Laureus #6 for Federer
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Laureus #6 for Federer
So last night Federer received two Laureus awards for Sportsman of the Year and Comeback of the Year to add to his Sportsman of the Year gongs for 2005, 2006, 2007, and 2008. Nadal won the main award in 2011, and Djoko in 2012, 2015, and 2016.
Tennis seems to do rather well at Laureus - on the women's side Capriati got it in 2002, Henin in 2008, and Serena in 2003, 2010, 2016, and 2018.
It's not that surprising that tennis does well as it tends to produce articulate sponsor-friendly decent-looking individual athletes that most people can relate to.
What do we make of it? Not very much personally - Laureus seems to me to be the sort of bs organisation where global Kenneth Widmerpool figures congregate to enjoy a bit of 5-star lifestyle and noisily tell each other in front of the world's press what good sorts they are and how philanthropic they are and how important sport is and what they do is. I'd go further, I think it's a bit nauseating. Sport is a tremendous fun diversion, and I love it, and I love following it, but it is no more philanthropic and giving than any other area of life. You can give as much as you like to good causes, but as long as you are happy to provide an acceptable public front for misogynist, authoritarian, dictatorial countries whilst taking their money I'd rather not hear from you about the good you are doing in the world and see you concentrate on the day job that I pay good money to enjoy.
Fed said some good stuff about Nadal, kudos to him for recognising that it could just as easily have been Nadal there, but he also came up with this pretentious guff:
I don't want to get too excited, but it's a bit beneath the person I'd like him to be and rather irksome. He'd have to perpetrate the record ever school massacre not to be remembered first and foremost for his tennis. I am a big Federer fan, but once more I see one of my favourite sportspeople confirming my iron rule of enjoying what the sportsperson does whilst on the field of play and not building myself up for disappointment by viewing them as role models or particularly significant individuals outside that arena.
Tennis seems to do rather well at Laureus - on the women's side Capriati got it in 2002, Henin in 2008, and Serena in 2003, 2010, 2016, and 2018.
It's not that surprising that tennis does well as it tends to produce articulate sponsor-friendly decent-looking individual athletes that most people can relate to.
What do we make of it? Not very much personally - Laureus seems to me to be the sort of bs organisation where global Kenneth Widmerpool figures congregate to enjoy a bit of 5-star lifestyle and noisily tell each other in front of the world's press what good sorts they are and how philanthropic they are and how important sport is and what they do is. I'd go further, I think it's a bit nauseating. Sport is a tremendous fun diversion, and I love it, and I love following it, but it is no more philanthropic and giving than any other area of life. You can give as much as you like to good causes, but as long as you are happy to provide an acceptable public front for misogynist, authoritarian, dictatorial countries whilst taking their money I'd rather not hear from you about the good you are doing in the world and see you concentrate on the day job that I pay good money to enjoy.
Fed said some good stuff about Nadal, kudos to him for recognising that it could just as easily have been Nadal there, but he also came up with this pretentious guff:
"The Laureus Foundation does amazing work. I have a foundation of my own and get inspired and motivated by what you do. Maybe one day, I'll be remembered for my philanthropic work rather than my tennis work."
I don't want to get too excited, but it's a bit beneath the person I'd like him to be and rather irksome. He'd have to perpetrate the record ever school massacre not to be remembered first and foremost for his tennis. I am a big Federer fan, but once more I see one of my favourite sportspeople confirming my iron rule of enjoying what the sportsperson does whilst on the field of play and not building myself up for disappointment by viewing them as role models or particularly significant individuals outside that arena.
barrystar- Posts : 903
Join date : 2017-11-07
Re: Laureus #6 for Federer
Yeah...I must say I don;t care much of that Federer's side. Good on him but it will have to be more than having a fundation to impress me more than his tennis.
Tenez- Posts : 21050
Join date : 2012-06-18
Re: Laureus #6 for Federer
barrystar wrote:So last night Federer received two Laureus awards for Sportsman of the Year and Comeback of the Year to add to his Sportsman of the Year gongs for 2005, 2006, 2007, and 2008. Nadal won the main award in 2011, and Djoko in 2012, 2015, and 2016.
Tennis seems to do rather well at Laureus - on the women's side Capriati got it in 2002, Henin in 2008, and Serena in 2003, 2010, 2016, and 2018.
It's not that surprising that tennis does well as it tends to produce articulate sponsor-friendly decent-looking individual athletes that most people can relate to.
What do we make of it? Not very much personally - Laureus seems to me to be the sort of bs organisation where global
This is the area where I am not cynical at all. I’ve been following sports all my life, used to have scrap books with cutouts from newspapers, and was a walking encyclopaedia on football, gymnastics, skiing, athletics, basketball, swimming...and those end of year awards looked so genuine and meaningful back then: golden boot, olympic medals, Zurich grand prix, L’equipe awards, and Laureus!
Sport was probably just as corrupted then as it is now, but I wasn’t aware of it, at least not to which extent until the mid 90s when I think it started to get aggressively political.
Still, I feel the same about Laureus...however kitch it may be...always good to see accomplished athletes/legends from the past in their tuxedos sit around glammy dinner tables, their achievements are so much worthier than those of rotten Hollywood with its Oscars.
Pro sport may be full of dope and corruption, but those athletes are still human and real, esp the tenacity, sweat and tears they put in.
And to me, those elements will always be relevant no matter what.
Yes, that’s the side of sport I’m not interested in at all, either.barrystar wrote:
Kenneth Widmerpool figures congregate to enjoy a bit of 5-star lifestyle and noisily tell each other in front of the world's press what good sorts they are and how philanthropic they are and how important sport is and what they do is. I'd go further, I think it's a bit nauseating. Sport is a tremendous fun diversion, and I love it, and I love following it, but it is no more philanthropic and giving than any other area of life. You can give as much as you like to good causes, but as long as you are happy to provide an acceptable public front for misogynist, authoritarian, dictatorial countries whilst taking their money I'd rather not hear from you about the good you are doing in the world and see you concentrate on the day job that I pay good money to enjoy.
It seems to me top athletes have no choice actually but to open and run these “foundations” and “give back”.
And yes, it’s quite nauseating.
All big businesses do it - Bill Gates, Nike...their token donations to research and the likes...while bleeding millions of slaves in factories amd sweatshops around the world and paying them peanuts, then looking “generous” and teary eyed at gala dinners like this.
That’s where athletes sell their soul a bit...but I really think they don’t even have a say in it...
barrystar wrote:
Fed said some good stuff about Nadal, kudos to him for recognising that it could just as easily have been Nadal there, but he also came up with this pretentious guff:"The Laureus Foundation does amazing work. I have a foundation of my own and get inspired and motivated by what you do. Maybe one day, I'll be remembered for my philanthropic work rather than my tennis work."
Fed is funny in his speeches...he can be so goofey...and Nadal is part of that package.
I’ll never understand...
barrystar wrote:
I don't want to get too excited, but it's a bit beneath the person I'd like him to be and rather irksome. He'd have to perpetrate the record ever school massacre not to be remembered first and foremost for his tennis. I am a big Federer fan, but once more I see one of my favourite sportspeople confirming my iron rule of enjoying what the sportsperson does whilst on the field of play and not building myself up for disappointment by viewing them as role models or particularly significant individuals outside that arena.
I think Fed is doing well to keep himself to himself in a way.
When I listen to him like this, I always see a Swiss boy, slightly provincial and shy, yet strong and wholesome as those majestic mountains and nature in Switzerland.
Here is the speech:
An overexcited and overwhelmed Federer who indeed is truly out of this world only on the tennis court.
noleisthebest- Posts : 27907
Join date : 2012-06-18
Re: Laureus #6 for Federer
Also, I think we have been probably spoilt with too much of a good thing in the last 10-15 years with tennis becoming super pouplar thanks to primarily Federer then Fedal and later Djokovic.
But all three with their individual rivalries have managed to overshadow football and other superstars which is quite something.
So, I’m saying yes to it all...may the good times last!
And as Martina rightly says, Fed has been an inspiration to us all
But all three with their individual rivalries have managed to overshadow football and other superstars which is quite something.
So, I’m saying yes to it all...may the good times last!
And as Martina rightly says, Fed has been an inspiration to us all
noleisthebest- Posts : 27907
Join date : 2012-06-18
Re: Laureus #6 for Federer
Martins’s not exactly smooth at public speaking.
bogbrush- Posts : 3052
Join date : 2015-03-30
Location : England
Re: Laureus #6 for Federer
Too much juice burned her tongue...
Jahu- Posts : 4103
Join date : 2016-02-23
Location : Egg am Faaker See
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