Sports from Sprouts: Tennis

Friday, July 1, 2011

Monday, June 6, 2011

Red vs Blue, Federer vs Nadal

Rafa Nadal and Roger Federer following the final at Roland Garros

If only they switched their shirts... never mind, continue with flimsy red-blue premise

"It was the matchup everyone craved but few predicted would happen, a record eighth time the same two men have faced off on the last day of a Grand Slam event." (LA Times)

Almost every computer game, comic book and fantasy series pits a red character against a blue. Inevitably these two come to lock horns in cosmic battles for supremacy. Oftentimes this seemingly never-ending confrontation follows along a standard pattern of the Red Oni vs the Blue Oni which tvtropes describes in the following way:

"The Red Oni is associated with passion, wildness, defiance and fire. A red oni character is often more brawny than brainy, enthusiastic, determined, and filled with a zest for life. He is also much more likely to break conventions and rules than his counterpart. Often an Idiot Hero or, in more mature pieces, a Boisterous Bruiser, (or at least having some qualities of one) and likely to be Hot Blooded. If a red oni is indeed noticeably intelligent, he will still be much more emotional than the blue oni, and/or with less sophisticated thoughts, feelings, or goals. When a villain, a red oni is often a Blood Knight. Whereas his blue counterpart puts a lot of focus onto higher goals, causes, or codes of behavior, the red is usually more concerned with people. Say something nasty about their country or cause, and they'll usually shrug or laugh it off. On the other hand, say or do something nasty to their closest friends, and you've just guaranteed yourself a world of pain. Likely candidate for The McCoy.

"The Blue Oni is an opposite in most ways — more intellectual, proud, traditional, cultured (sometimes more spiritual, although that's not guaranteed), and associated with water. Blue oni personalities are often respected by others, but also likely to puzzle or confound their peers because they are difficult to read and have a mysterious quality to them. Personality subtypes include The Stoic, The Spock, The Quiet One and the ever popular Aloof Big Brother. (Pride, aloofness, or social ineptness also means they frequently have trouble spitting it out, whatever "it" may be.) It's worth noting that while blue types appear tremendously calm and composed, sometimes this is just the surface, and scratching that facade may show that they are, if anything, wound far too tight beneath their calm and unemotional appearance. (This is particularly true of the villains). Villainous blue oni tend to be extremely ruthless, ready to do or sacrifice anything (and often anyone) to accomplish their goals. See Knight Templar and Well-Intentioned Extremist. Likely candidate for The Spock."

I put it to you now, what if the red and blue were to merge into one all powerful being? eg. would 26 slams over the last 8 years translate to a clean sweep of 32? xkcd has cleared things up for me no end with this handy comic strip, mwah hahaha!

Links:
Rafael Nadal defeats Roger Federer for his sixth French Open title (LA Times)
Red Oni, Blue Oni (TV Tropes)
Matrix Revisited (xkcd)

Saturday, June 4, 2011

Federer vs Nadal again

Tomorrow will be the 19th time the two play against each other in a competitive final. In total Federer and Nadal have met 24 times with Nadal leading the head to head rivalry 16-8.

Win or lose, Federer knows that he'll still have women dropping at his feet as this video from earlier in the week shows...