Three and a half years old Adam McConnell, from Londonderry, who broke a 42" plasma television when he threw his wii handset at the screen after losing a tennis match he was playing
Mini-McEnroe Adam smashes £1,000 TV in tennis game tantrum
Friday, May 25, 2007
By Clare Weir
A Londonderry boy could end up being the city's answer to John McEnroe after
smashing up a £1,000 television set when he lost a computerised tennis game.
Little Adam McConnell, aged three-and-a-half, went to town on dad Brian's
expensive 42in plasma screen after losing a match to the Nintendo Wii games
console.
The competitive youngster is now banned from the machine.
Brian said that he nipped out to the kitchen to get his lad a drink at his
Waterside home at the weekend when he heard a commotion - and it was his
turn to exclaim: "You cannot be serious."
Said Brian: "We had been outside playing on the trampoline and we came
inside and I stuck the Wii on for Adam.
"I left him playing the tennis game and went to the kitchen to get him
a drink. Then I heard two big bangs.
"When I ran back in Adam was using the handset to smash the TV screen."
The set could not be repaired.
"It was a 42in plasma screen which cost around £1,000 - the whole front
is wrecked," said Brian.
"I think he lost a game and he just cracked up. I went out to the table
and put my head in my hands, while I thought about how I could explain to a
three- and-a-half year old what he had done wrong.
"I ended up asking him how he'd feel if I broke his Spiderman.
"He is so independent and he already has a real competitive streak, but
I didn't realise he would lose his temper like that. He could be the next
John McEnroe - he had a great swing."
Brian has now vowed to keep an even closer eye on his son, adding: "He
is banned from the Wii for two weeks, and I won't be taking my eyes off him."
Players hold the remote to mimic the motions of a tennis racket, golf club
or sword, depending on the game.
When the games console was released at Christmas, a number of customers
reported smashing windows and televisions after over-zealous play with the
handset, which can be used as a bat, sword or gun pointed at the screen.
Nintendo recalled many of the consoles in order to beef up the wrist strap
on the controller.
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