"The scoreboard said I lost today, but what the scoreboard didn't say is what it is I have found," said Andre Agassi to an adoring crowd following his third-round loss Sunday. "You have pulled for me on the court and also in life."
One of the more emotional farewells I've seen. Today in the third round of the U.S. Open tennis championship, Andre Agassi simply ran out of gas and lost to Benjamin Becker in four sets. We did get one more thrill from Andre this past Thursday night/Friday morning as he gave everything he had in a five set thriller over Marcos Baghdatis.
Deep down I wish guys like Agassi, Ripken, Gretzky, Palmer, Nicklaus could play forever, but they cannot. These guys will always be in their prime in my mind and I look forward to telling Benjamin their stories when he gets older. Part of the fun of being a sports fan is passing the stories on. For example, I learned a lot about baseball from my Grandfather, how much he loved the game and the players from his era. He was born in 1909 and loved telling me his stories and I loved hearing them. He saw Washington heroes Walter Johnson, Sam Rice and Bucky Harris play. He saw Ruth, Gehrig and the great Yankees when they came to play the Senators at Griffith Stadium. My biggest regret is I did not have a tape recorder with me. One of the reasons why I do this blog, so Benjamin can see just what was happening in the early years of his life.
What I saw today as Agassi said goodbye is something I won't forget. He showed class and grace before he left the court for the last time.
2 comments:
Nicely done. A good tribute. I'm glad you still appreciate what you learned about baseball from Sam. The two of you had a special relationship. The pictures of Ben are great. Glad you had such a nice time at the park.
Mom
There no crying in Tennis !!!!!!
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