Part 2 of my new year celebration kicked off the Friday before my birthday. I had tickets to see Pete Sampras, Michael Chang, Jim Courier, and Andre Agassi play at the Verizon Center in Washington, DC. I almost didn’t get tickets for this, but I decided that I wanted to do something nice for my birthday on my own.
Pete Sampras is my favorite tennis player. The chance to sit 400 feet away from him and watch him hit tennis balls was an honor. Honestly, I had to stop my heart from jumping out of my chest. I was so upset because the camera on my phone wasn't working! I couldn't take pictures of anyone! That made me want to do this:
( actually if I had that phone I would probably throw it out of a window too. Or use it to start my cell phone museum 0___0 )
The pros played one-set semifinals, with the final being an 8-game pro set. The first match was between Pete Sampras and Michael Chang. What struck me is now normal they seemed. For a while, watching the match was like watching a match on the club courts. Granted, they weren’t playing badly, and the feel of these exhibitions is friendlier than the finals of Wimbledon. I just expected something more.
As I thought about it some more, I wondered if my perception of the match had something to do with my idea of excellence. They weren’t’ doing anything amazing, but their basics were INCREDIBLE. Perhaps excellence isn’t really about being amazing, but having sound foundations. Perhaps excellence is more work- and commitment- and mindset- based than talent-based. To bring it to basketball terms, what would you rather have in a clinch: a monster dunk over a Honda Civic or a reliable lay-up?
Back to the actual match. This first match between Sampras and Chang was interesting because there were a few wrinkles in it. Any one that knows these two players’ games would know what to expect from them. Sampras would use his big serve and get to the net. Chang would be speedy and retrieve a bunch of balls. While Sampras’ game didn’t change that much, it was Chang that surprised the crowd with hitting more aces than Sampras. He also hit more winners. At one point Chang won a game with three aces and a service winner, which made the crowd gasp in amazement. This crowd was a tennis crowd, and they knew that wasn’t typical Chang.
Chang changed his game. He’s a retired pro, he’s not on the circuit anymore. He’s around the 40-year-old mark.
But yet, he was able to make a change. He still has his speed and consistency, but he was able to add just enough of something different to advance himself.
Encouraging, isn’t it? I guess that means we can do that in our own lives. We don’t have to become drastically different people, but we can expand our horizons enough to enhance our virtues and strengths.
Perhaps our ability to expand our horizons is related to our ability to maintain a vertical perspective.
Anyways, I stayed of most of the match. Sampras ended up losing, and Agassi lost as well (though Courier and Agassi’s match was more entertaining). I left a little early to avoid the gridlock coming out of the garage, and then I was on my way to Eazy E’s (aka Eric Borden’s) spot!
The night was capped off with an IHOP run (I had the most fattening thing possible), a late night appearance by Version 4 and Grand Patriarch (aka Roy Dean Johnson), and me going to sleep at 4am. That day was a good day **Ice Cube voice**
Next: Tat-Tat-Tatted Up!!!!
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