joebedford
03-28-2004, 09:16 AM
I posted this on another board some time ago, after Roddick won the Open, and everyone seemed to enjoy it. Hopefully, you will too. :D
*****
Wow. Under the weight of many expectations, the kid finally won a major. The first of how many...?
I loved to see the emotion. That's the beautiful thing about sports, and I think we are very lucky that it is such a part of our beautiful, "mano y mano", sport in particular. The tears. The rush into the crowd to hug Brad, the benevolent "father figure". And the television coverage was wonderful, because it also captured the naked, yet gracious, disappointment on the face of Ferrero. There cannot be a victor without a loser, and both should bear their role with dignity. But those of us who follow this sport closely can appreciate how Andy felt, can appreciate that it was a "long time coming". But I also think there are great things to come from our new #1. He also has that look in his eye, that hunger... All the greats have had it.
But I have been thinking lately about how much I love this sport, either watching or playing, and have been trying to figure out why. It is beyond a mere enjoyment, and has passed into the realm of "passion", or "obsession". What is it about tennis?
Well, I don't know. :-) It is a lot of things. I think a part of it is the elegant simplicity of the sport. Two (or four) men (or women). A small, yellow ball. Racquets. Lines. A net. That's it. And you can play at whatever level you play at, and as long as you are playing other people near that level, you can have fun. I have played against teenagers, and I have played against octogenarians, and although it may have seemed we had nothing in common, we found that we both spoke a common language--the language of groundies, and volleys...and winners. :-)
You can play if you are in a wheelchair. You can play against a wall. You can play against a ball machine. Whatever the circumstances, you can play. And even at my limited level, every once in awhile, I can rip a winner as beautiful as anything the pros can do. Even better, every once in a while I can get into "the zone", that place where I can do no wrong, and I can swing as hard as I want, with as much of an angle as I want, and everything is in, and I cannot be defeated.
Until I come out of the zone and start launching balls into the next court. :-} But I always think of that line from "The Legend of Bagger Vance" (even though that was a golf movie), about how everyone has "their own authentic swing". And when everything is going wrong for me, I love that feeling of trying to find a way to win, even when it seems hopeless. My opponents may say many bad things about my skill level, but they can never say that I conceded anything. If I'm still out there on the court, I'm still trying to find a way to win.
Or the "heart", for want of a better word. That moment where your opponent hits a shot that's too good and you can't get to it, but you must get to it, so you dig deep inside yourself for some reserve of energy. And you grunt. And you lunge. And you nail it. And it's in. And your opponent can't return it because he can't believe you hit it back. :-)
And am I the only one who just loves everything about tennis? I love the smell of a new can of balls, and the "hissssssssss" when you open them. Sounds like a beer. :-) And when I approach an area where others are playing, I always love to hear the sharp, familiar, comforting "thwack" of racquet striking ball. I like getting ready to play, getting all my gear ready. I like getting ready to play a point: guzzling some water, wiping my brow, adjusting my visor and my sunglasses. Then, if I'm serving, the bounce, bounce, bounce of the ball, and the crouch, and the.....KAPOW! If receiving, the focus on the ball in my opponent's hands, and the bouncing from foot to foot, and the spinning the racquet to stay loose, and the thinking, "Hit me with your best shot...because it's coming right back at you.
I like the way the court looks, with those simple, stark lines. Regardless of the skill level of my opponent, I love trying to figure out how I can beat him. And sometimes I can win and feel lousy about how I played, and sometimes I can lose and feel utterly triumphant. Because in the final analysis, you are not really playing against your opponent, are you? You are playing against yourself.
I even like the way that the scoring is a little bit obscure, since the game itself is so simple. Someone hits the ball to you. Hit it back, over the net, and don't hit it out. That's it. It's like chess: "A minute to learn, a lifetime to master." No, wait, let me change that: it's like chess...with sweat. ;-)
One of my favorite things about tennis, whether it's at the pro level or my level, is that while the match is on, there is no mercy. No quarter asked, none given. Everything I do is an attempt to beat my opponent. I don't care if I pass him, or hit him, or even humiliate him.
But once the match is done, I will shake his hand (or if I know him well enough, give him a bear hug). In victory, I am gracious. In defeat, I am congratulatory. And just because I lost today, that doesn't mean I can't win tomorrow.
Please tell me that it's not just me. :-)
*****
Wow. Under the weight of many expectations, the kid finally won a major. The first of how many...?
I loved to see the emotion. That's the beautiful thing about sports, and I think we are very lucky that it is such a part of our beautiful, "mano y mano", sport in particular. The tears. The rush into the crowd to hug Brad, the benevolent "father figure". And the television coverage was wonderful, because it also captured the naked, yet gracious, disappointment on the face of Ferrero. There cannot be a victor without a loser, and both should bear their role with dignity. But those of us who follow this sport closely can appreciate how Andy felt, can appreciate that it was a "long time coming". But I also think there are great things to come from our new #1. He also has that look in his eye, that hunger... All the greats have had it.
But I have been thinking lately about how much I love this sport, either watching or playing, and have been trying to figure out why. It is beyond a mere enjoyment, and has passed into the realm of "passion", or "obsession". What is it about tennis?
Well, I don't know. :-) It is a lot of things. I think a part of it is the elegant simplicity of the sport. Two (or four) men (or women). A small, yellow ball. Racquets. Lines. A net. That's it. And you can play at whatever level you play at, and as long as you are playing other people near that level, you can have fun. I have played against teenagers, and I have played against octogenarians, and although it may have seemed we had nothing in common, we found that we both spoke a common language--the language of groundies, and volleys...and winners. :-)
You can play if you are in a wheelchair. You can play against a wall. You can play against a ball machine. Whatever the circumstances, you can play. And even at my limited level, every once in awhile, I can rip a winner as beautiful as anything the pros can do. Even better, every once in a while I can get into "the zone", that place where I can do no wrong, and I can swing as hard as I want, with as much of an angle as I want, and everything is in, and I cannot be defeated.
Until I come out of the zone and start launching balls into the next court. :-} But I always think of that line from "The Legend of Bagger Vance" (even though that was a golf movie), about how everyone has "their own authentic swing". And when everything is going wrong for me, I love that feeling of trying to find a way to win, even when it seems hopeless. My opponents may say many bad things about my skill level, but they can never say that I conceded anything. If I'm still out there on the court, I'm still trying to find a way to win.
Or the "heart", for want of a better word. That moment where your opponent hits a shot that's too good and you can't get to it, but you must get to it, so you dig deep inside yourself for some reserve of energy. And you grunt. And you lunge. And you nail it. And it's in. And your opponent can't return it because he can't believe you hit it back. :-)
And am I the only one who just loves everything about tennis? I love the smell of a new can of balls, and the "hissssssssss" when you open them. Sounds like a beer. :-) And when I approach an area where others are playing, I always love to hear the sharp, familiar, comforting "thwack" of racquet striking ball. I like getting ready to play, getting all my gear ready. I like getting ready to play a point: guzzling some water, wiping my brow, adjusting my visor and my sunglasses. Then, if I'm serving, the bounce, bounce, bounce of the ball, and the crouch, and the.....KAPOW! If receiving, the focus on the ball in my opponent's hands, and the bouncing from foot to foot, and the spinning the racquet to stay loose, and the thinking, "Hit me with your best shot...because it's coming right back at you.
I like the way the court looks, with those simple, stark lines. Regardless of the skill level of my opponent, I love trying to figure out how I can beat him. And sometimes I can win and feel lousy about how I played, and sometimes I can lose and feel utterly triumphant. Because in the final analysis, you are not really playing against your opponent, are you? You are playing against yourself.
I even like the way that the scoring is a little bit obscure, since the game itself is so simple. Someone hits the ball to you. Hit it back, over the net, and don't hit it out. That's it. It's like chess: "A minute to learn, a lifetime to master." No, wait, let me change that: it's like chess...with sweat. ;-)
One of my favorite things about tennis, whether it's at the pro level or my level, is that while the match is on, there is no mercy. No quarter asked, none given. Everything I do is an attempt to beat my opponent. I don't care if I pass him, or hit him, or even humiliate him.
But once the match is done, I will shake his hand (or if I know him well enough, give him a bear hug). In victory, I am gracious. In defeat, I am congratulatory. And just because I lost today, that doesn't mean I can't win tomorrow.
Please tell me that it's not just me. :-)