Wednesday, July 11, 2012

That's why we love him!

I found an ESPN article by Rick Reilly that compares the careers of Roger Federer and Tiger Woods.  Most of it is talking about things such as how many majors they have, etc., which is all great, but here's the part that I was so impressed with:

"Life: The question was "Who's greater?" Greatness is more than what happens on stage. Both men are great athletes, but greatness is as greatness does. Greatness is also in the way you carry it, the way you treat fans and colleagues and waiters. I've never met anybody in tennis more polite and giving and generous than Federer. He treats the woman who cleans the hotel the same as the guy who owns it. I remember once when Federer and I were escorted into a room for my 15 minutes with him. He'd just finished his match, and he was drained. There was a leather recliner and a stool. He took the stool. And nothing I could say would talk him off it.

At the same time, I've never met anybody in golf less interested in others than Woods. If Federer acts like a reluctant god, Woods acts like a hand-picked one. There's a reason that, when Woods is done with people, they tend to rat him out. The Coach. The Caddie. The Girlfriends. You get treated like a beer can somebody's kicking along the road, you want to kick back. Is it just a coincidence that the Federers are still seen socializing with Woods' ex but not with Woods himself?

Tiger Woods still has 9½ years to rise to the place Federer is now. I hope he does.

Maybe his golf will get there, too."

Although I love his tennis so much, a big part of the reason that I'm such is fan is because of the person he is.  You can tell he truly cares about people.  I remember reading that when James Blake was in the hospital years ago, the only tennis player he heard from was Roger.  So many of the tennis players talk about the type of person he is off court, which is why he has won the Sportsmanship award over and over.  And look at the work he does with his foundation, going to the sites numerous times in his busy schedule.

The other thing I love is that he is a family man.  Can you imagine him doing something like what Tiger did?  Absolutely not!   It truly is an honor to be the fan of such a classy person, whose legacy will live on way after he retires.

No comments: