One of the most likable things about Paddy Barnes is his ability to poke fun at himself, as well as others. A tweet today from Paddy (or rather, a re-tweet) drew our attention to something that Julianne Ryan, the Irish boxers' physiotherapist, has termed the 'Paddy Barnes selfie curse'.
The @paddyb_ireland selfie curse strikes again!!! 😭 https://t.co/Cqt4a18uMz
— Julianne Ryan (@julianne_ryan) August 20, 2016
And so, we decided to take a (good-natured) look at whether or not this was true. The criteria are simply that Paddy is involved in a selfie (taken either by himself or his co-conspirator, Mick Conlan) and that the selfie involves a high-profile sportsperson. Is there such a thing as a 'Paddy Barnes selfie curse'?
Serena Williams
The great @serenawilliams pic.twitter.com/F0lnN80y3d
— Paddy Barnes OLY (@paddyb_ireland) August 6, 2016
Paddy tweeted this pic of himself with Serena Williams a few days before she crashed out in the third round of her tennis competition to Elina Svitolina from Ukraine, losing 2-0.
Caroline Wozniacki
Hey @CaroWozniacki I think we make a great couple, what ya think @McIlroyRory pic.twitter.com/Fk2nbMjlRh
— Paddy Barnes OLY (@paddyb_ireland) August 6, 2016
Paddy engaged in a highly entertaining piece of slagging of golfer Rory McIlroy (one-time fiancé of Wozniacki) with this tweet, and perhaps it was in the Dane's mind as she crashed out in the second round of the women's singles tennis, 2-0 to Petra Kvitova.
Rickie Fowler
Go ahead @RickieFowler pic.twitter.com/EXkzkOXfN7
— Paddy Barnes OLY (@paddyb_ireland) August 6, 2016
After Paddy's snap with one of McIlroy's big chums, Rickie Fowler, Fowler went out determined to justify his decision to fly out to Rio. He finished sixteen shots off the lead, in 37th.
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga
@tsonga7 you loving it mate? #RioOlympics pic.twitter.com/KaCtRLw2Vg
— Paddy Barnes OLY (@paddyb_ireland) August 2, 2016
Yes, another tennis player. The big Frenchman tumbled out of Rio in round 2, with a 2-0 defeat to the relatively obscure Gilles Muller.
Rafael Nadal
@RafaelNadal same time tomorrow again mate? #breakfastbuddies pic.twitter.com/WYOWuBD4zw
— Paddy Barnes OLY (@paddyb_ireland) August 3, 2016
OK, so Rafa is maybe a slight exception in that he won gold in the men's doubles in Rio. But he did get knocked out of the singles in the semi-final, and we can't think of any decent reason for him losing to Kei Nishikori of Japan other than being under some mysterious, Belfastian curse.
Tom Daley
Met @TomDaley1994 nice oul fella! 👍 good luck this weekend! #Rio2016 pic.twitter.com/rsTsbQ3CHa
— Paddy Barnes OLY (@paddyb_ireland) August 18, 2016
Tom Daley may have won a bronze medal in the 10 metres synchronised platform diving, but the poster boy of London 2012 had gold in mind as he entered the individual 10 metres event. Unfortunately for Daley, he crashed out in tears in the semi-finals.
Mark Cavendish
Bumped into your man who rides a bike last night #olympicvillage pic.twitter.com/Z5g2EW6yjg
— Paddy Barnes OLY (@paddyb_ireland) August 5, 2016
Google 'Mark Cavendish, Rio Olympics' and you will see that he won a gold and a silver. Very well. But Cavendish was reduced to a grumpy unused substitute role in the men's team pursuit-where GB won gold-and caused a crash in the Omnium, where he came second. For anyone who follows Cavendish, that Olympics amounts to nothing short of a disaster. The Curse of Paddy strikes again.
Paddy Barnes
Only joking, Paddy.
Instead, here is perhaps the funniest (and most accurate) tweet from Barnes over the course of the Games-a powerfully accurate piece of social commentary that most of us-especially those of us who live in Dublin-can keenly appreciate.
When your late for work but don't wanna run..... #olympicvillage pic.twitter.com/7yAmXSy5wC
— Paddy Barnes OLY (@paddyb_ireland) August 4, 2016
Verdict: it might be real
