Yes A Federer Story, A Well Deserved One

Even in defeat, Tennis great Roger Federer shows us why his dominance and incredible resume merit the same attention names such as Michael Jordan, Tiger Woods, and Muhammad Ali generate. Today Roger Federer's unbelievable Grand Slam semifinal streak ended at 23 as he was beaten by Robin Soderling, the very man Roger beat for the French Open title last year. I understand a Tennis article probably isn't a good read at this point and nobody may read this but Roger deserves to be discussed. Few have ever dominated a sport in the way Roger has, and the ones that have are global icons such as Michael Jordan and Muhammad Ali. More recently Tiger Woods has captivated audiences in the same way, but I would argue, he's done so in a sport that I would characterize as being more of a skill than an actual sport. I always say that real athletes play golf during their off seasons, as the game is very relaxing and doesn't take much activity. With that said, Tiger has become the "lead story" while Roger has been relegated to "filler material". A fact that to me is very unfortunate being Roger Federer at 28 has already laid claim to the Men's Singles Grand Slam record with 16. Roger's dominance was evident even in defeat as his loss was ESPN's Top Story, as Robin Soderling's victory became an afterthought. In a society hungry for gossip and the next big scandal, Federer's story may lack that sizzle. Ali was a trash talking "wow" of a personality while Jordan was an obsessive competitor with a gambling addiction. To be that guy Roger may have to have a few affairs and enter himself into rehab. Has that been done before? Anyway, I truly believe that if Roger was an American the interest in him would increase greatly. But the last time I checked greatness has no color or race, you either are or you aren't. Athletes of this caliber come along very rarely, and when you watch Roger you're watching an elite performer dominate in every sense of the word. Do we realize that?