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You were always on my mind...

I think the love for playing in competitive sports is mostly centered around self belief. The belief that you are better than your opponents. One couldn't soldier on in any sport that he or she couldn't excel on or simply has no fundamental talent in it whatsoever. And as a child this seemed to be the case for me. My father taught me to play Tennis at a very young age and closely scrutinized my progress as if I were some kind of a phenom. I remember yearning to do well but only to please him. I needed something I actually wanted to do for myself. And although I knew he meant well I was never really quite sure it was for me. So when I discovered Basketball at the age of 8, I decided to hang it up for good (Perhaps partly to spite him)... I knew then that I had found something outside of my fathers grasp... Something he needn't necessarily be around for me to excel and have fun because even after only just a few games I knew I had found my sport...

Despite his disappointment in me (something he never brought up but I knew he wanted me in Tennis more) I do credit him for my love for sports -particularly tennis- because even after abandoning what he felt was my birth rite I still made it a point to watch him play because I really did enjoy it even just from the sidelines (Particularly his semi-fat friends who basically sucked at it but whose passion for the sport was undeniable). I know that sounds a little hyperbolic but where we come from Tennis was not just a Family past time, it was kind of a legacy (My Grandfather not only introduced the sport of Tennis in those parts, he literally built the Tennis Courts with his own hands. And that's no joke!). And although I don't go out and watch him anymore we still share the same passion for it (I just don't play it anymore). We still follow all of the Major Tournaments and try to attend some of them that are held here in Southern California. And even in this day and age of Tivo and DVR's we still get up every year at first light for Breakfast at Wimbledon (as if to carry on a Family Tradition) and still make it a point not to miss Super Saturday at the U.S. Open. Albeit on Television....

In fact when I day dream about sports it isn't sitting court side with the ever so cool Nicholson at the Staples Center or with Lasorda in Dodger Stadium, nor is it even the Superbowl. And though any of the above mentioned is entirely awesome there is no other sporting event I would rather see more than Wimbledon (A close second being the 24 hours of Lemans). One reason (among many) is because Tennis is the only major sport worldwide to showcase the women's competition alongside the men's and is just as popular (though men's still being the mainstay). It is singularly the only Professional Sports where the women's events can make a case for superiority. And we are not talking about women beating men here, we're talking about sheer competition within their respective ranks. Consider this: in the last 7 years the variance in Grand Slam Tennis winners has considerably favored the women's side. 24 out of the last 28 Men's Grand Slam wins is shared by only two men. The women's side has never been that dramatically lopsided. Thus rendering it more exciting and considerably less predictable. And oh not to mention aesthetically more pleasing to watch :) (I suspect it is the reason why it is my guiltiest pleasure. Coupled with the fact that it is more competitive of course).

Anyhow last weekend was ATP's annual stop in Los Angeles (an event I have attended several times). And although the two men who have shared 24 out of the last 28 Grand Slam wins (who incidentally and not-surprisingly- sit atop the standings - 1 and 2 - ) decided to sit this one out it is professional tennis; it is poetry in motion, it is the most grueling of all major sports (Case in point? The epic 11 hour duel in the 2010 Wimbledon by American Einser and Frenchman Nicolas Mahut. Yes you read that right Eleven Hours of tennis!), it is what I consider the best spectator event in all of sports, it is my dream sport..........

Thanks once again for the tickets, Michelle. I, uhmmm....... I, ya thanks

Posted by: Marc Gabay
Sunday, August 01, 2010