It’s almost mid-April and I just realized that I never honored our March Kool-Aid Drinkers (see my recent post: “Wanted: Kool-Aid Drinkers”). Actually, it strikes me that the fun part was having all of you post your nominations. Who cares which one I pick, as long as every TW reader gets a chance to post his or her favorite delusional comment.
So, in that spirit, my own choices will be less about the illogic of deep fandom and player worship (why pile on, anyway – you guys pretty much hit the KAD highlights of the month) than other elements worth considering.
My KAD comment of the month, men’s division, is so goofy and fun that it made me laugh out loud, and not because it was bringing a famous player – or other comment poster – down a peg. This is what poster Dennis wrote in response to my “Underhanded Business” post, which floated the idea of top pros making more use of the perfectly legal, but never used, underhand (or drop-shot) serve.
That last line, it’s so heartfelt. It just cracks me up every time I read it!
The KAD comment of the month, women’s division, is shared by a few women and at least one man, who went after me, big-time, for suggesting that Anna Kournikova, once No. 8 in the world, a Wimbledon semifinalist at 16, and two-time Grand Slam doubles champ, was a terrific little tennis player.
The funny thing is, Kournikova’s name just happened to come up in another context to get all this rolling – I’d never even written a post on her. The main reason I'm honoring this string of comments is because of Bud Collins' role in the affair. This episode speaks volumes about the internet, if not exactly blogging, and the potential of new media.
The comments were posted in response to my defense of Kournikova’s record as a player, some of them drawing on material picked up out of interviews I did about Kournikova on The Tennis Channel and an E! Entertainment Channel special on her. So Janet wrote:
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Then, in response to a comment taking a position similar to mine, Aaron weighs in with this:
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This makes the lightbulb go on over my head, as I’m sitting, oh, 25 feet from Bud, who’s a long-time friend. But I bide my time. This comment rolls in from Linda:
Then Samantha kicks this in:
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At this point, I decide to go nuclear. I’ll let my final post on the subject speak for itself:
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So these guys are caught, bang to rights. Deer in the headlights. Do you think one of them would have something to say, or post a reply to my comment?
Nah. The silence was deafening. You’d think they’d never heard of the internet, email, comment posting, etc.
Ah, the sweet smell of Kool-Aid in the morning!