A Different Direction

I've clambered back to the helm again here today. There were more distractions for me today but I managed to slip past them to do my duty to my loyal readers. Some days four of you, some days nine. I don't have the will or the steady hands to try and look up who you are. It's more fun for me to guess anyways. I'd like to think that it is the same loyal folks coming back here day after day to find out what I've spilled from my mind for the public to peruse at will. This pleases me more than imagining that just four people are taking a gander at my grammatically gratifying game of goofs...per day. Either way it works, I'm glad to see the readership growing. It helps to keep me coming back, it supports my drive to put out a good product. It helps me elevate my performance. I'm not just rambling along this time. I'm gearing up with similar themes for my first ever highly opinionated conspiracy theory type of thought collection.

Today I'm going to provide my thoughts on the troubled Canadian tennis star Eugenie Bouchard. This is real departure from the usual generic ramblings of the life of the Tugboat but I find myself interesting in these regards and it is possible that you might as well. If not then hey, I managed to fill up a whole post with stuff that you hate. Don't worry it was free, except for your time, which is likely valuable. Wait, do I owe you for that? I don't think that is how the internet works. Anyways, back on the rails...so if you have followed the career of this Canadian starlet, you know that she worked her way to just below the summit of the women's tennis world in record time about a year ago. She was the underdog darling of whole scene. She was an unstoppable force who simply couldn't miss. Then she ran smack dab into the Russian Wall of Maria Sharapova. Defeated on some major stages by this staunch competitor, it was clear to the Tugboat that some wind had gone from starlet's sails. She played incredibly hard but was just unable to beat that cool, composed steady eddy breeze of an opponent. She headed into the off-season after these bitter disappointments.

What happened next was an "embarrassing" string of losses for the youngster. She struggled to beat the unranked challengers. She lost in the first round of all the major events. People started to question her everywhere, especially in the media. She went through some coaching changes and from the outside observer, actually the very, very outside observer, she seemed to be in a dangerous tailspin. No, wait, I want to keep it more nautical, um, dangerous whirlpool. Like that created when I toilet flushes. Yes, that seems appropriate for the direction her game was headed. She dropped like a stone in the rankings. She seemed to have lost something along the way. She appeared to have lost part of her drive. Reports came in of an injury. She practiced less, but tried to be there on the big stage. This time only met with failures rather than successes. She started to level off. From here it seemed like she was settling for failure. Her press conferences remained positive but came off rehearsed and forced. The same song and dance to explain each disappointment. No excuses though, which is respectable. The Tugboat still can't grasp the piece that went missing and I doubt she can either. But it seems she got something that is dangerous to a budding star athlete, an appreciation for the world outside the sport. She seems to be concerned with her image and her brand more than she should. Instantly one would think of Rick Vaughn in the compelling sequel to Major League. She needs to get her mojo back. Needs to get back to the mindset of her roots, the one that drove her to be great. Needs to get back on the Harley, get her hair cut, don the vest and glasses and get back out there to face her Jack Parkman. But something is distracting her and forcing all those unforced errors. Love? Success? Fear of failure? I don't know. She might, but probably not. I will guess that she won her opening match but I won't hazard to say what happens next but I hope it's more success.

Now that I have proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that I don't know anything about tennis, sports reporting, or being a star athlete, I will begin to wrap up this now lengthy post. I just glanced at what I've concocted and admit to some rambliness. It didn't flesh out like it should have but overall the narrative ends in the right spot. A well wish for Canada's female tennis hope. I hope you echo that cheer and lend her your support. At least until she gets caught doing drugs. Or porn.