Part II of Steve Tignor's "Fan Club" series is now up here. I have to say, I'm really liking so much of what Katrina has to say ...
"What bothers me most about coverage of Rafa in the media is that journalists seem to go after him in a way that they don’t go after other top players, namely Roger and, recently, Novak. It’s not that I think either Roger or Novak deserve to be eviscerated in the press; but, more balanced coverage, coverage that acknowledges some of their foibles and less graceful moments, would be nice."
Oh how I agree with that. So many times I've rolled my eyes as you think, "Here we go again ... its Open Season on Rafa". And the tenacity to focus on all that is negative on Rafa is palpable for me at times.
"Again, it’s not just the habitual negative-leaning coverage of Rafa that bothers me; it’s the disparity between his coverage and that of Roger and Novak. I understand it, to a certain degree; these are “the stories” at the moment—Novak as the new star (and who wants to rain on the new star’s parade?) and Rafa as the “struggling” one (which makes him especially vulnerable to criticism). Still though, for whatever reason, the negative-leaning coverage seemed to get out of hand at the end of last year and the beginning of this one. Everywhere I looked, there were pointed barbs and veiled insults and not-so-veiled insults aimed at Rafa: Rafa whines too much; Rafa is always injured, which is his own fault; Rafa’s a greedy hypocrite because he complains about the schedule but plays exhibitions; Rafa is selfish because he wants the Davis Cup format changed; Rafa is a total failure because he can’t beat that unbeatable guy; Rafa’s probably going to go out early in Australia because both his body and spirit are broken; Rafa is losing his hair."
Its exhausting at times, isn't it? Ploughing your way through the negativity in the Press, the studio pundits, the bloody commies!! It was fever pitch, I thought, at times during this Australian Open.
That's why our Rafateers forum is so important to me and my friends on there; why places like Vamos Brigade and Nadal News thrive. Because contrary to popular belief, we're not above criticism of Rafa, but the most important thing of all is to have somewhere to go to share in the joy, to have a place to be positive about him.
Perhaps Steve Tignor has been taking on board some of what Katrina has been said. I see he has written this article today, and whilst it centres around the later media and internet fall from to the Australian Open final (and thus it includes Djokovic in his points), I couldn't agree with this particular one more ...
"Still, I get the sense that Djokovic and Nadal are being judged not for who they are, but for who they aren't: i.e., Roger Federer."
That - certainly for Rafa - won't change in the lifespan of his career, but here's to other journalists giving this some thought.
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