“And so she starts to
wander…can you blame her?”
There are deal breakers
even in the game of tennis. I can’t stand competing against two types of
players: the opponent who completely smothers you and the one who looks
competitive on the surface but actually completely stinks. The one who smothers
and the one who stinks…
The best matches are
those middle ground battles where the domination of shots is divided between
two opponents. I mean, why do we bother competing in the first place if we don’t
live to play these matches? I live to play these matches because they are the
most fulfilling to me as a tennis player. They are heated enough to kick my
endurance up a notch and cool enough where I can enjoy the moment at the height
of competition. Anyone who knows me also knows I am willing to play tennis with
just about anybody. Beginner, intermediate or advanced—I will share a court
with any of you. However, when it comes to match play and keeping score, I want
someone who can return my shots just as well as I can. I want an opponent who
isn’t going to lie down when I crank a serve. My favorite type of player doesn’t
feel burdened by me and they certainly don’t crush me so hard I can’t compete.
I’ve been thinking
lately about what type of relationship I want to have and how in the past, I’ve
been drawn to men who simply aren’t cutting it. You know the types I’m talking
about. There’s the smothering fella who bows down to your every word, much like
the opponent who takes over the match while you are left sweating it out and
feeling breathless. Then there’s the guy who starts off so strong you think he
may turn into a smothering fool but drops out after a few games and becomes as
noncompetitive as a stinker in tennis. Where is the middle ground? Where is the
man who takes charge and shows you a good match? I think I need to take my
tennis opponent criteria to this area of my life. I need to take a departure from the norm. I need to be
wiser about who I allow to ‘court’ me. It’s one thing if I know going into a
match that my opponent is a total stinker, someone who can barely muster a
point off me. I would rather play with that person any day than someone who
comes into the match faking it, only to pull out when things get intense (or
worse yet, fake an injury **it’s not you, it’s me, sound familiar?**). I guess
what I’m saying is if you come to play, you better be prepared to compete. I
mean what I say and say what I mean. Don’t waste my time. There’s nothing I can’t
stand worse than that.
“For the day that something
really special might come…”
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