Federer vs. Nadal: Epic match, so what?

On Sunday Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal went at in what is already being called the greatest Wimbledon men's final ever. At a whopping 4 hours and 48 minutes, with 3 rain delays and five sets (the 5th going to 9-7), I'm not doubting the sports reporters calling Nadal's win "epic." But I have to wonder if anyone in the US cares. This was probably the most compelling setup for a men's tennis match in years, but few people in the US sat down to watch (and at almost 5 hours, can you blame us). Collectively, we seem to have a vague awareness of what goes on in the tennis world (An all Williams women's final is certainly good for the ratings), but we don't stop to watch. Some of that is because the dominant players are not American. In the absence of an American powerhouse, we turn to the international players/models for poster children (Sharapova, Kournikova, etc.). But our interest in those players has more to do with their men's magazine photo spreads than their game. With the exception of the emergence of the Williams sisters, tennis has offered little captivation for American audiences in the past decade. And in many ways, tennis shares that characteristic with another downtrodden enterprise in the US, the NHL.

OK, maybe comparing tennis and the NHL is a stretch. But when you think about what these sports have going against them, there are some similarities:
-Some of the best players are from international extraction. This is always going to kill American audiences. We want hometown heroes.
-There are no superstars. There are stars within both sports. But what makes a SUPERstar is talent and personality. A John McEnroe is the only thing that could potentially boost the American audience for tennis or hockey. But we live in such a high-performance era, that any tennis player with the athletic prowess to make it to the big show, must have an iron will and perfect focus to stay there. Racket tossing and shouting at the chair umpire are no longer eccentric and funny. They are signs of mental weakness. Hockey players, on the other hand, have always seemed to lack personality. Have you ever watched an interview with a hockey player? It's painful. I used to cover hockey games for RIT SportsZone and interviewing a hockey player after a game (whether they've won, lost, or set an NCAA saves record) is like pulling teeth.
-They're both kind of boring. In tennis, we have points. And lots of points go into a single game. And lots of games go into a set and a several sets go into a match. Are you kidding me? I love tennis. But as a spectator, when I see a drawn-out, scrambling for every-shot, flashing backhands and punishing overheads point, I kind of wish it counted for something. But think about it this way: In a men's match, where one opponent must score (at a minimum) 72 points to win 6-0, 6-0, 6-0. All of that work for 1/72 of a match just seems demoralizing. Hockey's problem is different, but no less mind numbing. The lines, the substitutions, the penalties and the power plays. There is something archaic about the game that does not lend itself to adoption by the casual fan. Even the 4 downs system in the NFL is easier to explain that an "icing" call.

But here's where they're different (and this is the important part). Tennis knows it's boring. Tennis knows it's champions are often unrecognizable. And it lives with those facts. Tennis is appreciative of the folks who do tune in to watch a Federer Nadal match and doesn't scold the audience and ask why they don't stop by more often. The NHL thinks it is bigger than it really is, or ever will be. Its executives whine that the NHL doesn't get enough TV coverage, but when the Stanley Cup is on, it's pulling in half the audience Dancing With the Stars manages. The NHL tries to keep up with the big three (NFL, MLB and NBA) and fails miserably. But instead of embracing the underdog mentality, the NHL will just keep upping player salaries and ticket prices until even the devoted fans have no avenue to the game itself. While tennis toils in obscurity, hockey toils against obscurity. And the NHL is losing.