Sports is sports; not politics. (I think.)
written: 11:27 p.m. on Monday, Feb. 16, 2009

I'm pretty sure I've posted this poem before but it's been running through my head lately and it's a really good poem so there's no harm in revisiting it.

One Art
Elizabeth Bishop

The art of losing isn't hard to master;
so many things seem filled with the intent
to be lost that their loss is no disaster.

Lose something every day. Accept the fluster
of lost door keys, the hour badly spent.
The art of losing isn't hard to master.

Then practice losing farther, losing faster:
places, and names, and where it was you meant
to travel. None of these will bring disaster.

I lost my mother's watch. And look! my last, or
next-to-last, of three loved houses went.
The art of losing isn't hard to master.

I lost two cities, lovely ones. And, vaster,
some realms I owned, two rivers, a continent.
I miss them, but it wasn't a disaster.

--Even losing you (the joking voice, a gesture
I love) I shan't have lied. It's evident
the art of losing's not too hard to master
though it may look like (Write it!) like disaster.

It is not an optimistic poem, and it very, very subtlely captures the pain that one goes through in trying to convince onself that losing someone, "you", is not a disaster. I absolutely love this poem.

***

On another note, and a sour one at that, an Israeli player, Shahar Peer, has been denied visa by the UAE government to play in the Barclays Dubai Tennis Championships. The WTA side of the tournament started today. She was only notified of the rejection of her visa application less than 24 hours before the tournament started.

I completely agree with players like Amelie Mauresmo (who won the Paris Open last night, by the way. Love her!), Dinara Safina, Jelena Jankovic and Ana Ivanovic that this is an absolutely shitty move. Sports and politics should never mix. Sports should never be used as a platform to air one's political grievances. Shame on the Serbs and Bosnians that rioted outside Rod Laver Arena during the Australian Open when Novak Djokovic, a Serb, and Amer Delic, a Bosnia-born American, played their match. Shame to those who opposed the Shahar Peer/Sania Mirza, an Indian Muslim, doubles pairing.

Above all else, absolute shame on Dubai for shamelessly and blalantly breaking the rule shared by both tours that requires every tournament to allow all eligible players to take part, regardless of nationality, etc. The Dubai championships is one of the biggest events in tennis after the four Slams. The mere idea that such an important event eventually resorted to petty politics only goes to sully the significance of this event, as well as its legitimacy.

To tell the truth, I couldn't understand why this Dubai tournament was such a big deal, precisely because it's held in Dubai. For all its aspirations to be a global city where the rich and famous set up rich and famous homes, Roger Federer being one of them, it sure as hell isn't very forward-looking, or progressive, when it comes to the perennial Israel issue. Sure, yes, Israel and the rest of the Middle East aren't likely to get along within the next, oh, half decade, and perhaps it's even true that the UAE has consistently denied visas to Israelis though I'm not sure about this. But if Doha, Qatar granted Peer a visa, I don't see why Dubai/UAE can't do the same.

What annoys me the most is that the ATP and the WTA, always desperate for sponsorship (for who isn't?), didn't seem to have considered the possibility of the Peer situation - an Israeli tennis player trying to compete in one of the most important non-Slam event of her sport in a Middle Eastern country. Did they honestly not consider the possibility that an Israeli player might make it that far? Surely they must have, and yet, despite probably also knowing about the UAE's stance on granting visas to Israelis, they went ahead with this Dubai thing. I can understand the financial reasons: Dubai is rich. Dubai significantly sponsors the WTA. Dubai, again, is rich. And Roger Federer loves Dubai.

Whatever. I'm not impressed. The two tours should pull out of Dubai next year and find another sponsor. This isn't just one player; this is a matter of principle. I'd even go so far as to say the WTA should have cancelled the tournament altogether, and the ATP should follow suit next week; but since they've gone ahead (apparently they spoke to Peer and she doesn't want to affect everyone else), this tournament in Dubai should be the last. You simply cannot justify continuously having one of your biggest tournaments in a country where one of your players, whom you are supposed to treat equally as everyone else, was denied entry simply because of her nationality - especially when you have strict (well, presumably strict anyway) rules requiring all tournaments to allow eligible players to take part regardless of their nationality.

This is tennis. This isn't about the Gaza unrest. This isn't about the Israel/rest of Middle East conflict. Dubai can't have it both ways: it can't host such a big event and not make an exception for one person. If it doesn't want to make an exception, it shouldn't host the event. Period. And if it continues not to make an exception, the WTA and the ATP should pull out.

I'm curious to know what Roger's going to say about this (it's almost 100% certain - like 99.999999999% certain - that the media will ask him about it. They ask him about everything) but I'm not holding my breath for an insightful response. I hope this time he won't be his usual blunt self and say what he really thinks, because even if he really thinks that Israel should be left alone or whatever (I'm totally making this up, obviously; I haven't the slightest clue what he thinks), this isn't something he should go on record saying. The backlash is going to be quite terrible and he's been the subject of way too much bad press lately.

***

This controversy reminds me of the Beijing Olympics and that controversy and how people in France were trying to get people to boycott the Olympics. I know I was one of those that thought a boycott was only appropriate.

After all that I said about how politics and sports should not mix, I'm not sure if I'm having double standards of my own. Am I only of the opinion that politics and sports should not mix because it's tennis, or because it was China? My bias against China is well-known and I don't try to hide it, but I don't want it to be the reason for my inconsistency. I don't know if the two situations are even comparable. I still think China should not have hosted the Olympics and to some extent, I still think it wasn't unreasonable for the boycotters to do what they did - but how does this gel with everything I just said about Shahar Peer, Dubai, and the ATP/WTA?

Maybe it doesn't. If it does, I don't know how.

Well, anyway.

***

Anyway nothing. This entry is done!

before sunrise // before sunset


Previously:
- - Tuesday, Aug. 29, 2017
I'm moving. - Sunday, Jul. 11, 2010
In all honesty - Tuesday, Jul. 06, 2010
What I want for my birthday... - Sunday, Jul. 04, 2010
On Roger's behalf. - Friday, Jul. 02, 2010