tennis (Photo credit: Marc Di Luzio)
I used to love watching Wimbledon. Of course the operative part of that sentence is ‘used to’ and for good reason, in my opinion.
When I was much younger and the tennis clogs consisted of ‘plus four trousers’ for the men. No I’m kidding, I am not that old, at least not yet. I guess I am really talking about the 70′s and 80′s. If you are old enough you know what I am talking about here.
I am thinking about the ‘characters’ that used to grace the grass courts at Wimbledon.
John McEnroe with his vitriolic outbursts at the referees and his ‘potty-mouth’ ramblings about everything.
Jimmy Connors, the world of tennis’s first ‘bad boy.’ He was there before McEnroe and there was always that thing he had. maybe, with Chris Evert .
And about Chris Evert, was she the first ‘girl next door’ of the tennis court? I think she was.
Billie Jean King the outspoken proponent for Women’s Rights.
Martina Navratilova who although she only retired from the ‘singles’ game recently was the first female player that even men didn’t want to face on the court.
And the entertainers like Henri Leconte who loved the crowd and they loved him right back. Henri was a performer, a clown who knew how to get the most out of an audience. It was a sad day when he stopped coming to Wimbledon.
Bobby Riggs was another entertainer. Who can forget when he played Billie Jean King. He wore a dress for the occasion and lost. Another crowd pleaser was Bobby.
I have to also give an honourable mention to Andre Agassi, he was the last of the ‘showmen’ who knew how to play to the crowd.
The young people have lost that spirit of entertainment. They no longer play to the crowd, they focus instead on ‘faster-than-light’ serves and on Ace-ing their opponents.
Their personalities, when they have one, are almost devoid of humour.
I know that I have left out some of the other ‘entertainers’ of Wimbledon yesteryears and I do apologise. If you have a favourite player that you miss seeing, let me know.
You also might not agree with my assessment of today’s tennis players.
Again drop me a line.
I could be wrong.
McEnroe at the 2011 USO (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
But in closing I will just say, “You cannot be serious!”
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Boris! You gotta love Boris Becker; but he’s still with us… sort of. His commentary has the sound of the surreal ramblings of an experienced pilot when you’re 30,000 feet up and 6 hours in on a commercial long haul flight. Boris sounds like he spends his time in between poker tournaments and shagging gorgeous, statuesque, European mixed-race chicks in cupboards, lounging around in opium dens mumbling about how much of a boring twat Stefan Edberg was, and how ‘Pistol’ Pete wouldn’t have been shit if he didn’t have his serve… “Look at him now, he’s f***ing bald, asshole [inhale on pipe]“. Boris Becker was the first – and probably the last – Ginger German I will ever consider a proper geezer
Agreed! It does smack of a certain surrealism when I hear good old Boris commenting. I still think of him as that big raw-boned kid who went for every ball and usually got them. All arms, legs and muscle. It also seems rather karmic that Pistol Pete is bald, as for the asshole part…I think he had a good start on that when he had hair. Imho. lol Thanks for taking the time to stop and not only have a gander at my ramblings but also for taking the time to comment. *prostrates self on floor* We are not worthy…
Ahgettouttahere… (how can you do a blushing smiley face?)
LOL