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Beauty should be win deep
© St. Petersburg Times WIMBLEDON, England -- Two women. One reminds you of Centre Court. The other reminds you of centerfolds. Two women. One brought passion to her sport. The other brought fashion. Pray tell, which one were you watching? Anna? Or the queen? Never has there been a greater contrast in sports than Wednesday afternoon on Wimbledon's Court No. 2. Martina Navratilova, the model tennis player, stood inches from Anna Kournikova, the tennis player-model, during their mixed doubles match. Substance, meet style. Style, substance. Here, it turns out, is the common ground between someone who has won it all, and someone who has won nothing at all. What in the world could these two talk about? And why wasn't Kournikova writing down every word? If the sight of the two was strange, however, the sound was frightening. No sooner had the players began to warm up when the crowd began to chant the name ... of Anna. Are you kidding me? Have we fallen so far that we cheer hype in the presence of legends? Are we so mesmerized by beauty that we ignore performance? Answer: evidently. In Navratilova, you have the finest athlete in the history of her sport, a champion who helped shape the game. In Kournikova, you have someone whose shape has become more important than her game. Be honest: Which one would you have cheered? This does not speak well of the fans at Court 2, but perhaps it shouldn't surprise us. Too much of sport these days is about packaging instead of performance. Too many people value a pretty face over a beautiful game. Too many people think eye candy is just dandy. In her day, Navratilova was forced to hide her sexuality; Kournikova simply put a price tag on hers. Two women. One has given us interesting sights. The other has given us Internet sites. Two women. One has kissed a lot of trophies. The other would like to sell you some lipstick. Yes, they play the same sport. Yes, they hold their rackets by the same end. But seldom will you find two players who seem to define success so differently. Navratilova is 45 years old, and her domination began the same year Kournikova was born. But put the two on a tennis court today, and I'm betting on Navratilova. Because even now, Navratilova is a workout fiend. Because, even now, winning a tennis match is more important to her. Consider this. Kournikova has won 171 singles matches in her career. Navratilova has won 170 singles titles. For those keeping score at home, Kournikova never has won a singles title. Once a promising teenager, Kournikova has become the WTA's ultimate one-and-done player. She shows up. She smiles prettily. She loses. Guest appearances on Letterman last longer. For goodness' sakes, you might as well hand a tennis racket to Kathy Ireland. She could play the beautiful first-round loser just as well as Kournikova. And perhaps with a bit more grace. Take this Wimbledon, when Kournikova lost her opening match (of course), threw a snit in her news conference, then threw another snit when the BBC broadcast her opening snit. Navratilova, bless her, defended Kournikova on Wednesday: "Would (the questioner) say that to Pete Sampras? Never, ever." Perhaps not, but Sampras has won a tournament or two in his time. The game seems to be the thing with Sampras. With Kournikova, tennis has become a part-time career to everything else. When you make $10-million a year in endorsements, how important is working on your backhand, anyway? "She's had a lot of hype," Navratilova said. "I don't think she's really courted the attention, certainly not as much the last couple of years. Maybe when she was 15, 16. But I think she's been serious about trying to become a better tennis player." That would be nice to see, because if you remember the early days of Kournikova, she could play a little bit. She was obsessive about the game she had played since the age of 5. That, of course, was before she took up the lucrative career of being pretty. "She's a sex symbol," Navratilova said. "Is she supposed to say, 'I don't want your money.' That's like you win the lottery and say, 'No, I don't really deserve it.' " The thing is, no one blames Kournikova for being a looker. It's just that you would like to see something more from her. You would like to see a little passion. Who knows? Maybe she should lose the skin-flasher outfits and show up in a pair of baggy gym shorts, like the ones Navratilova wore, just to tell the world her priorities were important to her. Hey, Navratilova has considered rejoining the singles tour. Maybe Kournikova should do the same. Two women. One won everything without endorsements. The other has endorsements without winning anything. Two women. One is about record books. One is about men's magazines. Which one do you want your daughter to watch?
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Times columns today Mary Jo Melone Gary Shelton From the Times Sports page Outdoors |
