The P@ndemic probably changed a lot of my priorities when it came to sports! I'm just getting back into basketball playoffs; with the Lakers elim. a great start! We can talk about other things than LBJ now! Liked the upsets; esp. with Atlanta's success! They don't deserve it after watching them for decades not support their teams! Even the Hawks failed to sellout for the Bulls in the playoffs in their "Hey Day!" They actually moved to a college gym so it would appear more like they cared! The Falcons got more adulation due to Deion Sanders, the new stadium, and making the playoffs! Haven't seen that fever pitch of support in years though! I was the most disturbed with how The Braves made the city proud year in and year out back in the 90's, but playoff games had empty seats! Shame!
If you're a Braves fan, you've got Ronald Acuna, one of the most exciting post-Trout players.The P@ndemic probably changed a lot of my priorities when it came to sports! I'm just getting back into basketball playoffs; with the Lakers elim. a great start! We can talk about other things than LBJ now! Liked the upsets; esp. with Atlanta's success! They don't deserve it after watching them for decades not support their teams! Even the Hawks failed to sellout for the Bulls in the playoffs in their "Hey Day!" They actually moved to a college gym so it would appear more like they cared! The Falcons got more adulation due to Deion Sanders, the new stadium, and making the playoffs! Haven't seen that fever pitch of support in years though! I was the most disturbed with how The Braves made the city proud year in and year out back in the 90's, but playoff games had empty seats! Shame!
Even I, a hardcore baseball fan ( will live and die with my SF Giants) admit that modern baseball is a “broken” sport.I haven't paid any attention to baseball in years! Even though in Chicago, I had no idea the Cubs were a winning club and took a World Series a few years ago! I've thought baseball a colossal joke for years with all those empty seats and salaries going into the stratosphere! It just made no sense to me! Who''s paying the freight on this BS; cable? Must be one of those channels I don't watch! Baseball sucks and it's been even more of a joke every time I see the news and there's a new controversy over a rules change! I don't even know the players who are making all this money, while someone like Pujols is still trying to haunt the league!
JelenaFan beat me to it, but...are you softening (and sweetening) up in your old age, Federberg? Haha.
That kumbaya moment was good while it lasted.
Not to be a troll, but how can Federer even be the dominant player over his peers/generation when his 2 biggest rivals have a winning edge in the H2H? I understand how much Roger's dominated the era overall, but it was more "HIS" before Nadovic started taking him down a few pegs! His real dominance lasted maybe 3 or 4 years! He's been the perennial #3 the last decade or so! The rest of the tour may have been his b!tch, but it took him 5+ years (3 losing finals) to add those 3 majors to his resume with the help of Nole's "18 month walkabout!"
That’s why it’s apples and oranges, it’s whether Federer‘s period of dominance trumps not being YE #1 for the last 12 years ( and counting) of his career. Rafa was # 1 in 2008 and # 1 in 2019 so his 5 years as number 1 has spanned over 12 years. Mileage varies as to what is more impressive.Not to be a troll, but how can Federer even be the dominant player over his peers/generation when his 2 biggest rivals have a winning edge in the H2H? I understand how much Roger's dominated the era overall, but it was more "HIS" before Nadovic started taking him down a few pegs! His real dominance lasted maybe 3 or 4 years! He's been the perennial #3 the last decade or so! The rest of the tour may have been his b!tch, but it took him 5+ years (3 losing finals) to add those 3 majors to his resume with the help of Nole's "18 month walkabout!"
I won't live long enough to see it, but I think Federer will eventually become a footnote; sorta like Sampras who led with 14 majors for 8+ years! He was given every "benefit of the doubt" as to being The GOAT; esp. with his not even playing a French Open final! We'd think that unthinkable in this generation of champions; justifiably so with the likes of Fedalovic leading the way! How can Roger be noteworthy of much of anything outside of longevity and what it brings in the way of streaks? There are 2 players that have cleaned his clock for well over a decade, his records are falling by the wayside, most of the odd top records having to do with the Masters are out of reach; I could go on, but you get the idea! The Tennis Intelligentsia will have to get off this love affair w/ Fedal sooner or later; esp, if Djokovic completes the deal this yr. w/ 2 more majors to go!
No, it doesn't because I'm talking about his generation - Safin, Roddick, Ferrero, Ferrer, etc. Rafa and Novak are 5 and 6 years younger, so of a later generation. In other words, it isn't exactly, but its kind of like:
Throughout tennis history, you always had champs playing older, contemporary and younger challengers. I just find this "era" definition too pat, Laver was fending off much younger players in some cases when he won his Grand Slam in 69, Borg didn't have that many contemporaries his age, he started as a 17 year old wonderkind and was retired by age 26. In his "era" as you pointed out, there was the younger Mac and the older Connors. As to Connor and Borg, they played in the teeth of each other's careers despite the age difference.
The age difference matters, though. Federer has hung around and been one of the top players in the sports for years after his closest peers were retired or no longer any good. Connors was also relevant deep into his 30s, winning a couple Slams in his early 30s, I believe. The main outlier, as far as age is concerned, is Rafa being a Slam winner at 19, sort of like Borg's early success.
To nitpick on your second point
Whatever about Nadal as most of the wins making up the remaining difference in h2h at this stage can be attributed to clay and Roger's poor lack of strategy and never learning to hit through his backhand till 2017 coupled with Nadal's obvious superiority on that surface, but this has been pointed out many, many times about Djokovic....he only got the h2h advantage when Federer was in his mid thirties. That's not a majorly impressive stat by any means to have only got ahead when the guy was above the age most tennis players retire...Not to be a troll, but how can Federer even be the dominant player over his peers/generation when his 2 biggest rivals have a winning edge in the H2H? I understand how much Roger's dominated the era overall, but it was more "HIS" before Nadovic started taking him down a few pegs! His real dominance lasted maybe 3 or 4 years! He's been the perennial #3 the last decade or so! The rest of the tour may have been his b!tch, but it took him 5+ years (3 losing finals) to add those 3 majors to his resume with the help of Nole's "18 month walkabout!"
The board just posted similar feelings of Sampras! After 6 straight YE #1's, where was there to go winning a record 13 Majors? Pete was lucky to pick up that 14th after going 2+ years without winning anything! He was in a malaise of proportions never seen with a #1 outside of Connors hanging on for dear life closing in on 40!
