Wimbledon 2012

                Men’s semi-finals Friday of Wimbledon was a very good day. After the first match I was jumping and dancing around house because my favorite player had made it to the finals. If I was this excited about just getting to the finals, can you imagine how thrilled I was when he won? Let us just say I was very happy, which is quite the understatement. Extremely happy, overjoyed, through the roof; pick one and it still may not cover how I felt. For me, this win, was a perfect way to end two weeks of fantastic tennis coverage. 

        This year ESPN was able to broadcast every single day of the play at Wimbledon. There was not, to my knowledge, any inability to show certain matches because of different contracts, or limited airing for the same reason. Coverage began early in the morning in my time zone (in England it was the near start if not the actual start of the daily schedule) and went through the end play for the day. During the first week the broadcast was only on one station. They did their best to cover as many matches as possible. I was very happy with this for the most part. There were a couple of my favorites I was not able to see until they played on Centre Court. Since it took a bit for them to get there, I did start to wonder: What did they do wrong? Most likely nothing, but it was curious when nearly everyone else was shown. It was especially odd since one of these players is a Grand Slam champion and ranked in the top ten of the world. In the end I understand it is hard to cover every match, and considering all they did show, including a lot of people we usually do not see, it was a small disappointment.
          Then on the second week ESPN aired Wimbledon on two stations. One had the Centre Court matches and the other showed the rest. Whoever came up with this idea deserves great praise and a big thank you. I loved being able to flip back and forth since my favorite players were often on different courts simultaneously. Hopefully they decide to do this again. Maybe next time it can be for the full two weeks. That is just a suggestion.
             Shockingly, I must say, that except for one who will be mentioned later, I had very few problems with the commentators. I did not have to hit the mute button very often. This is a very good thing as I am afraid of wearing it out. Then where will I be? The lack of need to silence the commentators shows how even things were in the discussions and during the matches. They were able to be critical without being nasty, and gave opinions without tearing people apart. Also, issues were addressed, such as the players’ grunting that drives people crazy, in a thoughtful and respectful manner. With so many rain delays and time to fill it would have been easy to get off track and say whatever came to mind no matter how harsh, but they did not. They did a really good job. 

              As much as I enjoyed these two weeks, there were a couple things I did not like. One is the above mentioned commentator who will remain nameless. I do not know why, but for some reason, this person speaks with such disdain about the players, except for an obviously favored few. The unnecessary jabs and stabs greatly irk me. Does every single struggle and difficulty a player has had have to be brought up all the time? In my opinion it does not. I am not claiming being a commentator is easy. That is not what I am saying by any means. I just believe it is important to remember that while what we are watching on court is tennis players, the reality is they are people. They are human beings who go through ups and downs like everyone else. So can we please leave out the blatant bias?
             Another thing that upset me, and I know this is how the system works but that is beside the point, is the media talking to the men’s runner up so quickly after the loss. I do not mean the one on court where he got to thank people, but the other one with all the media there to ask questions. I felt terrible for him. It was clear he was upset. Could he not have been given an hour or two? Give him some time to collect himself and release the shock and disappointment? As I said before, this is a person. Who, when they are upset, really wants to answer questions? Especially when it comes from a swarm of media? This is just my two cents on the matter. I am not saying the fault is Wimbledon’s. It is the system that exists throughout the tournaments which I have always wondered about. 

            I had such a good time during the two weeks of Wimbledon. There were great matches and history was made once again. ESPN must get much credit for the broadcasting. I hope they are able to employ this system to the other Grand Slams. If that is not possible, I would be thrilled to have it at least remain for Wimbledon. I look forward to watching again next year.