I think what the Williams sisters have pulled off is nothing short of amazing. To have the #1 and #2 players in the world (that can change, but they're certainly the two most dominant players) hail from the same country would not be noteworthy. But to have them come from the same state--the same house!--is astounding.
If the stories that are so oft-repeated are true, Richard Williams was watching a tennis tournament, saw how much prize money the winner received, and decided that he was going to raise a tennis star. He did it not once, but twice. Add to that the fact that they lived in a poor black section of LA, with no fancy schmancy country clubs and tennis coaches beyond their self-taught father, and it sounds more like a Hollywood script than reality.
That they both seem to really love each other, not take fortune and fame too seriously, and have stayed down to earth is good to see. I couldn't care less what religion they were born into. I doubt either of them have ever practiced it seriously, anyway.
If the Williams sisters' success causes the WT to loosen their death grip on the social lives of its young people, or just gives other young Witnesses the excuse to ignore their out-of-touch leaders, then it is a cause for celebration. (The hypocritical silence coming from the society in view of the Williams' draping american flags over themselves at the Olympics is rather deafening, but I just can't get myself to care that much.)
Hmmm
Edited by - hmmm on 1 October 2002 15:26:45
