Tribute to the Ball Between Federer’s Legs: How the U.S. Open made me watch sports
Monday, September 14th, 2009I’ll admit it - I’m not much a TV-watching sports fan. Now don’t take this to mean I’m not active… I’m very active and do lots of sports myself, but I just could never get into watching sports on TV. 
However, several years of Sunday afternoons spent in front of my sweetie’s folks’ 52″, always-on TV have developed in me a certain appreciation for the skills these athletes possess. What I love is the overwhelming feeling of being impressed. For example, I am impressed when Tiger can take aim at a tiny ball and send it flying 300 yards and get it within feet of the hole, I am impressed. I mean, I’m no expert but even I know that’s 3 football fields. It takes 15 300 lbs guys 4 hours to get a watermelon sized ball to the other side and Tiger can do it with laser precision over trees and sand. Impressive.
But today’s column is a tribute to Roger Federer and one of the most impressive moments in sports I have ever witnessed. So here’s our man Roj up at the net, and Djokovic sends the ball way past him. No matter, Roger spins around, turns his back to his opponent and the net, chases down the ball flying at god knows what speed, overtakes the ball by running over it, hits the racket between his legs, and makes the shot. Djokovic is so stunned he can’t even move. If you missed it, here’s a replay with two angles. The expression on their faces is the best part: between Federer’s, Djokovic’s, and the fans, NO ONE can believe it actually worked!
A shot like that could convert even a sports-watching skeptic like me that there is grace, beauty and skill in the world. Well, maybe that’s the kind of skill that comes with incredible natural talent plus the experience gained from over 61 titles and 15 Grand Slams. In an interview after winning the match, Federer says he actually practices that shot, but it “never works out”.
Ok, OK, so I guess we can’t all be ranked #1 in the world in tennis and be the all-time leader in earnings, raking a career total of over $50M. For the rest of us duds who need to get a desk job, here are some great schools where you can play tennis while earning your degree:
| School Name | Why we love it: | Tuition | Number of Students |
| 1. UCLA | In top 10 for Both Men’s and Women’s Div. I | $16,848 | 41,463 |
| 2. USC | #1 for Men’s Tennis Div. I | $37,890 | 33,666 |
| 3. Emory | #2 In top 10 for both Men’s and Women’s Tennis Div III | $36,336 | 10,534 |
P.S. And Roger, Good luck from all of us at CampusCompare in today’s final game in the U.S. Open!
