'Breakfast at Wimbledon' is the clever moniker NBC uses to give a savory appeal to their telecast of tennis' most prolific event that plays in the early morning hours on the West Coast.
Apparently their marketing strategy works as I found myself captivated this year and awake at 6am with my bowl of Puffins and English breakfast tea, watching the matches broadcast from the most famous grass courts in the world.
For those less versed in tennis lore, "Wimbledon (20 June – 3 July in 2011), is the oldest tennis tournament in the world, considered by many to be the most prestigious.It has been held at the All England Club in the London suburb of Wimbledon since 1877. It is one of the four Grand Slam tennis tournaments, the other three Majors being the Australian Open, French Open and US Open. Wimbledon is the only Major still played on grass, the game's original surface.
I took notes this year and this is what I came up with:
SKINNY GUYS CAN DO IT TOO
One of the many appeals of tennis to an everyday sports fan such as myself is that the tennis athletes' ability to serve the ball 130 mph is not proportionate to how bulging their muscles are. Everytime I tuned in, another skinny guy was serving aces with miraculous speed and accuracy. Skinny guys everywhere garner hope from this, that they too will attain such mastery in the metaphor of their own lives.
COAT AND TIE APPEAL
The sheer formality of the event makes Wimbledon one of the most classy events in all of sports. In attendance are former Wimbledon champions, the Royal Couple and assorted other sharply dressed guests. Where in sports is the equivalent of "The Royal Box" and its distinguished guests? It sure isn't Jerry Jones and his cronies in their skybox at Cowboy Stadium. Something of great importance is occurring when such a crowd congregates. The only surprise was that sharply dressed Tea Vendors were not walking up and down the aisles selling cream tea and scones.
DRAMA
Only once in the last 9 tennis majors have had the #1 and #2 seeds face each other in the final. The majors offer drama similar to the NCAA Basketball tournament, where lower seeded players, such as this year's huge-serving #12 seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga made the "Final Four" better known as the Men's Semifinal Round.
Not only that, but the international convergence of the event is World Cup-esque, with entire countries and regions uniting behind players, such as this year's champion Novak Djokovic and his entire motherland Serbia attuned to his efforts. Take all 8 semi-finalists for men and women and you have 8 different countries represented: Britain, France, Spain and Serbia on the men's side, and Czechoslovakia, Russia, Germany and Belarus for the women. This is indeed an Olympic type event, and notice the absence of Americans.
DEAD SILENCE
Imagine dead silence and millions of eyes upon you. While pro golfers experience an aspect of this as they make a critical shot, I would argue that the pre-serve silence at Centre Court is the most anticipatory silence in sports. The meditative and reverent hush will lead not only to one ball strike like golf, but perhaps an electrifying 20-hit rallies with thrown bodies and oohs and ahs.
TROPHY VERBIAGE
On the line is the hoisting of, for men, the "All England Lawn Tennis Club Single Handed Championship of the World" Trophy, simply the longest name of a sweet looking trophy in all of sports. The Trophy for women is the 'Venus Rosewater Trophy', an even more poetic championship label.
CONVENTIONAL
Adding to the unified consciousness of the event & the simbiosis of respect between players and crowd/audience, the participants are required to wear all-white, with only slight colour accents allowed. The distractions are effectively minimized and all the more eye on the ball. As far as I can tell, the sport is tattoo-less. The most progressive expression I saw this year were the darkly painted fingernails of women's champion Petra Kvitova. You go Petra!
SURFACES
Tennis as a sport plays on several major surfaces: Grass, clay, and different types of hard court. Depending on what style of play you have, each court gives you distinct advantages. It brought me to consider if a sport like basketball were also to be played on different surfaces, and different teams had distinct advantages on each surface. The game would elevate to a whole new level and add a whole 'nother level to the odds-making. You'd certainly see more flying bodies on a grass court at Staples Center.
THE RUNNER UP
The reverence and respect afforded the runner up in the mens and womens final is second to none in sports as far as I can see. While the disappointment is palpable in runner ups such as this years Maria Sharapova and Rafael Nadal, both former champions, it doesn't deter the sheer sportsmanship and tradition of Wimbledon. The runner up is interviewed on Centre Court for all the crowd to hear. While in America we hear the losing coaches or players or interviewed, it's rarely over the loudspeaker, and it's usually accompanied by some sense of tragedy and hushed tone. A defeated Wimbledon finalist has no less frustration for having lost, but the honoring accorded them is instructive for all sports. I would say Wimbledon outdoes even the Olympics and its medal ceremony. It is gracious, graceful, and it's just one more reason I look forward to 2012 Wimbledon.
Peace & Blessings & 138mph Serves,
Kevin aka SoopKev and SK's Adventures
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