I think its interesting to see the number of athletes who once excelled at a sport and were as close to perfect form as they were going to come, "let themselves go" after they are done playing. WHen I played soccer in college, one of the things I enjoyed the most was the fitness and the body all that running and lifting gave me. It was a foundation that I've managed not to completely let go to waste in the 10 years since. I've got nothing to brag about, but I'm simply stating that sport was a perfect opportunity to create that body. There are so many former athletes that don't seem to care about keeping the same form after.
smithers: Oh, I just meant that dwelling on Huizinga would put a dent in any claims Gumbrecht has on a popular (or even semi-academic) audience. Sort of like the old saw about equations in popular science books: each one reduces its readership by half. There's nothing wrong with the old grad-school staple itself. FWIW, David Foster Wallace's essay on Federer might be a nice companion piece to this. I'd like to see McEnroe's game analyzed in the same way--especially his matches back in the wooden-racquet era. Watch a rainy-day replay of one of his old Wimbledon matches sometime. After some of his best shots--the ones where he manipulates pace, angle, depth, and spin in the most unexpected ways--there's often a moment of silence from the crowd before they cheer. They're surprised and delighted by the improvised beauty of it all.
