"...will only get you so far..."

This is something that was pissing off both Anna and I, and hopefully most of the ESPN audience, as we watched Serena Williams advance to Quarters the other night at the Australian Open....

There are a lot of stupid things said by sportscasters. But Mary Carillo's comments of Serena (and in the past with Venus, I hear) bordered on personal hatred. And, OK, we get it, Serena could be in better shape. You've made your point Mary.

But then you bring it up again, and again...

[I'll paraphrase]

Mary: "If she was in better fitness she could endure in this heat."
After a 30+ stroke volley, Serena wins the point.

Mary: "Maybe this will motivate her to get back in the gym."
Serena gets her 9th ace to her opponent's zero.

Mary: "Without top fitness you can only get so far."
Serena advances, yet again, in one of the top tennis tournaments in the world.

And this is where they really loose me, because where, like Mary I can only wonder what Serena's fitness potential really is, but unlike her I take a step back and look at where and who Serena is... Serena has the fitness of a professional athlete because she is a professional athlete, and not only that, she's proven herself to be one of the best in the world, just as she is now.

So get the hell out of Serena's grill! She has an impressive physique, although unconventional(?), and a will to win that cannot be matched. Repeatedly calling her fat on national TV makes you seem jealious and stupid, getting proved wrong so consistently. (Not to mention what it says to the Athlete girls/women of America who are Serena's size [not fat] and already have a hard time justifying their muscle weight.)

I hardly want to watch anymore because when Serena finally does lose out all these announcers be able to say is "Well, _x_th place... Hmmm, just think how well she would have done if she was in any kind of shape."

Sorry for the rant.