Serial streakers, uncovered
by Brad Wheeler
The Globe and Mail
July 4, 2009
Exactly what motivates someone to strip down to a well-placed sock, burst onto a sports field and try to outrun the cops? A new documentary reveals all. Jump – The World’s Greatest Streakers airs Saturday (6 and 11) on CBC’s Documentary channel, previewing free this month for subscribers to digital and satellite services.
You’re watching a sportscast when suddenly there’s a stop in the action and the crowd is aroused. You can’t see what’s going on, because most networks won’t show the farce playing out on field of play: It’s a “streaker” or a “jumper” or whatever you wish to call an uninvited guest thrusting themselves into the proceedings, usually by running around until security or police catch up to them.
These events are often impromptu – an in-the-moment prank instigated by booze – but there are those who take this fun seriously, or at least put some thought into it. Jump The World’s Greatest Streakers, a documentary directed by Montrealers Dan Emery and Jon Deitcher, and Vancouver-based Mathieu Wacowich, which airs tonight on Documentary, focuses on an eccentric Catalan who calls himself “Jimmy Jump,” most recently noticed for his (fully clothed) stunt involving a flag and Roger Federer during the French Open tennis final in early June.
The documentary concerns itself with the hidden world of serial streakers, including Mark Roberts, a lark-loving Liverpudlian who’s gone naked at some 400 big-time sporting events over 16 years. I spoke to the run-amok Roberts about his full-monty motivations and why he gets shirty over guys like Jimmy Jump, who won’t take their pants off. Continue reading “Jump The World’s Greatest Streakers”