It's A Horrible Day To Be An Idiot Who Thinks Pickleball Is Boring After Watching This Point Between The Two GOATs
Something I've never understood is when people have any sort of animosity towards a sport. There are people out there who think that the only sports that should exist are like football, baseball, and basketball. Those people are generally fine with golf and tennis being acceptable under their strict definition of "sports". The moment you bring up any other physical form of competition, they immediately start to shit on the game and discredit its existence as a sport. It's bizarre behavior, but I suppose there are plenty of unhappy people out there who hate to see other people out there having fun. Personally, I think you should just let people enjoy things. But it's easier to just shit on something you don't understand rather than figure it out.
One of the most common gripes people have with pickleball is that it's just "tennis, but easier" or "tennis, but more boring". Obviously there are a ton of similarities between pickleball and tennis since they're both racquet sports, But after watching that point at MLP Orlando from yesterday, I don't know how you can walk away from thinking pickleball isn't an entirely different beast from tennis.
You've got Anna Leigh Waters and the New Jersey 5's taking on Ben Johns and the LA Mad Drops. The GOAT of women's pickleball going up against the GOAT of men's pickleball in mixed doubles. What happens when you have the two best players in the world playing against each other? You get an ridiculous 113-shot rally. And, sure, a good portion of those 113 shots were dinks. That's another big gripe that pickleball haters have against the sport. I'm willing to admit that dinking doesn't make for the most compelling television product. But these guys are all so good that it's not just 4 people standing around lightly hitting the ball back and forth to each other.
These are some high pressure dinks getting everyone moving across the court the set up better shots down the road. There are a couple lobs, a few hands battles, some great defense, and Erne attempt, and Erne block, and it all ends with Noe Khlif putting that point away with a couple big overheads while having the footwork and balance to stay out of the kitchen. You either watch that point and realize there is some validity to why pickleball is so popular right now, or you just don't actually like sports. That point had everything you could ask for. Speed, power, patience, strategy, precision, and someone just clutching up at the end to win it.
Speaking of clutching up, there was another awesome moment at MLP Orlando yesterday in the Chicago Slice vs California Black Bears match. That one went to a dreambreaker, which is pretty much pickleball's version of penalty kicks/shootout. It's a rotating 1v1 tiebreaker. Both of these teams are in the hunt for the MLP playoffs, and here comes the youngest player in the league, 13-year-old Elsie Hendershot, clutching up and closing out the match.
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Just a lefty with a vicious two-hand backhand and a dream.