Sunday, March 21, 2010

Agassi's memoirs

I am almost done with Agassi's memoirs. It's been very interesting. It is mostly well-written. And the book sets the stage right by describing Agassi's early years, and showing what a tyrant and plain mean man his father is/was. But I found myself realizing that I soon lost some of the sympathy for Agassi as the book went on. He surely had some hard times throughout his life. Who doesn't. But he becomes a giant in the game of tennis, marries a beautiful icon of a woman Brook Shields, is rich, famous, adored...he has it all. And still he is petulant and unhappy. And the book does nothing to explain why, because there is no explanation, other than that is who he is.

I was not a huge fan of Agassi. I always wanted Pete to beat him. (I felt for Pete, who was always pegged as dull. I just thought he was serious, and took tennis seriously, while Agassi did it for fame and money. And the book proved that with all the "I hate tennis pronouncements.) I did root for him more after his come back. It seemed to me that he took tennis more seriously then, and he seemed more settled. And the book supports that belief. But his moody and childish ways were not gone. Even after meeting Graf and becoming happy, he still dismisses losses on the court with weak excuses not befitting a champion.

I know he's only human, as they say. But this book only enforces my belief that he did not deserve my support. If you don't like what you do, then do something else. I will not feel sorry for you for doing something you hate for two decades--and getting huge cash for it. I haven't always liked my jobs, but I do them to the best of my ability when getting paid to do so.

So boo hoo.
But full credit for his honesty here. That took balls.

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