Metaphorical analysis of Andy Roddick's US Open loss and America's downfall

[marmar]

from Death+Taxes:



It was a beautiful night at the US Open last night, if on the warm side. But even from my nose-bleed seats halfway up the promenade section, it was clear the heat was nothing compared to Andy Roddick‘s meltdown, which came across like an allegory not only for US mens’ Tennis, but for the US itself.

US mens’ tennis, much like the US at large, faces serious challenges right now on the world stage.

When Andy Roddick, the top American player who was ranked at number 9 in the world going into last night’s match, stumbled earlier this summer it was the first time in decades that an American didn’t occupy a spot in the top 10 rankings worldwide. It was as if watching an era of comfortable dominance yield to an era of shaky uncertainty.

Roddick’s indignance last night when an umpire called him for a foot fault was Roddick’s undoing. It wasn’t supposed to be this way. This was supposed to be Roddick’s tournament. He wasn’t supposed to be losing to a 44th-seed nobody from Serbia.

....(snip)....

In settling into a comfy sense of American entitlement, we make assumptions that may be not only unrealistic for the twenty-first century, but anathema to our competitors, who are willing to work way harder than we are. The belief that we will always be richer than our parents, that we will retire at 55 and receive healthy social security benefits, that our property values will one day send our kids to college—these assumptions may be softening us, slowing our game and distracting our will to just play.

If America is to pull out of the global economic challenges it faces, much like US mens’ tennis, it’s going to have to realize that the rest of the world has caught up. Our American status no longer guarantees us victory. And if we don’t stop thinking about what we’re owed and just play, we may not even find ourselves competing in the finals. .........(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.deathandtaxesmag.com/26826/is-andy-roddicks-wrath-why-american-is-losing/

[qazplm]

1. who knew

one tennis player was somehow proof for the decline of America.

What a ridiculous article.

[marmar]

2. It's a metaphor....not "proof"

nt

[qazplm]

7. you need to look up the defn of metaphor

"Metaphors are comparisons that show how two things that are not alike in most ways are similar in one important way. A metaphor is more forceful (active) than an analogy, because metaphor asserts two things are the same, whereas analogy implies a difference"

[marmar]

8. Again, it's a metaphor.....Thanks for verifying that with the definition.

nt

[joeybee12]

3. Thing is, I don't know if anyone really thought Roddick had a chance...

last year he was playing better, now he stinks again...can't imagine him turning it around especially with his easily rattled nerves...maybe Andy feels a sense of entitlement, that's why when a bad call goes against him, it's the end of the world, as if no one else in tennis ever got a bad call.

[tishaLA]

4. LOL. What a crappy piece of writing.

First, "US mens' Tennis"? Twice? (Dear author, Please learn to use possessives.) Then, "indignance"? I Fred Durst writing this and will I soon have to read about 'agreeance"?

But...the foot fault didn't cause Roddick's meltdown. He was already unwound, looked alternately sluggish and skittish, and couldn't impose himself upon points with his serve and forehand. And if having a player in the top 10 has something to do with "comfortable dominance," imagine how powerful Spain must be--to say nothing of Croatia. And no, this wasn't "supposed to be Roddick's tournament," at least not to anyone who pays attention to the sport. Seven years ago perhaps, but not since the rise of Roddick. I'd wager more people thought Andy Murray would win.

[KamaAina]

5. Throw James Blake in there while you're at it

at one point: No. 6 in the world, African American, AND from Fairfield, CT, where I went to high school.

And since then? There's no "choke" emoticon, which would work just as well for Roddick. ALL of the top ten men are now foreigners. :grr:

[joeybee12]

6. And there's no one really coming up through the ranks...Isner is already 25...

...he'll be a top 20 player for a while, that's all...that 18-year-old kid from Georgia might break through, but I don't know much about him.