Next time you have Chris Evert on, learn how to pronounce her name before the show (learning to pronounce Navratilova's name would have been nice, too, but no one in the U.S. seems to care about that). Learning a bit about the Evert-Navratilova rivalry and friendship would have helped, too.
It was sad to hear Martina talk about being booed by crowds because she was gay; I remember that. "You lived your truth," Chris told her. That truth was a bit easier to live because of Evert's support, too.
Oh, thanks. I'm always glad to pass JJ news on.
ReplyDeleteI miss Martina and Chris, too. I'll be seeing them next week in Charleston.
I always had the sense that nobody liked Martina when she was winning all the time in the early to mid 80's. In the beginning I thought it was because she wasn't American born
ReplyDeleteBut then I remember how hard they cheered for Hana Mandlikova and Steffi Graf (in 85 and 86 respectively) when Martina played them. Although I was too young to know/appreciate that she is gay, I was struck by how outwardly against her people seemed to be in those days.
Maybe it was because she won all the time? But it may have also had something to do with her sexual orientation. What a shame that she had to wait until she was on the "wrong" side of 40 to be fully appreciated for all she's done in tennis and in her life.