Yesterday, David Lord’s article celebrating Samantha Stosur’s victory at the US Open brought about an interesting discussion over the worth of an athlete’s sporting achievements.
When we see sportspeople flouncing about in underwear ads, or see them breaking team rules on a pub crawl through a red light district, it’s seems easy to discount sportspeople and their field of work.
But that’s not the lifestyle for the majority of professional athletes, and this is certainly not the case for Sam Stosur.
For years we’ve all followed Stosur’s turbulent career. From being ranked No.1 in 2006 beside her doubles partner Lisa Raymond, to struggling to find a sponsor before the Australian Open just a few years ago, it’s fair to say it has not been an easy road for the Brisbane-born tennis player.
I realise that in no way did The Roar intend to have a crack at Sam Stosur, but in yesterday’s article, the reference to Stosur’s cash prize of $1.8 million equating to $2,365 a minute, really hit a nerve with me. Some didn’t understand why, so let me explain.
Breaking down winnings per minute seems to happen quite a bit in sports reporting. Being what many would see as a ridiculous amount of money for one minute’s work, it’s a fun fact, designed to draw gasps and make us all wish we could do that.
However it also insults Stosur’s achievement. It makes it sound as if Stosur is getting too much money for just over an hour’s work.
But here’s the thing – she is not being rewarded $1.8 million for just two sets of tennis. It’s not some jo-blow off the street who has just won a Grand Slam. Stosur’s won $1.8 million for more than two decades of blood, sweat and tears.
Hours upon hours of practicing, playing, exercising, travelling, making personal and financial sacrifices, suffering injury and illness, and having little-to-no downtime away from the sport – all for glorious moments like this.
Then there’s the work of the people who have stood by her side too, like family and friends who I’m sure she will gladly share that money with.
Athletes like Sam Stosur put in more work than many realise, and more hard work than some will do in a lifetime. It’s certainly a different type of work than being a doctor, or a plumber, or even writing for a blog!
They may “play” a sport and get paid for it, but in many ways it’s far more difficult than what you or I do.
People think sports professionals are given this “gift” and that’s the end of it – contract, sponsorship, travel, play, win and repeat – though this is definitely not the case.
You may have the talent, plenty of people do, but to be a winner, to compete with the best in your sport, well that requires something extra. Especially if you play an individual sport like tennis because there’s only one person who you can blame when things don’t go your way.
Along with the physical toll of constant training required just to keep up, that mental toll is probably the greatest hurdle sportspeople have to overcome. Handling the pressure and expectation to win is not something every person can do. If it was we’d all be professional sportspeople!
Stosur admitted post-win that her journey has been difficult as a professional tennis player.
“I’ve slept in train stations and stayed in dodgy hotels and done the hard yards through many places,” she told an American newspaper.
And on her website, it wasn’t winning that she admitted as some of the most memorable moments of her career. Instead it’s those low points that she remembers most.
“Sleeping in a train station in Japan with other players and strapping all our bags together so they wouldn’t get stolen. Using blankets from hotel rooms and pillows from airlines. The things you do to make it on the tour,” she writes.
That’s what they’re playing for – the long, hard slog. The money is the just reward for years spent plugging away with just the faintest hopes of greatness.
This type of devotion may be hard for some people to understand. But anyone who has tried and failed, or knows someone who has gone down that road in professional sport, it’s anything but easy.
A prize of $1.8 million sounds like a lot of money to us, because it is. That’s an extravagant amount of money!
But for those select few who make it to the professional ranks of the sporting world, they deserve every single cent.
And in return we get to see the greatest show on earth – professional sport.
Pretty good deal don’t you think?
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