Watching Rafael Nadal win Wimbledon and Spain win the World Cup was perfectly enjoyable. I was particularly satisfied by Rafa's victory, as he is the player I root for above all others. I liked the soccer played by the Spanish side, but America was my number 1 and the Netherlands was my number 2. With the two tournaments running simultaneously, and my obsessive need to not miss a moment, the entire experience was saturating bordering on overwhelming. Obviously, the Spanish are on el septimo cielo with Nadal on top of the tennis world, the World Cup in their possession for the first time, and Alberto Contador claiming the yellow jersey today in the Tour de France. But I needed something decidedly American to balance things out. I was lucky enough to receive an extremely generous gift from a fantastic friend to help me fill my patriotic need... tickets to the Major League Baseball All-Star Game.
I could probably ramble on for hours about my comprehensive All-Star Game experience, I have previously stated that this blog is dedicated to tennis. I know I've already used this space to discuss other sporting events, such as the Olympic Games and the World Cup, but I'd like to stick to the subject at hand as much as possible. I suppose if I wanted to I could sing the praises of the Miami Heat miraculously signing LeBron James and Chris Bosh to play alongside Dwyane Wade. Or I could break down every pedal stroke of the daily drama unfolding in a phenomenal Tour de France. But, despite that temptation, I'm going to restrict myself to talking tennis as much as possible, which brings me to the point of this piece. Despite numerous opportunities to approach baseball players during the All-Star festivites, the one famous person I felt compelled to interact with turned out to be one of my tennis idols.
That's right, the one and only Andre Agassi! Just to clarify, that's him on the left and me on the right. As expected, he was gracious and cordial, even inviting me to have a seat next to him to pose for a picture. I took full advantage of AA being so generous with his time. I told him I had played tennis that morning and was in the process of changing my grip to Western in an attempt to hit with more topspin. He told me, "Semi-Western, low to high," and demonstrated.
I can't possibly imagine anything satisfying my urge for something American more than a chat with Andre Agassi at the baseball All-Star Game. Notice I'm even wearing red, white, and blue.
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