Aces High

From 1982 to about 1992, I watched tennis avidly. You must have cable if you want to do that. The major networks would rather put on golf, which I also enjoy, than tennis. Tennis, unlike team sports, is personality driven. This is challenging because players are out there to win, not to entertain, and some players simply don't have the kind of personality that makes them notable.

Furthermore, American audiences (except for true tennis fans) want to see Americans play. When they hear of Rafael Nadal or even Roger Federer, they pine for the days of McEnroe, Borg, and Connors.

After 1996, I rarely had cable, and so I rarely watched or even followed tennis. Tennis, to be honest, for the most part, is tedious to watch. Occasionally, you see the drama of a good player collapsing, or perhaps two good players playing great shots.

Recently, I watched the finals of the French Open. Mary Pierce was in the final. Anyone who's followed tennis knows her story. She had an overbearing American father, who pressured her to play. She always seemed in such distress. Finally, when her mother separated from her dad, a huge albatross seemed lifted from her shoulders, and she played well.

Except for one thing. Pierce lacks the mental toughness to play well day-in and day-out. When she's on her game, she can beat anyone. When she's off, she can lose to anyone. Against, Henin-Hardenne, she was simply off. It made the finals almost unwatchable. You'd like to say this is not typical, but it's pretty common in women's tennis.

In men's tennis, the men know how to keep the ball in play. They'll stretch the points longer and wait for mistakes. This isn't exciting either, but it shows more skill than simply attacking the ball and missing.

Maybe when I get cable again, I'll try to watch tennis once more. I used to know the players, and with the Internet, and sporting websites like ESPN's, I could find out results from every major tournament, something that was quite challenging if you only had a local paper. The Internet has really made following all sorts of sports much more fulfulling.

I'll watch basketball, or football, or even baseball (but only playoffs, since the rest of the season is unwatchable), but I just don't know enough of the rules. I can't tell when they foul, or travel, or whatever in basketball. I can barely tell the strategies they use. Still, I watch, I follow results, I know personalities. I can hold my own in a sports conversation.

I once suggested to my roommate that there should be the equivalent of, say, a Good Eats by Alton Brown to teach the game of football to the masses. I'd be willing to do it too. Would Food Network go for such a wacky idea?