The Roger Federer Effect

Written by: on 10th August 2011
Roger Federer
The Roger Federer Effect

Roger Federer of Switzerland takes on Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France during their quarter final match for the Wimbledon Championships at the All England Lawn Tennis Club, in London, Britain, 29 June 2011. EPA/KERIM OKTEN  |

theFEDEREReffect

So I’m standing with my plastic cup of Negro Modelo waiting to go to my seat in the box seating area at the Farmer’s Tennis Open in Los Angeles Friday night. As I wait I’m watching Del Potro  take a surprisingly thorough beating from Gulbis when a women tapped  me on the shoulder and ask “how many colors do you have that Roger Federer hat in?” slightly buzzed I  first had to remember that I was wearing a hat, then the color (this one happens to the French Open red clay version), I casually play it cool and replied 6 or 7 as if it’s perfectly normal. Then she tugged on  sleeve of jacket (matching French Open red clay limited Federer jacket) and ask “how many of these do you own?” now I’m starting to sober up knowing I’m sitting on 9 and not all of them were easily obtainable, as I turn to tell her I realize I also wearing a 2009 RF French Open polo from my collection of 10, my sobering up is now morphing into a panic and I feel like I just got emotionally busted.

So what is it about?… this almost obsessive drive to own a piece of RF emblazoned commerce history? It’s a couple of things, first, I have a deep and passionate appreciation for creative  and engineered excellence. Roger Federer represents both at the absolute highest level ever seen. If you’ve seen Federer live you know he’s really not a big guy, in fact he’s looks a little slight in stature, yet his ability to generate sizzling pace with laser like accuracy without any visible signs of effort is pure creative and innate engineering excellence. I enjoy the game as a spectator and love the game as a player, as a player this appreciation takes on a whole new level. The feeling one gets when executing a backhand passing shot to the best of ones ability must be like chasing a high to an addict, it’s almost euphoric. Now imagine your most euphoric moment to a Federer miss-hit, there’s no comparison, a miss-hit by Federer is still a 1000 times more ascetically pleasing to what you think you thought was your greatest shot…even in slow motion. Why? because some people were put on this planet to show you what it means to go beyond the measuring stick of performance. Anyone can practice 8 hours a day and improve the engineered mechanics of the game. You CAN’T manufacture or develop pure  CREATIVE ARTISTRY, it’s a very rarified air in any field and reserved only for few of history’s greatest.

So the good news, he’s in the here and now. The bad news, not forever. So for me…grab some historical commerce before it’s history, and look…he’s got a couple of news kids…he can use the extra scratch.








10sBalls Top Stories

In Case You Missed It

EUGENIE BOUCHARD NAMED 2018 TENNIS CANADA FEMALE PLAYER OF THE YEAR / EUGENIE BOUCHARD NOMMÉE JOUEUSE DE L’ANNÉE 2018 DE TENNIS CANADA thumbnail

EUGENIE BOUCHARD NAMED 2018 TENNIS CANADA FEMALE PLAYER OF THE YEAR / EUGENIE BOUCHARD NOMMÉE JOUEUSE DE L’ANNÉE 2018 DE TENNIS CANADA

Tennis Canada announced on Wednesday that Eugenie Bouchard is the winner of the 2018 Excellence Awards in the Female Player of the Year and Singles Player of the Year categories.
TENNIS NEWS • CALIFORNIA CHAMPIONSHIPS • TOMMY HAAS, TAYLOR FRITZ, STEVE JOHNSON, MARDY FISH AND MORE thumbnail

TENNIS NEWS • CALIFORNIA CHAMPIONSHIPS • TOMMY HAAS, TAYLOR FRITZ, STEVE JOHNSON, MARDY FISH AND MORE

Time to get tickets to watch! Surly you have heard about The Largest Open Tennis Event in America!
TENNIS NEWS • RAFA NADAL CONFIRMS RETURN TO PRACTICE, EYES ABU DHABI EXHIBITION AND AUSTRALIAN SUMMER thumbnail

TENNIS NEWS • RAFA NADAL CONFIRMS RETURN TO PRACTICE, EYES ABU DHABI EXHIBITION AND AUSTRALIAN SUMMER

According to Uncle Toni, Rafael Nadal was supposed to be back at practice on either Dec. 4 or 5. Well, better late than never!
Conchita Martínez prepara la temporada 2019 de Karolina Pliskova en Tenerife thumbnail

Conchita Martínez prepara la temporada 2019 de Karolina Pliskova en Tenerife

Española y checa ya trabajaron juntas durante el pasado Open de Estados Unidos
ALEJANDRO’S FAVORITE PHOTOS FOR 10SBALLS FROM SOME OF THIS YEAR’S TOURNAMENTS thumbnail

ALEJANDRO’S FAVORITE PHOTOS FOR 10SBALLS FROM SOME OF THIS YEAR’S TOURNAMENTS

Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia hits a forehand to Kaia Kanepi of Estonia during her second round match at the Nature Valley International tennis tournament in Eastbourne, Great Britain, on Tuesday, June 26, 2018.