Tipsarevic, Giants, and Amazing Race
by kmikeym
I watched the end of some fantastic television this weekend. First was the end of the epic four and a half hour tennis match between Roger Federer and Janko Tipsarevic. Tipsarevic was the unknown underdog (ranked 49th) going against the reigning Lord of Tennis and the match was an epic back and forth battle down to the wire. There is a full review on the New York Times.
Next was the last few freezing minutes of the NY Giants vs. the Green Bay Packers. The game was tied 20 to 20, and the Giants were attempting a field goal in the final four seconds of the game. If they made it they'd be going to the Super Bowl. They missed.
So it's overtime, where the first team to score wins. There is a coin toss, which goes to the Packers. Things are looking grim. A interception and a beautiful redeeming field goal and the Giants made it! Epic sport moment.
Finally was the final episode of Amazing Race, which sucked me in as they ended their around-the-world race in Anchorage Alaska. The show is edited to build tension, which you just have to accept, but it was clear that the Ron and Christina were the early favorites. It came down to one roadblock where they had to complete an overly complicated puzzle. This was where "the hippies" (TK and Rachel) took the lead and went on to win the game. Reality Blurred makes a great point: "Alaska's a beautiful place, but the best location the producers could find for the finish line was a dirt airport covered with weeds? Seriously?"
All three of these were incredibly satisfying and tense ends of things I don't normally watch. I'm sure it was just happenstance that I was able to see three good endings (imagine only seeing the last episode of Lost), but it seems especially remarkable that all three were unscripted events. The Tipsarevic/Federer match felt like watching tennis history. The Giants/Packers game was not as important to the whole of football, but was huge to Giants fans. Least important was the win by TK and Rachel, but even that reinforced the "Never Give Up" theme of The Amazing Race.
It reminds me of Marshall McLuhan recommendation to decide if you want to read a whole book by just reading page 69. By watching just the ends of these events I am much more inclined to watch Federer and much more inclined to watch Tipsarevic. I will be rooting for the underdog Giants in the Super Bowl, and I'll check out next season of the Amazing Race.
