When I was in St. Louis visiting family a couple of weeks ago, I made it a point to sneak away during Wimbledon to watch the third round match between Andre Agassi and Rafael Nadal in what I feared would be Agassi’s last match at Wimbledon. I’ve loved watching Agassi over the years, but I thought that Nadal might just be a little too much for him, and if Agassi lost, it would be his last match at Wimbledon because he’s retiring after the 2006 U.S. Open. As I watched the first set, the camera focused on a necklace that Agassi was wearing. It said, “Daddy rocks.” One of his kids made it for him and I couldn’t help but think about how priorities change as we mature.
Agassi arrived on the tennis scene in 1986 as a colorful, immature, non-conformist teen, but as his career winds down he’s revered as a gentleman, a spokesman for the game, and a humanitarian. (Check out what he’s doing for disadvantaged kids at his Andre Agassi College Preparatory Academy in Las Vegas if you get a chance.)
Why is it that by the time athletes like Agassi become mature enough to live beyond themselves for any length of time that they walk off the public stage? In Agassi’s case, I suspect it has more to do with his aging body that is insisting that he stop playing the game he loves, but surely his “Daddy rocks” gives us a hint as well. He’s ready for the next phase of his life. He’s ready to spend more time with his wife and children. He’s ready to spend more time and energy in his community.
For those reasons, and for many more that were prevalent on the court—his hustle, his tenaciousness, his ability to think clearly under pressure, and his will to win—I count myself an Andre Agassi fan. He lost the match to Nadal, 7-6, 6-2, 6-4 and he graciously accepted the ovation from the crowd. To Nadal’s credit, he stepped aside and allowed Agassi his due, and in the process, he made me want to follow him a little more closely for the rest of the tournament. It was a changing of the guard of sorts, and while that process is always a bit sad, it also brings hope. Because only those who respect the generation who precedes them are able to do what Nadal did. And now, I’m hoping that Nadal becomes everything that Andre Agassi has been—as both a tennis player and a human being.
