Growing Up With A Legend...

I think it was the 1990 U.S. Open at Flushing Meadows, New York. I was about 12 or 13 years old. I had watched tennis on T.V. before, but I had never understood it or even cared to understand it. I was a baseball kid through and through... so the desire was never there for any other sport.

But I remember this particular day well. I was at my Grandma Miller's house when she lived out beyond Milan. I was sitting downstairs flipping through channels when, upon my screen, flashed the green U.S. Open tennis court... and playing on this tennis court was the only reason why I ever cared to pick up a tennis racquet: Andre Agassi.

He was playing and beating Boris Becker in the semi-finals. Agassi was probably 19 or 20 at the time. He had long, wild hair and had on flashy Nike clothes and 'Agassi' Nike Air shoes. His game was as flashy as his wardrobe: he hit the ball HARD. Really hard. He went for winners alot... most of the time, he got them. I loved the way he controlled the groundstoke game... he didn't have a huge serve, he never really went to the net, he wasn't even all that fast at the time... he just hit the ball hard: He used a two-handed backhand and absolutely crushed the ball. He forehand was even bigger. Maybe even more flashy than his game was his personality. Hollywood type material. As a 13 year old fat nerd watching this 19 year old cool guy play tennis... he was everything I wanted to be.



As I said before, I immediately wanted to play tennis. I remember my first opponent was my Grandpa Sands. He had a couple of old racquets that we used... and I remember we would go to a park near his house to play. Just like my hero, Agassi, I started using a two-handed backhand stroke. I tried to serve just like Agassi... I even bought his shoes... which killed my parents because, at the time, buying a pair of tennis shoes for over $100.00 bucks just wasn't the first thing they wanted to do. My first racquet was bought by my Grandma and Grandpa Sands... a pink racquet that I loved and was embarrassed of all at the same time...

Eventually, I started playing other people... mostly from church. There was a guy named Lyle Sears... who took me under his wing and gave me a few lessons. He helped me with footwork, he helped me understand side spin on a serve, he helped me understand nice low slice shots as a defensive shot. He greatly influenced the way I continued to play the game.

I sort of got off-track... this post is really supposed to be about Agassi. I remember watching him win his first grandslam at Wimbledon. It was during the late morning service at Heritage. I skipped out on the service and went up to one of the balcony classrooms that picked up local channels and I watched him win right during church. He started bawling right on the court. I was cheering so hard for him. He had finally won that elusive first grand slam title.

This might sound weird: but Agassi and I kind of 'grew up' together. I loved him as a teenager because he was a cool guy. He was a rebel. He was unlike any tennis player to ever play the game. I loved him in college because he went through a really tough spell when he dropped to 141 in the world... and battled all the way back to the number one spot. He showed tenacity, character, and kind of 'matured' during that time: something that I finally did in my college years. I love him now, as a 28 year old with a family... because despite the fact that he's a very 'old' (in tennis years) 35, he still works hard, he still loves the game, he draws motivation from his wife and kids, he still desires to win, and he can still run the 20 somethings around the court so much... they might as well be running a marathon rather than playing tennis. Every stage of life that I went through... he became exactly the type of tennis player and athlete that I wanted to root for. I don't know if that will make much sense to most of you. But it has been significant for me.



There has never been (and there probably never will be) another tennis player that I actually root hard for. Watching one of his matches is as emotionally draining to me as watching a Cardinal baseball game or a Notre Dame football game. I get nervous for him. I cheer and clap for him. When he wins the big break points, I love it and am willing to cheer out loud for him. When he loses, I feel it emotionally.

Last Sunday, I watched him play his stinkin' heart out, only to lose to arguably the best tennis player the world has ever seen, Roger Federer. Agassi was up a break in the third set and could have pulled ahead of Federer two sets to one. Federer picked up his game in a huge way... Agassi just sort of faded away. As I watched the awards ceremony, I had a really hard time watching him accept the second place award. It was like one of my good friends had just lost. I was really sad for him.

Several times over the past week, I have wondered why it is that watching a guy lose in tennis could almost bring me to tears. Maybe it's because this great 35 year old legend battled and scratched his way through the two week U.S. Open draw with a firm resolve that he would not give up even if he was a set or two down... or even if he was losing to a kid that was hitting the manure of the ball. (James Blake in the Quarterfinals) Maybe it's because I saw in this year's U.S. Open that his game is as 'big' as it has always been... that he's quicker, a better server, and a better volleyer now then he ever was before he was 30. Maybe it's because I value the way he plays the game... from the baseline with incredibly clean shot making from both wings. Maybe it's because he was part of the greatest generation of American male tennis players: Sampras, Chang, Courier, Wheaton, Martin... and against anyone's prediction, he outlasted them all. Maybe it's because I like the way he gives credit to the game of tennis and to the fans. Maybe it's because I respect him as a human being... who loves his wife and kids and who gives generously to charities. Maybe it's because I watched this guy grow up in the midst of growing up myself... from a cool punk, to deadbeat, to number one in the world, to deadbeat again, to number one in the world again, to a re-dedicated, over 30, 'steady Eddie' who is always ready to play. Maybe it's because Andre Agassi was the reason why I ever picked up a tennis racquet in the first place.

Regardless of why I admire him and root for him so much... I do know one thing: When Andre Agassi retires, watching professional tennis will never be the same for me again. Period. I know something else: I will never stop playing the game because I have grown to love it. I have grown to love it because one fateful day in 1990, Andre Agassi gave me a reason to actually try it...

Here's hoping that this great athelete is still playing in the pro circuit for many years to come...