THE GREATEST ATHLETES • FROM WILLIE MAYS TO ROGER FEDERER

Written by: on 18th February 2018
Screen Shot 2018-02-18 at 8.43.00 PM
THE GREATEST ATHLETES • FROM WILLIE MAYS TO ROGER FEDERER  |
Photo by @rogerfederer via Instagram.

 

 

by Lloyd Davenport

 

Willie Mays… the “Say Hey Kid”, NY/SF Giants… baseball’s GOAT, or one of them. Growing up in New York, in the ‘50’s, Willie was my baseball hero, not Mickey or the Duke.

 

In the pre-SportCenter days of no replays, highlights or clips on the news, the only way to watch your sports heroes play was either live in person or live on television.

 

I remember watching Giants games in the ‘50’s, ‘60’s and early ‘70’s on tv, and the rhythm of the game, for me, centered around Willie’s next turn at bat.

 

No matter what else I was doing, homework, eating etc., when Willie came to the plate, I dropped everything I was doing to watch the “Say Hey Kid” take his cuts.

 

Fifty plus years later, it’s “King Roger.” And with all the highlights on SportCenter, YouTube, and the countless other platforms to watch Federer play, it’s still live

(almost always on television) that gives me the most thrill.

 

So, with every match from Rotterdam last week on live at a watchable hour, I was able to enjoy every minute of the GOAT’s artistry and ascension back to #1, backing up last month’s repeat in Melbourne.

 

And still doing it at 36 plus years against 20 somethings and millennials! Are you kidding me?

 

When I was that age, still loving to compete on a sectional and national level, I was eternally grateful for “senior” tennis tournaments—no more thrashings at the hands college players and Men’s Open players. Roger? #1 IN THE WORLD, period!

 

And no more talk of “shouldn’t Roger think of hanging up the racquet”? It’s now, “How many more years can we be blessed with watching him play”?!

With all that’s going wrong in the world today, here’s one thing that’s going right.

 

#no.1 #history #legend #newrecord – Photo by @severinluthi via Instagram.

 

Topics: , , , , , , , , ,








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.