Wimbledon is on regular TV. Since I gave up sports, I don't get sports channels, but it is pleasing to see Wimbledon. Some of my favorite memories are of watching guys like Laver and Smith and Ashe and Nastase. From them I learned the game. I played nearly every 
day for three years while following Connors and McEnroe and Borg. Oh, and Evert. Chris Evert, my favorite.
I'm watching Roger "I Feel It's Impossible To Miss" Federer rip through Jonas Bjorkman. The game has changed in some ways – the players seem stronger, quicker, they serve harder. But the basics are the same. It's a great game.
But much of the appeal with major sporting events, Super Bowl, World Cup, World Series, Masters, is the spectacle, the tradition. Mr. Federer may not be thinking right now of the great players who have preceded him at the All-England Lawn Tennis And Croquet Club, but their footsteps still echo. We admire the skill of today's heroes, but honor the memory and character of players gone from center court.
