Serena Williams is one of the best women’s tennis players in
the world. That is not up for debate. In her distinguished career, she had
never lost in the first round of a Grand Slam event (Australian Open, French
Open, Wimbledon, and the US Open) until Tuesday. On Tuesday, she lost to some
slapdick (Virginie Razzano if you must know) in the opening round in Paris.
Despite being one of the favorites to win the tournament and being one point
away from winning the match in straight sets, she lost to the underdog. I’m not
going to get too bent out of shape on this loss. She’s pretty old for a tennis
player, her 31st birthday is in September, and she has dealt with
some serious injuries in her career. The thing that really chaps my ass was
when Serena Williams was caught crying DURING the match.
Serena Williams, you are a professional athlete, act like
it. You blew a very winnable set, but you are still very much in the match.
Tied 1-1, with one set to go for the win. You have won 41 singles titles in
your career, 13 of them Grand Slams. I am sure you have faced some adversity
within the game before. Stop sobbing like a little school girl who just found
out some boy thinks she’s got coodies. You should have clammed up (I’m guessing
that’s female equivalent to nutting up) and destroyed this French chick in the
final set. Instead, you had a little pity party and let the game slip away. By
the time you decided to control yourself, it was too late. The train derailed
and now you are heading back to the States much sooner than anticipated.
Can you cry in sports? Absolutely. You can cry after you win
a championship or your last appearance before retirement. Perhaps an emotional
moment, such as the first baseball game in New York City after 9/11. However,
there is no excuse to cry in the middle of the game. None whatsoever. That’s
bush league Serena. Now you know why people don’t respect women sports.
I’m kidding. People don’t respect women sports for different
reasons. First, the actual performance of the athletes is noticeable between
men and women. Have you ever watched a WNBA game? I watched the first half of
the first ever game between LA and NY. It was a glorified high school game. Set
shots and lay-ups featuring something called Rebecca Lobo is not my idea of
fun. The NBA might be lacking fundamentals, but it doesn’t lack entertainment
or watch-ability. The WNBA has had next since 1997 and hasn’t done a god damn
thing with it. A few years ago, I tried to buy playoffs tickets to a Washington
Capitals playoff game. The ticket agent told me before I can purchase tickets
to the hockey game; I also had to buy season tickets to their WNBA team, the
Washington Mystics. Before I could tell the guy to fuck his dick, he
immediately told me the season tickets could be donated to charity and used as
a tax write-off. Even the ticket agent knew no one wanted these tickets. Golf
is in the same boat. Women golfers are skilled, but without the consistent
ability to hit long drives, no one cares who wins the Jamie Farr Classic.
Second, outside of tennis and the abortion known as the
WNBA, no other sport has any significant staying power. Soccer only grabs
America’s attention for the World Cup, where people come out of nowhere to go
overboard with their love of soccer. Once it’s over, Americans forget about
soccer for the next four years and focus on more important things, like the
Kardashians. Ditto for any Olympic sports. More people are more interested on
Lolo Jones’ v-card than about any event in the 2012 Summer Olympics. I
apologize if my views come off as chauvinistic. I have nothing against women
playing sports. I think everyone should be active in athletics and support
Title IX. However, most of women’s sports are not universally marketable.
That’s not opinion, that’s fact.
Women’s tennis is the only sport that can compete with the
men’s version. In fact, many prefer the play of the ladies over their male
counterparts. The sport will not fold because one of its stars got emotional,
nor should it. It’s just another example of Serena not controlling herself (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serena_Williams#Controversies).
I realize she is not a robot and has human emotions, but she is a professional
athlete. Michael Jordan would have never cried if he missed free throws and
lost the game for his team. She has experienced everything in tennis, from
championships to frustrating losses. I am sure her years in the sport have
taught her how to turn hardship into a positive. There was no excuse for the
tears we saw. Maybe Tom Hanks should have said “There’s no crying! There’s no
crying during the game!”
-Written by Marcus Boyd
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