The Aussie Open started last night/this morning depending on which time zone you are speaking of. Tennis. The ONLY story in men's tennis is, "Will Roger beat Nadal in 3 sets or 4?" Ace-rod (Andy Roddick) is not a story anymore, neither is fellow American James Blake. Otherwise you have Rafael Nadal wearing capris and winning on Clay Courts or a bunch of Eastern European dudes that no one can pronounce their names.
So Federer is THE ONLY story in tennis. Now, I'll reach back into the 790 the Zone archives for a story I wrote after this past year's US Open about Roger and Tiger's dominance over the USTA and PGA, respectively. Enjoy.
PS Federer wins the Men's Aussie open and Ave Maria wins the women's draw, unless one of the Williams sisters do, or Hennen-Hardine does.
Can’t wait ‘til it’s over
Maybe I’m ungrateful. Maybe I don’t appreciate the magnitude of what is going on right now in the world of tennis and golf. Maybe I will miss these eras of dominance when they are gone. But right now, I AM BORED! Seriously. I am bored!
These days Roger Federer is well on his way to smashing Pete Sampras’s record of 14 Grand Slams. By this time next year, he could be gearing up to notch number 15 which would give him the record at the young age of 27. The Swiss tennis star laps the field, with only Rafael Nadal’s clay court skills standing in his way of complete and utter domination. He wins on grass. He wins on hard surfaces. He wins on carpet. He even wins on clay until he meets Nadal. He doesn’t show any weaknesses, and no one has found a way to bring him back down to earth.
Tiger Woods recently took home the PGA Championship for his 13th major as a professional. It was his only major win of the year, but he did finish second in two others this season. Last year he won two. He is ranked first in the world and he plays in maybe only a quarter of the tournaments. He instills fear in the other players. Whenever he has held a lead after 54 holes in a major, he hasn’t lost. Players such as Phil Mickleson, Retief Goosen, Ernie Els, and Vijay Singh have tried to step up, but usually they only WIN when Tiger has an off-week at a major. No one has found a way to bring him back to the field on a Sunday when he’s leading.
So as Roger and Tiger are dominating, I am snoring. Don’t get me wrong. I believe what they are doing is amazing. Just like how I think the Yankees and their 26 World Series titles are astounding. Just like how I think Duke is a well-run program with three titles under Coach K. Just like how I think the Cowboys and their five Super Bowl titles are a model franchise. But I don’t root for them. No. The other way COMPLETELY. I root against them. I rooted for the Red Sox in 2004, not because I am a bandwagon fan, but because I was sick of the Yankees having been to World Series after World Series. I was pulling for UConn in 1999 and Arizona in 2001 because I was tired of watching Coach K and his rat face win NCAA titles. I threw my support behind the Packers in the mid-90s because I couldn’t stand seeing Jerry Jones raise ANOTHER Lombardi trophy.
For a sports fan, the mindset of a dynasty slowly evolves from excitement to boredom to disdain. How many folks are getting tired of Bill Belichick? Dynasties are fun for a while, and then we just want to see their downfall. Nothing personal. There’s nothing WRONG with Tiger or Roger. I am just bored. As Arby’s used to say, “Different is Good.” I am ready for new blood to come along and switch things up. Will I miss this dominance when it is gone? Well, I still hate the Yankees.
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