John McEnroe was known as a hothead in tennis, arguing with the chair umpire frequently. A viral video shows the seven-time Grand Slam singles champion getting into a passionate exchange with rap star Travis Scott over the collaboration between McEnroe’s Mac Attack and Scott’s Cactus Jack sneakers.
At the core of the disagreement is whether the new collaborative shoe should be called the Cactus Mac or remain the Cactus Jack. For Scott, it is reminiscent of a burger menu item at the Golden Arches, and that is a fair point.
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According to Complex, the Nike Mac Attack was originally produced for McEnroe in 1984 and returned in June as a retro release rebranded as The Attack for the first time. Scott was seen wearing sneakers in March 2021, and then last May, he performed with a pair of sneakers replete with his signature reverse swoosh design that adorns his Cactus Jack sneakers.
In the video, an irritated McEnroe stressed that he wanted to modify the name of the collaborative sneaker to Cactus Mac, and there must have been some pushback from Scott that he was reacting to.
“Godd-mn it Travis, Jenny’s right, OK, let’s have a bit of a compromise here” McEnroe shouted. “Her suggestion is to do a Cactus Mac thing for this one shoe instead of a Cactus Jack; OK, isn’t that what she said?”
However, Travis felt that the wordplay was new and, in his words, “feels off.”
“Somebody’s out here has got to correct me if i’m wrong. This is my first time hearing this; Cactus Mac was never a thing.”
McEnroe interjected in defense of his shoe, “Come on, man, show a little respect! This is my shoe!”
However, Scott was unmoved.
“I’m not really like feeling it. Something about it just feels off. It sounds like a burger or something. I’m not trying to take nothing away from you, I’m not trying to disrespect, I’m not trying to do nothing like that. Trust me, I know more knowledge about the shoe than anybody, but right now the young is probably what’s pushing the needle on what’s going on right now. You’ve just got to trust me on this, bro.”
Tantrum McEnroe
Then the conversation goes off the rails as John attempts to show Travis some “old photos” to prove his point and unloads on Travis with more “godd-mn” language and, in a rage, storms off the Zoom.
The beef was still simmering the following morning as McEnroe was approached in the street and said, “I was wearing these things in the ’80s…before [Travis] was born,” McEncore said to fashion documentarian @thepeoplegallery_. In addition, McEnroe wore the Travis Scott x Attack collab with the heel of the shoe’s branding, with a crossed-out “Jack” and replaced it with “Mac.” McEnroe was also seen wearing a T-shirt with the same reworked logo.
The beef sizzled when Travis Scott was seen in a video spraying graffiti on a plaque dedicated to McEnroe. He spray-painted his signature Cactus Jack face in orange on the plate.
Whether this is a clever marketing plan to drum interest in the collab using McEnroe’s infamous childish tantrum style to spark controversy, still, whatever is happening, the sneaker gods are at war within the culture.
