Saturday, January 30, 2010

In Celebration and Honor

I wanted to offer my BIG congratulations to Serena Williams today. She just won her FIFTH Australian Open title and now ties with Billie Jean King in having TWELVE grand slam titles! Wow! That is truly amazing. Her true athletic strength and determination is so inspiring to me.


Photo Credit: Clive Brunskill/Getty Images

And also, she and her sister Venus won the Australian Open women's doubles title for the fourth time on Friday. That is amazing too! So congrats to both of them. They are truly great athletes.


Photo Credit: AP

Brit Boy and I got the chance to watch Venus Williams play at Wimbledon on Centre Court in 2008 and I'll never forget it. You can check out our experience here. What a great athlete and winner she is :)

I often shake my head at the heat the Williams sisters take for....gasp...winning ;-) Some people say it gets predictable and they get tired of seeing both of them win. Well I say, how ridiculous is that?!!!! And some of the criticisms of the sisters that I read sometimes are just vile, mean-spirited and narrow-minded and absolutely stink of sour grapes from people who have never come close to such achievements. We should all celebrate these two women and the determination, sacrifice, and inner strength it takes for them to achieve what they have so far. And I applaud their parents, for not just raising one champion, but raising two. Now that's something to be proud of.

These ladies inspire me and this is why I'm smiling today!

10 comments:

JudyH329 said...

They are definitely good athletes. I remember how good an athlete John McEnroe was, but got a lot of criticism for his behavior. He was still a great athlete. Even Billy Jean King and Author Ashe, both great tennis players, didn't go unscathed. You got to watch them at Wimbledon, Center Court?

Dori said...

Judy,
You're right. They are great athletes, just like John McEnroe, Billie Jean King, Arthur Ashe, and all the rest. It's true, the earlier players got their share of criticism too and no one's perfect, but I just feel in this age that we live in now, the scrutiny is often overdone and every misstep is magnified to the nth degree.

It seems to me nowadays it's all about slamming people instead of celebrating their accomplishments. I just think it's so unfortunate. This morning right after Serena won, this commentator was picking holes in her accomplishment and both me and Brit Boy couldn't believe it. He couldn't just say well done. I understand that they get paid for analysis, but you could tell he had an ax to grind. I was so pleased though when the other guy called him on the nonsense that he said. And I've read some really horrible things that people have already said online this morning about Serena winning and it just infuriates me that some people can be so disgusting. Still, I love how the Williams sisters just go about their business and win and forget about all of that insanity. That's the way to do it :)I didn't mean to go on that long. Pardon me :)

I love hearing your views on this. I always am intrigued to know what you all think on things like this. It's one of the great things about blogging :)

Yes, we did get to go to Wimbledon. It was really great. We got to see both of the champions that year...Venus Williams and Rafael Nadal :)Thanks as always for visiting and commenting.

Patrice-The Soap Seduction said...

Go Serena!!!! She is catching so much flack for being "rude" and "unprofessional" and "aggressive". Who hasn't asserted frustration at some point in their professional life that has been less than ideal? I hope that one incident doesn't tarnish her image forever. Get over it because her accomplishments far outweigh the "bad" stuff.

Chubskulit Rose said...

Another success for her! Stumbled your blog though EC and I just became your follower. Hope you can drop by sometimes.

Mhar's Display said...

Hi Dori, how are you?
It was a very awesome tournament.
Congratulations to Serena.

Marms

Terry Marsh said...

I am both happy for them, and proud of them. They carry themselves with a tremendous amount of grace and confidence. Yes, we all know that Serena had a little blemish last year, but when you train and compete as aggressively as they have to, then emotions will sometimes slip. I wish them the best of God's blessings.

By the way, I really enjoy your blog.

Unknown said...

I gotta say that I am also proud of the Williams sisters. They have managed to have continued success in a sport that burns out athletes at a very young age. They rock, and only add to their already amazing legacy. Cool.

peace,
mike
livelife365

Mrs Sweetwater said...

don't you just love them .. Oh they are so so good. they make me proud everytime they step up to the challenge. strong and proud women; just the kind of role models we all need to see for our future women.

did you see Venus a few day ago in the flesh colored tennis outfit ? it made the press crazy. she is so into fashion chances. I hope her fashion line gets the push it deserves. they have truly revolutionized the worlds' of womens sportswear and sports.

Great Post Dori, As Always.

Mike Golch said...

They are both Great ladies,my Hats off to them.
Dori no one is perfect.as my Dad used to say the last Perfect man to walk this earth was nailed to a cross.and he will not be back anytime soon.
stop on by I pisted a befoer and after on my site.

Dori said...

Patrice,
Exactly. I'm sure that many of us wouldn't want a camera there every minute of our lives because as you said, we all have emotional blowups from time to time. I think it would be truly messed up if her amazing accomplishments were overshadowed by moments of human emotion. I couldn't agree more :)

Chubskulit,
Absolutely! She rocks! Thanks for following me and I will be checking out your blog too :)

Marms,
I'm doing great. How are you? :) It certainly was great. Makes me wanna go play tennis ;-)

The World As I See It,
Me too. I'm very proud of them. I love how they keep their heads up. And I'm so glad you enjoy my blog. This means so much to me. I'll visit you too :)

Mike F,
Absolutely, they have held up well to what I'm sure can be a grueling career. They represent strength and tenacity to me and as you said, they rock! :) Peace my friend.

RE Ausetkmt,
Yes I do :) Seeing Venus play live and in person just put me in awe of her athleticism. They are both so proud and strong and yes, great role models for young women to see what hard work and commitment can do in their own lives. I fully applaud that. And yeah, I love their boldness with fashion :) They just do their thing! That's confidence! So glad you enjoyed my post dear :)

Mike G,
I second that Mike :) Absolutely. My mom used to say something similar to your dad. So, so true! And Mike, I love your before and after. You are inspiring me.