Tennis

There is only one sport like tennis. One sport remaining like tennis. The American sports pallet has seemed to shift in recent decades away from sports like tennis, track and field, and golf, save the influx of popularity brought to golf by Tiger Woods. Without him, where would golf be in the last 20 years?

In my mind, tennis is the last truly great one-on-one sport. The only challenge where one man, or woman, stands across the court of competition to another man or woman, who in that short period of time challenges you, personally, to see if they're better. The "Golden Age" of tennis most likely lasted from the early 70s through the mid 80s. The decade of the 90s brought great American players like Sampras and Agassi, but not the popularity of the game to the average American sport fan.

This time of year is one of my favorites. Just two weeks after the turn of the year, the best tennis players in the world, both men and women, convene in Australia to decide the year's first Grand Slam event. Often tennis is relegated to the back burner of TV coverage, but for two solid weeks, hours of coverage on ESPN2 throughout the day, and into the late hours of night and morning, tennis is everywhere.

Tennis is unique. One-on-one.

How could it get any better than that?

It's also great because of its global appeal and influence. Tennis might now be a "niche" sport in America, but across the world, tennis is as big as it ever was. Maybe bigger. The global intrigue is what I've always loved about the game.

The red clay of Roland Garros in Paris. The close-cut grass of rainy Wimbledon. The raucous fanaticism of Australia. And the priceless and incomparable moments that come with night tennis in New York at the U.S. Open.

Players from all over the world, bringing notoriety and attention to their small countries who long to be seen as important. A Cypriot like Marcos Baghdatis. Perhaps the greatest player ever is from Switzerland. The tiny war-torn nation of Serbia has become the hot bed for young rising Tennis stars. Players like Djokovic, Jankovic, Ivanovic, and more. Russia. Australia. France. I honestly believe much of my love for foreign culture was encouraged by my interest in tennis.

Matches that last five sets, and five hours. One-on-one. Like the late night in '96 when Pete Sampras was pushed so hard, and so far by Alex Corretja, that he vomited multiple times on the court. This is tennis. Extreme competition, pushed by gladiators of extreme talent and fitness.

There's also another element that's always been in tennis. The celebrity appeal. The relationships. No other sport cares so much about who's dating who, who likes who, and who can't stand to be in the same locker room as someone else. For me, it adds to the mystique of tennis. What other sport cuts to the girlfriend or boyfriends of the athletes in between points more than tennis? What other sport is concerned about the beauty of its female players like tennis is, or what they're wearing in their next match? It's a part of the sport that if I was in charge of trying to bring tennis back into the mainstream of the American sport plate, I wouldn't stop talking about.

The bottom line for us disinterested Americans though... We need a star! An American star! An American male star in particular. As great as the Williams sisters have been and will continue to be, they haven't brought tennis back. When Sampras and Agassi retired, we've been looking for the next American hero to bring tennis back to Sportscenter.

It's not Roddick.
It's not Blake.

Can it be the young African-American and recently turned pro Donald Young? Perhaps.
I hope so. But we need someone. This sport is too great. Too unique to be cast aside by the American sports fan.

5 hours.
One-on-one.

The last of the great gladiatorial sports.

I love tennis.

Give it a chance.
Go to Delray in a few weeks.
Go to Key Biscayne in March.

You'll love it I promise.

I'll see you there.

A Call to Disarm

Every one I'm sure is aware of the Britney Spears situation. You can't be breathing and not have the story bombard you through every media form. You know when that friend of yours who's kind of crazy but you laugh off his antics, well because he's "Johnny"? That's what he does. And then it crosses the line, and it stops being funny and gets really serious. And sad.

Every time I see a Britney story, or see her on TV looking bewildered and confused, I think to myself...she's my age. She's a person who is young and yes, dumb, but she's my age.
Really young.

What are we doing?

Why does this interest us? Why does the demise of someone we all know bring ratings? I'm a media junkie, someone who loves all media forms and technologies. But this is the trade off. This is bored Americans failing to recognize their own problems by pointing and laughing at a young girl, who everyone in her life since the age of 6 has most likely taken advantage of.

So I pray we turn away. I pray and hope the people who care about her move her to a small town in Wyoming. Away from everything to heal and renew her life. I pray she doesn't kill herself. And I pray we look the other way, lay down the media weapons and gun sights and take a look at our own lives.

Turn the TV off.
Don't listen to them talk about her.
I won't anymore.

Reading and Listening to...

Once in a while I like to let you all know what I've been reading and listening to lately. It gives me a chance to reveal in a different way, what I'm thinking and feeling about right now. Putting it out in this forum also allows me the chance to recommend some really good stuff to you. Not that my recommendation is weighty, or important.
So take it for what its worth.

Without further ado... Here's my reading and listening selections for January '08.

Reading...

Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoeyevsky
Some works of literature should be viewed as projects, not reading. Crime and Punishment is a work I've been wanting to engage for some time now, and over the holidays I finally did it. The pictures are transcendent. The characters memorable, and the stretches of dialogue are moving. Like Poe's Tell Tale Heart, Crime reveals the human conscience, and the struggle we all have with guilt and the hope of redemption. A classic of literature one should attempt in their lifetime. It is not for the feint of heart. A challenge it is, but one of the most rewarding for me in recent memory.

The Jesus of Suburbia - Mike Erre
An incredibly provocative title is not the only thing Mike Erre brings to the table. The Jesus of Suburbia is perhaps one of the most challenging books any American Christian could read right now. Erre is a pastor in California who one day awakened to the fact that his faith was based on consumerism and the "American Dream", and not the radical revolutionary that is Jesus Christ. Do our gated suburban communities dictate the way we view Jesus Christ? A thought we all should consider...

Out of the Silent Planet - C.S. Lewis
Lewis is known for his famed Narnia series, but often his Space trilogy is overlooked. Out of the Silent Planet is the first of the three stories that follows Dr. Ransom and his journey to Malacandra. I haven't read too much science fiction, but reading Stephen Lawhead's Song of Albion series this summer I've become more intrigued by the genre. Lewis writes with his usual beauty and philosophical appeal. I'm looking forward to continuing on the journey.

Into Thin Air - Jon Krakauer
The acclaimed writer of Into the Wild gives us his eyewitness account of the 1996 disaster atop Mt. Everest. A climber and journalist, Krakauer was asked to join an expedition of Everest to do a story for Outside Magazine. The book reads in three different ways. Like a novel, the story progresses through the ups and downs of their journey, incorporating action and suspense. Like a history, the author includes passages and stories of historic Everest expeditions and the history of the mountain itself. And finally, like a true account, we're reminded along the way that this actually happened, and he was there to experience and see it first hand. I've never been interested in mountaineering, but that's what reading does. It exposes you to new experiences and genres. I was utterly enthralled and captivated.


Listening to...

Boxer - The National
I recently blogged about my discovery of this indie sensation from Brooklyn, NY, via Cincinnati. I love every minute of this album. Read my past blog, and check out the link to the article in PASTE.


Emotionalism - The Avett Brothers
A weird, trippy, bluegrass group from Asheville, NC, The Avett Brothers are just fun. The vocals on the album feel like they're right in your ears as you listen, and the mixed melodies and harmonies make you sing along, even if you're not a NC bluegrass fan.


Undiscovered - James Morrison
Sometimes you just need a good pop album. James Morrison, a soulful pop artist from the UK provides that need in my life right now. Undiscovered goes to prove that you can still make a pop album that is cool, and has soul. I'm encouraged that there is some hope for the pop genre past Fergie and the Pussycat Dolls.


One Man Band - James Taylor
You can find this album in any Starbucks now. There's nothing to say. One man. Acoustic. Guitar. Piano. Great songwriting. All of this is James Taylor.
You know him. We all love him. One Man Band is a great live album for the Taylor novice, or his greatest fan.


Happy Reading and Listening!

Ascent/Descent

Weird.

I just found out if I do all my work, which granted is a lot, I will graduate from Reformed Theological Seminary in late May with a Masters of Divinity.

It feels like on the long Everest journey, I've left camp four, en route to the famed Hillary Step. The last great hurdle before ascending to the summit.

The long and winding journey has taken the better part of four years. Which isn't a terribly long time considering the standards and other things going on in my life. Even now though, approaching the greatest and perhaps most technical part of the journey, I have thoughts of coming down the mountain.

What will it be like? Will I be prepared for the rapid descent?

I sort of understand the feeling that great mountaineers encounter when they achieve a summit. The elation of the accomplishment only lasts for a moment, and then thoughts turn. What next?

That's what I'm thinking about now. Embarking on the last part of the climb, I'm beginning to think about the descent. What will I do? What can I do?

Anyone know another great mountain?

Oxygen

There's so much hype.
So much expectation.
I wonder how many times I talk myself into it.
Willing myself into believing
this or that will happen.
Maybe this time around.
Maybe this time will be different.

But most of the time I feel similar.
Similar to how I felt last time.
Last year.
Hope brings you to the edge.
Reality checks you.
Reminds you we've been here before.
You've climbed this mountain.
You know the way down.
Hype and excitement.
I created it.
I should get myself down.

The lure of the climb pulls though.
Hard.
Like a man grasping for oxygen.
The heights are too dangerous.
There's too much risk here.
But this is what I do.
This is what I've been doing.
I know this route.
I've traveled it time and time again.
Without ropes.
Without oxygen.
How much longer?

The answer is not mine to make.
I cannot decide.
It calls.
I answer.
Everytime.
And probably again and again.
I'll know when.
I'll know when.