Sporting mums who deserve a massive bunch of flowers today

Washing football socks is never a pleasure for mothers, but these sporting mums are prepared to go above and beyond mouldy footwear to show the world how proud they are of their boys...

 

ANNIE UNDERWOOD: MUM OF RORY AND TONY UNDERWOOD
In 1993 Rory and Tony Underwood became the first brothers to play in the same England rugby union team since 1938, but they weren't the stars of the show that day. Instead, all eyes were focussed on the antics of their mum, Annie, who was making it perfectly clear just how proud she was of her lads.

 

When Rory crossed the try line, TV cameras zoomed in on Annie hilariously performing what was described at the time as "either the world's first solo Mexican wave or some sort of slightly modified tribal raindance." She was all over the next day's front pages and was quickly known as 'England's proudest mum'.

 

Regrettably we can't bring you the original footage, but here's the next best thing: Jona Lomu, the Underwood brothers and their dear old Ma in a Pizza Hut advert that goes some way to show how much of a sensation she became.

 

 

CAROL KONCHESKY: MUM OF PAUL KONCHESKY
This season hasn't gone well for full-back Konchesky. He arrived at Liverpool from Fulham in the summer of 2010 under the eye of unpopular manager Roy Hodgson and by December the Reds were ninth in the league. Konchesky hadn't won many friends among the Anfield faithful and Kopped his fair share of the blame.

In a futile 'mummy will make it better' move, Mrs Carol Konchesky turned to Facebook to show her support for son Paul:

"To all you Liverpool scouse scum out the[re] never mind the cockney c**t take a real look at you[r] team stop living off the past the team are shit [if] anyone made a mistake it's the cockney c**t never should have left Fulham"

Cue anger among the Liverpool fans, an official statement from the club, a lot of deleting on Facebook and a loan to Nottingham Forest.

 

JUDY MURRAY: MUM OF ANDY MURRAY
Judy Murray was a top class tennis player in her own right, winning 64 Scottish titles before turning to coaching and producing the only decent British tennis player around, Andy Murray.

Judy nurtured son Andy both on and off the court, going on to become a familiar face in the crowd at all his matches. You'll usually find Mrs Murray perched in the stands, with a familiar steely stare on her mush, keeping a watchful eye on Andy: “I always look in his direction even during the changeover break," says Judy, "so if he does look up, he knows he has my attention." It wouldn't surprise us if she tried to clean his face with a hanky at the changeover, too.

This dedication to her boy naturally instilled true loyalty in Murray as made clear with a 'What you sayin' 'bout my mum?' moment in a match with Argentine Juan Martin Del Potro (see the video below). The two had known each other since their junior tournaments and Juan reportedly said that Murray and his mum had not changed, and were "always the same." Not exactly up there in the pantheon of mum jokes, but it was enough to rile Andy…

 

 

PAT LAMPARD: MUM OF Frank Lampard
Pat Lampard was an ever present in the stands at Chelsea and despite admitting her death back in April 2008 was the toughest moment of his life, Lamps lined up for a crucial Champions League tie against Liverpool less than a week later and cooly tucked away his crucial extra-time penalty. The celebration was understandably, a very emotional one...

 

 

CELIA CUCCITINI: MUM OF LIONEL MESSI
Barcelona's little Argentine magician happily accepted a fine of around £2,150 earlier this year when he dispatched a spot kick against Racing Santander to reveal a T-shirt with a birthday message for his mum. Slightly pricier than a box of chocs. Here's footage of the footballing genius, who tops La Liga's scoring and assist charts this season, being presented with his first Ballon d'Or trophy in 2009 by none other than Mrs Messi herself...

 

 

VIOLET LEWIS: MUM OF LENNOX LEWIS
Even big tough guys need a mum to look after them. Retired heavyweight champ Lennox Lewis's ma was so influential that title rival Vitali Klitschko claims she talked Lennox out of a rematch with the current WBC Champion. "Lennox promised me," says Vitali, sounding a bit like an upset kid, "but his mum decided he wasn't going to fight." Pictured planting a kiss on Violet Lewis at the press conference he called to announce his retirement, Lewis admitted that "she's the only person in the world I worry about upsetting. We're on a true spiritual level and we speak about absolutely anything." A book titled, 'Mama's boy' was released about the former World Champion in 2005.

BONUS MUM ATTACKING HER SON'S OPPONENT IN THE BOXING RING…