Losses

There have been several losses this past week. The first one that I'll mention is the Notre Dame-Penn State game. Oh my, the Fighting Irish did a job on the Nittany Lions. As we watched, we felt we were watching the team of two years ago. Next week will come and this week's loss will be forgotten, well maybe not completely forgotten.

The other loss was that of Crocodile Hunter, Steve Irwin. A sad ending to a young life. Many bloggers wrote about him, and it seems that everyone admired him for being so enthusiastic about his life's work. One's heart goes out to him wife and young children.

The other loss was Andre Agassi's loss at the US Open. No one whose blog I read said anything about this...maybe I don't read in the right circles. Andre Agassi was indeed a colorful figure in the world of tennis during his 21 years. Sports Illustrated had a lengthy article about him a few weeks ago before the US Open. The article described how his father hung tennis balls over his crib when he was a baby. He was driven to succeed. I read once that when he took second place in a tournament, his father was very disappointed and said that second place was no good.


As a young player he came to Bradenton to train with Nick Bolletieri, who ran a tennis academy here. He became well-known as a tennis player and the figure we saw hawking Canon cameras, stating, "Image is everything." You might recall how taken Barbra Streisand was with him. She said, "Oh, he's so evolved." Then he married Brooke Shield, and that marriage didn't last.

Somewhere along the way he got it right. His image changed from the brash youth to a gentleman who loved not only his sport, but his fans. He established a charter school in Las Vegas for disadvantaged youth.

He married Steffi Graf and is now the proud papa of a son and daughter.

When I was flying home from Richmond last Monday, someone left the sports section of the New York Times in the bathroom stall. His picture graced the front page, so I took it along with me to read. One headline said, "From Rebel to Statesman." The pretty much says it all.

And this quote was at the top of the page. "You have given me your shoulders to stand on to reach for my dreams, dreams I could never have reached without you. Over the last 21 years, I have found you, and I will take you and the memory of you with me for the rest of my life." Andre Agassi addressing the US Open crowd.

And, Andre, we will remember you and miss you. You may have lost the tournament, but you ended up a winner.