The 1992 National League Championship Series was iconic for a couple of reasons. Firstly, the Atlanta Braves were able to successfully defend the Championship against the Pittsburgh Pirates. However, the other iconic incident occurred off the field, involving two MLB legends: Deion Sanders and Tim McCaver. The highlight being McCarver getting an ice-cold bath in the middle of an interview.
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McCarver, who passed away in February this year, and Sanders, who won his first Super Bowl in 1995, three years after the ‘water-throwing’ incident transpired, had a history of run-ins. McCarver was always critical of Sanders playing in the MLB and the NFL. To him, leaving a playoff game in the MLB to play for the Falcons was an act of disloyalty towards his team. McCarver was rather open about his views too. While Sanders did not really care about McCarver’s opinions, his mother did.
Deion Sanders “handled” McCarver by pouring ice-cold water over him thrice
The 1992 National League Championship Series had an interesting story running in the background of the game. Much to the disappointment of McCarver, Sanders left in the middle of the series (he did not miss a game) to play for the Atlanta Falcons. While the management was okay with his choice, McCarver was not, and he made his thoughts perfectly clear.
“How can he leave in the playoffs and go play in a football game?” McCarver asked. “The way I look at that… That is just flat wrong”. Sanders’ mother did not like the way McCarver spoke about her son, and complained to him. At that moment, McCarver got promoted from a footnote to the headline in Sanders’ eyes, and he had to handle the situation, and maybe cool McCraver off a bit.
What better way to cool off a hot-headed man, than by giving him an ice bath? If one doesn’t work, try again. Still doesn’t work? The third time is the charm. Which is exactly what Sanders did to McCarver. Thrice he poured a bucket of ice water over McCarver. Things did not escalate though, and McCarver instead resorted to saying, “A real man, Deion. I’ll say that”.
Sanders explained his actions a few days later. He said, “How can you be a coward for throwing water on someone? The guy just didn’t want us to win and we did. He just got a little wetter than anybody else. … I never met the man, and I never spoke to him in my life. We were just having a good time. What else was I going to do? Go knock him out? Go swing on him? Then I’m going to jail. I ain’t gonna do that. I just wanted to bring him down a little bit – I just wanted to cool him off a little bit.”
Coach Prime has never been short of controversies in his life, even after retirement
It seems controversy and Deion Sanders walk hand in hand through time. There has rarely been a time when Sanders has not been found in the midst of a controversial act or statement. The recent one comes in the form of his decision to leave Jackson State University and coach for the University of Colorado at Boulder. A move that has upset many across the spectrum, earning him the title, “sellout.”
Sanders is vehemently defending his choice, though. For him, the move is all about creating a powerhouse in college football, something he thinks is not possible with the JSU Tigers. He may not be totally wrong, but there might be a small chance the $29.5 million contract might have influenced his opinions. Did Primetime do the right thing by switching teams? Or was he just after the money?
