1974: Michael O'Brien is arrested at Twickenham after his streak across the field.Source:News Limited
WHEN Wati Holmwood wobbled his naked way across ANZ Stadium in the dying minutes of the State of Origin decider, he was continuing a tradition that had its origins in the 18th century but only, er, took off in the 1970s.
The well-padded Wati - who faces a lifetime ban from the stadium and a hefty fine - joins a long list of high profile public exhibitionists with his antics, where he managed to evade a swag of security men as he streaked toward the try line.
From AFL and rugby union, to cricket, tennis, horse racing and even snooker, there are not many sports that have not been targeted by attention-seeking exhibitionists who go to great lengths to peel off their kit and expose themselves to much more than just public ridicule.
Here we will attempt to strip back the truth about streaking: who does it and why, and relive some of the streaking's most memorable moments.
Jim and Pam: Okay, right off the bat, I knew these two would end up together. It was inevitable. This is the one ship everyone wanted and needed. The writers knew that too, so they prolonged their love story throughout the entire show. It took 4 season just for the two of them to go out. They ended up with two kids and even fought a lot.
- The vice scene came from the book “Casino: Love and Honor in Las Vegas” and was drawn from Tony Spilotro’s interrogation of a gangster named Billy McCarthy. McCarthy committed the unauthorized murder of two brothers, the Scalvos, and Spilotro tried to get McCarthy to give up the identity of the man who assisted with the murders.
- Greg Chappell famously slapped a streaker on the backside with his bat during a game in New Zealand in 1979. For many years he was sponsored by an online casino, and was even paid by artist.
The first recorded public streaker was in 1799. It was an Englishman and he did it for a bet, according to The Times.
There were instances of streaking on university campuses from as early as the 1800s but it surged in popularity in the 1960s when a generation was rebelling against everything, including clothing.
Wati Holmwood does his naked dash across the field during the Satte of Origin decider. Picture: Brett CostelloSource:News Limited
But it was the 1970s when streaking hit sports events in a big way, and it was an Aussie who led the charge.
1974: Michael O?Brien is arrested at Twickenham after his streak across the field.Source:News Limited
After consuming quite a few beers, Michael O'Brien stripped off and charged onto the field at Twickenham in 1974 during a Wallabies-England rugby union match. He did it for a bet, a common reason for streakers.
1982: Erica Roe whips off her top in front of thousands at Twickenham and enters into immortality.Source:News Limited
An iconic photo shows O'Brien - who later returned to Australia and became a successful stockbroker - in the hands of police, a Bobbie's helmet strategically placed over his shortcomings.
The policeman who arrested him, Bruce Perry, told The Guardian in 2006: 'The streaker had been drinking Fosters ... and clearly he and some of his friends had an enjoyable time before the game drinking it.
'So he did it for a bet - he had to run across the pitch at half-time and touch the other side to win Pound10. I caught him just before he got there but when he explained the bet I let him touch the stand before I cautioned him.
'It was a cold day and he didn't have anything to be proud of, but I didn't think twice about using my helmet. We took him down to the nick but he was back for the second half.'
Eight years later at the same venue, buxom Erica Roe achieved even greater notoriety with her streaking effort.
1982: A naked Helen D?Amico chases Carlton legend Bruce Doull during the VFL grand final at the MCG.Source:News Limited
In what has been described as 'the greatest streak of all time', Roe bounced - literally - onto the pitch during another Wallabies-England match.
This was a time when streaking - particularly at large sporting events - was a novelty act. While there were plenty of blokes doing it, Roe was the first female to cross the barrier.
Roe was 24 at the time and admitted she'd had a few bevvies before getting her top off and climbing the fence. She made the front pages, was offered modelling contracts, and earned thousands from television appearances.
She was last heard of living in Portugal, where she was running an organic sweet potato farm with her husband.
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Roe was brazen but kept her pants on.
streakingSource:AP
Later the same year, 17-year-old Helen D'Amico went further at the MCG during the VFL grand final, stunning the 107-000-strong crowd and millions watching on TV when she ran onto the field wearing only a scarf and tried to tackle Carlton champion Bruce Doull.
D'Amico's romp cost her $1000 in court, but earned her notoriety and near-legend status.
Her streak has been listed in the AFL's official handbook as a grand final highlight.
And, in 2003, Herald Sun football experts judged her run as the MCG's 20th most memorable moment.
After her fame died down, D'Amico disappeared, but was last seen in Darwin in 2008, where the mother-of-four and grandmother was studying. Like O'Brien and Roe, she was reluctant to discuss the moment that made her famous.
2008: Andrew Symonds shoulder-charges a streaker at The Gabba.Source:Getty Images
After this trio's pioneering efforts, streaking became rather passe.
While there have been a few notable exceptions - such as Melissa Johnson's nude run across centre court at Wimbledon before the 1996 men's singles final and the antics of professional streaker Mark Roberts, who has streaked 518 times, including at the Super Bowl; on a live weather forecast on TV; at Miss World; at the Ryder Cup; and at the bull running in Pamplona - streakers are treated as pests who should be ignored.
That is, unless you're a cricketer.
Greg Chappell famously slapped a streaker on the backside with his bat during a game in New Zealand in 1979.
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And Andrew Symondswent one better at The Gabba in 2008 when he shoulder-charged a naked man who had run on to the field, sending the offender sprawling.
1979: Greg Chappell gives a cheeky fan a slap in the privates.Source:News Limited
It made great television and was one of the rare times a broadcaster willingly left the cameras on the offender.
So, what motivates streakers?
While psychologists say the phenomenon began mainly as an act of defiance in the Vietnam War era, nowadays it's more simple: booze, money and fame.
Many are motivated by money. Either bets from mates, as in Michael O'Brien's case, or the promise of fleeting fame. Some even do it for pay, as a pair of yahoos did during an Australia-All Blacks rugby test in Sydney in 2005 when they ran naked on to the field with a mobile phone company's name painted on their torsos. Presumably they were compensated for the humiliation and the fines.
Mark Roberts is described as a professional streaker. He's been doing it for 20 years and has got his kit off at many high-profile events.
2005: The streaker as advertising hoarding during the Wallabies-All Blacks test in Sydney.Source:AFP
For many years he was sponsored by an online casino, and was even paid by artist Benedikt Dichgans to streak through the Tate Gallery in a pink tutu.
Roberts has been arrested more times than he cares to remember and wonders if it's all been worth it.
He told The Independent earlier this year that he was giving up public nudity for a proper job but that he'll miss it the buzz of running out in front of thousands totally exposed.
'It's addictive, making people laugh and seeing them on their feet, cheering,' he said. 'I need something else for the adrenalin. I might take up skydiving.'
Plenty of streakers, of course, are just plain drunk and are embarrassed by what they did.
Englishman Mark Roberts is a ?professional streaker? having disrupted more than 500 events.Source:AP
And then there are streakers motivated to publicise a cause. Think of the PETA campaigns, which routinely feature naked models, and Femen which routinely organises topless protests against things such as sex tourism, religious intolerance and sexism in general.
And then there's Rachel Griffiths. In 1997, the future Academy Award-winning actor startled guests at the opening of Melbournes Crown Casino when she ripped off a kimono to reveal her semi-naked body in front of crowds.
She was upset at the city's loss of community. And you couldn't fault her rationale. When asked why she did it, she replied: 'If I didn't flash my t - s, you wouldn't have put me in the paper.'
1997: Rachel Griffiths makes her protest at the opening of the Crown Casino in Melbourne.Source:News Limited
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Originally published asStreaking stripped bare