1984...George Orwell
"It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen. Winston Smith, his chin nuzzled into his breast in an effort to escape the vile wind, slipped quickly through the glass doors of Victory Mansions, though not quickly enough to prevent a swirl of gritty dust from entering along with him."
What provokes us to want to share our thoughts? I suppose everyone is a bit different but in the end I think it boils down to one thing. Mainly one thing. We want to be understood. Everyone wants to feel that they are understood. It’s no easy task...especially these days. Modern days. There has been a lot of social engineering that has left the human race more confused than enlightened. An ex-girlfriend of mine and I were exchanging electronically generated messages last night and we were talking about relationships. Her mother advised her that the most important thing in a relationship is to compromise. I think that if that is the most important aspect of your relationship you have made a poor choice. Her mother also said that relationships take a lot of work. I agree that it requires some work but by no means should it be hard labor. It isn’t a gulag for God’s sake. Or is it?
Well I guess that I am one of the last to ask in this regard considering my luck...my track record. But I ventured to say that compatibility and chemistry were higher up on my priorities. But above all there is another thing...and that thing is understanding. Everyone desperately wants to be understood. That isn’t always what people need most, but everyone wants that...they want understanding. Many times what people really need is a good kick in the rear end...but that is only a personal feeling of mine.
I started this thread..."Thoughts about Tennis Tradition" not so much because I wanted to be understood, as I have pretty much given up on that little scenario, but also because I feel that people need to understand. There is too much myth and too much hysteria surrounding the modern game of tennis and if you are any coach worth your salt you need to be a true student of the game. You must know and understand the history of the game. Most coaches are too young to have first hand knowledge of the classic game as it stood for nearly a century. Wood racquets and white clothes. It isn’t their fault that they are largely unaware of the changes that have transpired in the last forty years.
But here we are...in the world of “Thoughts about Tennis Tradition”. Keep in mind it is sort of a world of its own...I dreamed it up. Nobody else seems to give it much of a thought these days. Traditions. If it is in the past then it doesn’t count...it is better left alone. As in Orwell’s 1984 where society has divorced itself so far from it’s past that the present is easily manipulated by the powers that be and in Orwell’s case it was despotic governments. People are absolutely clueless about the past because it has been destroyed...purposely. In our case it just might be the corporations that have taken over our destiny. That and the computer or artificial knowledge. Have you ever heard the term “singularity”. But then again those ideas sound a bit far-fetched as well. That is, if you have nothing to compare it to. Those that are just coming of age in the year 2013 have no idea really what it was like back in 1984 so if they just accept everything that is being shoved down their pie hole, clearly they will be clueless...as to what the reality of the situation today really is.
So what is the point? Well...the point is this is just a little Tennis History 101 courtesy of don_budge. Here at the finals of the Wimbledon championships we have a situation that is sort of incongruous yet nobody wants to talk about the elephant in the living room. I am referring to the size of the racquets that the contestants are using. In 1984 John McEnroe has switched to a midsized Dunlop 200 graphite model while Jimmy Connors is still stuck in the past for reasons of his own with his antique model Wilson 2000. This is the crossroads. Tennis has veered off the course of traditional values and has embarked on a journey that is ruled by corporation and money. Read greed. The fundamental rule of tennis etiquette has been violated here...let no player seek unfair advantage over his opponent. There is a story in this match and behind this match. I am going to attempt to relate it to you...to decipher it for those who are perhaps too young to remember or for those that for reasons of their own choose to ignore the lesson. Just remember...I am only the messenger.
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