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Serena Williams - ALWAYS classy in defeat

Discussion in 'Sports and News' started by poindexter, May 29, 2012.

  1. zagoshe

    zagoshe Well-Known Member

    Wow, an unbelievably successful, star athlete, one who, for a large portion of her career was considered the best in the world at her sport, is bad at losing and not very gracious once she does.

    Shocking. ::)
     
  2. 93Devil

    93Devil Well-Known Member

    A bitch on steroids.
     
  3. armageddon

    armageddon Active Member

    Two things:

    First, I didn't see/hear the interview so I don't have all available info and will tread lightly.

    Second, I never wrote I was offended by her long-winded, "we all have woes" answer. Just pointed out what not to do.

    Nevertheless, if I'm facing a foe who is playing in what is her national championship, one year after she lost her fiancee/coach, and she rallies to beat me in dramatic fashion (down a set and down 5-1 in the tiebreak) and everyone is talking about her tragic loss of a year ago and how she is trying to piece her life back together the absolute last thing I would do is start talking about ME and MY life.

    I'd talk about how she played on the court and how people might follow her example if they're dealing with adversity/tragedy. I wouldn't say: Yea, she's toughing it out but let me remind you all about the shit I've faced in my life.

    Not offended. Merely noting her response smacks of selfishness or perhaps just being oblivious about the moment.
     
  4. Quakes

    Quakes Guest

    I didn't necessarily mean that you were offended, armageddon. But obviously some people who've posted in this thread were. (And by offended, I don't mean that they were personally hurt by Serena's answer -- just that it offended their senses of manners or decorum or sportsmanship or something.) Anyway, I think you're bending over backwards to see something you want to see if you think her answer was meant to say, "Never mind her problems. Here are all of mine."

    If I'm widely acclaimed as the best player in the world, and the favorite in this tournament; and I've just lost a first-round match in a Grand Slam event for the first time; and I blew the match after being two points away from a straight-sets victory; and I'm over 30, and it's been almost two years since I last won a Grand Slam tournament; and I've spent much of those two years battling health problems, well, then, maybe I'm not concerned so much about my opponent's problems in the minutes after the match. And even with all of that said, she managed to acknowledge what happened to Razzano and compliment her. Was it an absolutely selfless answer? No. Surely a PR professional could script something better. But it was a long way from bitchy or selfish.
     
  5. armageddon

    armageddon Active Member

    Reporter to Armageddon, a future hall of fame closer who just gave up a game-winning grand slam to a pinch-hitter who was a year removed from losing his wife on the eve of the playoffs and was playing in the playoffs for the first time since...

    Arm, what do you think about Joe Smith's personal situation and the hit he had today?

    "Yea, the dude had a tough year. But we've all got life issues to deal with. I've had multiple surgeries on my arm. My brother got sent down to the minors and he's not happy. It's life. It's all about how you deal with it. But, yea, now that you mentioned it, Smith seems to be handling it well."

    If I fielded a question about my competitor and I shone most of the spotlight on me I would hope someone would slap me silly and point out how selfish I sounded/appeared.

    And I'd hope my response would be: Damn, you're right.
     
  6. TheSportsPredictor

    TheSportsPredictor Well-Known Member

    People die every day.
     
  7. slappy4428

    slappy4428 Active Member

    Win 20 games in The Show and you're colorful...
     
  8. jr/shotglass

    jr/shotglass Well-Known Member

    And if that's what is going to turn us against Serena Williams once and for all, that's pretty weak.

    God, some people just can't say anything without catching shit.

    You'll notice that the writer here did everything possible to avoid using "I" or "me" in this post.
     
  9. Azrael

    Azrael Well-Known Member

    This would seem to contradict the premise of the thread.

    www.nytimes.com/2012/05/30/sports/tennis/2012-french-open-serena-williams-ousted-in-first-round.html?_r=1
     
  10. Tom Petty

    Tom Petty New Member

    the response was fucked.

    i weigh in with a hearty: TWAT!!
     
  11. Mizzougrad96

    Mizzougrad96 Active Member

    I only dealt with Serena twice and she won the tournament both times and I thought she seemed pleasant enough, but this was very, very early on...

    I get the sense that for her career, she is every bit as bad as insufferable to deal with as any of the athletes who are infamous for being complete assholes.
     
  12. TigerVols

    TigerVols Well-Known Member

    Uppity.
     
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