Skip to main content

Open, Andre Agassi

Sadly the holiday is over, and there is one more holiday-reading-book I want to comment on; Open by Andre Agassi.


What a brilliant book! And I mean brilliant! I couldn’t put it down. I am not alone in this sentiment, with many people rating it very highly. I want to thank Jeremy and Gracie for giving it to me for Christmas, good job!

The book starts dramatically with an account of Agassi’s final dramatic match at the US Open. That chapter alone is worth the read. Then the story is told of his upbringing. I won’t go into details and spoil it for you, but it is an amazing account of a driven father, a son who hated tennis (yes, hated, he always did, even to the end), and the development of a tortured child-prodigy. As a father who has been a ‘sporting parent’ with three very talented children, I can sort of relate. I think we did a better 
job, but sometimes I am not so sure. 

The story that unfolds is one of tennis, the quest to find identity, relationships, and the nitty-gritty of real life. While he has a bit of a crack at Michael Chang especially for his “blend of egotism and religion that chafes’ him (p. 151), God is there in his story. He gives his trainer Gil a necklace which is a gold pyramid with three loops representing the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost (to use his words (p. 153). One of the key characters is JP introduced to him by Philly his brother who takes him to church. JP becomes a mentor, part of the Agassi team, who plays a great part of Andre Agassi’s pilgrimage. JP gives us all a real lesson on how to relate to postmodern people struggling on the journey (esp. read pp. 121–126). He walks with him and they grow together. Agassi is a kind of Johnny Cash Christian figure; tortured, struggling, and yet there is faith burning in his amazing engine.

Tennis runs through the book, but this is a book that is much much deeper than merely a recitation of sporting achievements and disappointments. It is a psychological saga. No disrespect to Richie McCaw (he is a hero of mine); it has everything his book lacked! (See my earlier blog—http://drmarkk.blogspot.co.nz/2014/01/the-open-side-richie-mccaw.html)! And I mean everything. Analysis! Deep! Psychology! Critique! Depth! Passion!

That said, as a sporting enthusiast who has had a moderate sporting career below the higher echelons, I was drawn into the sport of tennis—a game I have only dabbled in. What a game! Agassi likens it to boxing, but lonelier. On the court, it is you, a racket, a ball, and an opponent who is trying to batter you into submission. It is physically ridiculous, like the Tour De France, beyond the ability of anyone to endure. It is a brutal mind-game. Those who succeed are some really amazing athletes and people with real resilience.

After reading the book, I watched the Australian Open and felt far greater understanding of the psychology of what was going on. It made me love it more. I thought of Agassi’s book especially when watching the amazing final with Stanislas Warwinka and Rafael Nadal. What a saga! Wawrinka without a chance, supposedly! Then him dominating the first set and a bit. Rafa looking worried. The crowd stunned. Then Rafa’s back injury. Then Wawrinka’s inability to finish him off. Then his rally. Then his moment of glory. It felt like a chapter of Agassi’s book. I thought of moments in Agassi’s career as I watched the game. Tennis is indeed a microcosm of life, as is all sport.

What I loved most about this book is that it is a story of redemption, it is a ‘gospel’ story in the sense that from those broken beginnings, Agassi gets put back together and is now a great benefactor to people in need. He found his way. It also challenged me that someone can hate something and yet it is their gift, and they can find the path in it and through it. I have to say, Agassi is at the top of the list of people I would love to have a coffee and chat with! I won’t say anymore. I don’t want to ruin it if you haven’t read it. Whether you like sport or not, get it and read it. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Evangelical Presbyterians’ Statement On Same Sex Marriage

I am involved in a group called Presbyterian Affirm. It is an evangelical group within the NZ Presbyterian Church which seeks to promote the gospel and the renewal of churches. A group of us under the leadership of Stuart Lange have worked to put together a statement on same-sex marriage. Our hope is that the government will not pass the legislation, believing that the legislation is not necessary and strays from God’s ideals for humanity. Here is the recently released statement. I would appreciate your thoughts on it. PRESBYTERIAN GROUP OPPOSES SAME-SEX MARRIAGE BILL Presbyterian AFFIRM, a widely-supported conservative network within the Presbyterian denomination, is speaking out against the Bill which would allow same-sex couples to marry, declaring its views in a “Statement on Marriage” (see below). Presbyterian AFFIRM believes that “marriage is a unique human institution and treasure” which has “always been about the pairing of a man and a woman”, and that re-def...
385 comments
Read more

Ten Reasons Why A.J. Miller is NOT Jesus!

Note: Forgive me for the long blog, but this one really got me going! Last Sunday night on TV One's Sunday aired the report A.J. The Messiah. The program was the story of A.J. Miller in Queensland in Australia, who, unlike most of us, genuinely believes that he is Jesus. Miller appears at one level to be a normal Aussie bloke, in his early thirties, longish brown hair, unshaven, good looking, articulate and charismatic. Yet, unlike anyone I know but in the manner of other Messiah-claimants, he says without inhibition, "I am actually Jesus." He claims to remember vividly his former life and death including his experience of crucifixion. The memories supposedly began when he was 2 years old and realised later that he was Jesus around 33. In the program he writes on a white-board, "I am Jesus. Deal with it"—to applause from his congregation. He has disciples, some of whom claim to have been with him 2000 years ago including Mary Magdalene who is his "soul-ma...
271 comments
Read more

Tribute to Stuart Lange

For anyone who is interested, I have attached my tribute to Rev Stuart Lange here. He is a legend! It was fun to roast him.... A Tribute to Stuart Lange, No Longer Vice Principal Community of Laidlaw… But still church history lecturer… so not a good bye, but my way of Saying Thanks to you for your years as VP Community… Stuart Lange, not Langey; or Longey; or not langgggg.. but Lange! Or, as I like to put it, S.lang… Slang… for good reason. Stuart Lange, history prof, a man who truly embodies his subject; the quintessential historical prof… Slightly eccentric, crooked smile, hooked and bent nose… you know he has a crook elbow too, took the dog for a walk, hit the chain, smashed the elbow… Of course the dog was unharmed… No Surprise, a lover of animals, each year looking after the animals at the Massey Christmas drive through, donkeys, lamas… etc… Then there is his Einsteinlich hair… kind of a wild man of Southland look… in fact… Stuart Lange A face a cartoonist would die for! The ne...
491 comments
Read more