some time). In there, you will find a variety of posts, some of which include the two of us acting like insane people on a pickleball court. We feel that insane behavior positions us somewhat uniquely when weighing in on the debate.
People who get loud and rowdy on the court have to understand that not everyone is going to like how you behave. Even if it is not directed at the opponent or in their face, there are some people who simply don’t like seeing their opponent, or someone they are cheering against, get genuinely excited and loud. It is endearing to some and obnoxious to others. If that’s how you are going to be on the court, you have to accept that not everyone is going to react fondly to your level of energy and enthusiasm.
Everyone is different. We are a planet of billions of people who all act in different ways.
And Kate Fahey is different than most pickleball players. While we have stoic and energetic players, Fahey brings a different level of energy. She screams after winning rallies about as much as anyone on tour. She screams after winning let cords. She screams into the souls of her opponent’s bench. She screams when she is down big in matches. She smashes her own head with her own pickleball paddle. It feels unhinged at times, but it is authentically Kate Fahey.
This shouldn’t be pitted as a gender issue because it isn’t, at least in our view. Julian Arnold has gotten a ton of flack over the years from the same type of social media crowds that dislike his “Andiamo’s” and general wild man behavior on the court. Christian Alshon has had crowds on the PPA Tour very clearly cheering against him in matches.
Conversely, teammate of Kate Fahey, Anna Bright, is one of the more energetic women on tour, and that intensity she brings has been well received since she broke onto the scene back in early 2022.
Our general take is that we shouldn’t be policing how people behave on the court. If fans and opponents don’t like the way someone behaves, that is 100% within their right to feel that way. However, it is also 100% within the right of the player to act how they want. Obviously, there is some limit to that, but as long as there is nothing truly malicious or inappropriate going on, it remains unclear to us why people want to dictate how a person acts.
After the ALW-Hayden Patriquin drama, we wrote about how freaking annoying the New Jersey 5’s are as a team but, at the same time, how great they are for pro pickleball. We saw that on display this past weekend in Dallas with a neutral crowd refusing to partake in the 5’s chant and almost exclusively rooting for the LA Mad Drops over the New Jersey 5’s.
The reason why the 5’s are great for pickleball is that it creates passion on both sides of the coin. Passion for people who want to root for and against the 5’s, even though it appears that most people are in the “against” camp. The 5’s have embraced their team personality and could not care less whether you are with them or against them.
This is what professional sports is all about: organically creating entertainment, personalities, and storylines. To try to denounce and regulate actions that you may deem incorrect is the very antithesis of what is good for growing this as a professional sport. The point is not to ensure everyone is the perfect model citizen that makes everyone happy.
There was further back and forth on Twitter after Kate Fahey responded to The Kitchen’s post:
The problem we see with The Kitchen’s post is that you shouldn’t get to choose what type of emotion is acceptable versus unacceptable. If you are happy with a player getting excited like Jorja Johnson, you have to accept that other people get excited in different ways. Although Jorja’s unbridled enthusiasm may be more lovable to the general public, you can’t ask everyone to act like her because not everyone is the same as her.
It may seem silly to stare down an opponent down 9-3 in a game, but if that’s what gets you going and motivated, it’s simply a different way of showing emotion, energy, and passion. Isn’t it equally as silly that Blaine Hovener yells “right now” 48 times over the course of a game to 11?
It reminds us of that clip from The Office that has made the rounds on social media about leading them but only when they are in the mood to be led. Show as much emotion and passion as you want, but show it in the way I want you to show emotion and passion.
As a sport that is still in its infancy, pickleball is uniquely positioned to build a product that is unlike anything around in pro sports. A sport where the players are so up close and personal to their opponents that screaming and trash talking is part of the game. Whether the actions are authentically that person or they are using it as a gamesmanship tactic, why shouldn’t we have a product that is no-holds-barred for these sorts of things?
These people are playing a professional sport for money, and we are in a position to facilitate an environment that enables the individuality of all the players to shine. It’s up to the fans to choose their favorites and least favorites.
We would be lying if we said that Fahey’s actions have never rubbed us the wrong way. And we could say the same about Christian Alshon, Julian Arnold, Matt Wright, Anna Leigh Waters, etc. That doesn’t mean they should stop acting the way they do on the court.
The fact is we don’t really choose what bothers us and what is endearing to us. You either like something or someone, or you don’t. That doesn’t mean we should police, denounce, or attempt to stop the behavior of someone we deem to be wrong. It should be the opposite. We should be embracing the uniqueness of each person and letting the market dictate who they want to support.
If you don’t like it, cheer against them or don’t watch.
Agree or disagree? Let us know in the comments or email us at nmlpickleball@gmail.com! You can also follow us on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook @nmlpickleball
Agree…I turn to another channel when Kate Fahey and Rachael Rohrbacher are playing. I don’t mind the yelling as much as I mind the standing at the net yelling at their opponents. I think it is bad for the sport, but just my opinion.
It is interesting how many people feel that way. Is it like grunting and it turns you off? We still feel like overall it is good to see personalities, even if it is grating for some, but we are biased as people who show lots of emotion while playing
hahaha… I loved to watch them at first, but now I no longer watch anymore. I see immature kids on the court instead of calling them pro.
Is that only MLP or PPA as well?
I don’t mind it if it’s kept in your team but screaming, almost blowing a blood vessel in your oppenents face falls in the bully rage. I personally get up and do laundry, dishes something when Fahey plays…..I do turn the mute on too.
Fahey over does the screeching.
As we see more comments, it sounds like it is a bit like grunting or screeching after every hit. It’s fine sometimes but annoying if it is happening all the time. It’s interesting how many people say they actively don’t watch someone like Fahey
Sideline ( Owners, Coaches & players) can not continue to be part of and affect the game. To ask another player to tune out opponents, who are cheering their unforced errors is, as the article describes, something that players will need to learn to tune out. Its something crowds will likely, eventually cheer against. Backs can be turned on opponents between points. Opponents are focused on each other’s play. But having owners and the rest of the sideline doing the most to get under the skin of the opponents is, while entertaining, making them a part of the match where they don’t belong. There is no part of the score that is intended to be affected by the sideline. Players have enough to deal with on court. Some owners want so much to be part of the match that they wear their team’s uniform, complete with name on the back. Fashion embarrassment aside, referees have wrangled in sidelines with regard to time outs, etc. and hopefully this will be extended to owners harassing on court players.
Interesting take. Who is to say that isn’t part of the game though? We have other team sports where benches are constantly talking to players. Basketball is a primary example. But most sports are not so stop and start, which is what makes team pickleball unique
To be clear, we are not on board with what the Phoenix coach was doing with the Dallas Trash shirt
I just don’t watch Kate’s matches, and that’s fine! I love the Shock, but I just watch Gabe/Hayden and Anna/Hayden b/c the screaming isn’t fun for me to watch lol
It may be that more people have this take than we realized…
yep, I agree with you. Don’t watch or turn the sound down if the yelling bothers you. I don’t like the Fahey yelling especially when the ball runs off the net cord and into her opponents court. Really? Jorja is beginning to be annoying too. I prefer the JW approach on the court. Let your game speak for itself.
You’re always going to have players or teams you don’t like. That is the nature of sports
Nice to finally see a take that’s not whining about player passion or trying to silence the players. I remember the same incessant whining about tennis players when they started letting out screams, grunts, “come ons” and emotion/passion. I love seeing that the players are fired up and care about the game. I’ll never turn off a match because the players are too emotional or care too much. I will take that over stoicism or emotionless play every time.
Agreed