What You Don’t See is What Counts

With my finals schedule never requiring me to report to school earlier than 10 (and now that I’m off for the summer since yesterday, hooray!), I’ve been watching a lot of Wimbledon. Wimbledon, for those of you not familiar with professional tennis, is the grandest and most hallowed tournament on the tennis circuit. One of the few tournaments played on grass courts, players are required to wear white outfits, play is suspended on the second Sunday, and men and women are referred to as ‘gentlemen’ and ‘ladies’. I love seeing all of these traditional customs observed, but one of Wimbledon’s greatest allures, in my opinion is the one thing you don’t see.

Sponsor signage.

In the professional sports world, as we baseball fans know all too well, everything is commercialized. Comiskey was erased long ago in favor of U.S. Cellular Field, the Mets erected their new stadium and immediately blazoned ‘Citi Field’ across the top. It’s not just stadium names that have been bought. Whenever the Yankees make a pitching change, the switch is brought to you by AT&T. Whenever a Giants’ pitcher strikes out an opposing batter, the K is sponsored by Johnsonville Sausage. (I’m sorry, but Johnsonville Sausage did not strike out that player, Tim Lincecum just did.) Assorted companies display their logos along the deck railings, restaurants and bars greet you with a logo of a food brand at their entrance.

You don’t see any of that at Wimbledon.

The stadium walls, rather than be covered with names of everything ranging from soda to toilet paper, are covered in ivy. The umpires and linesmen have no logos on their uniforms, other than that of the tournament. Oh, wait, what’s that behind Roger Federer’s head?

Is that a teeny-tiny Rolex logo? Tsk tsk, Wimbledon. How dare you put a small, subtle sponsorship logo anywhere near your pristine grounds? Who knows, you might go from that to this:

A Sports Authority logo, a Volvo sign, a W.B. Mason panel, and an F.W. Webb ad, whatever that is. And this is only one side of the stadium. Even a beautiful, old park like Fenway has succumbed to corporate pressure over the years.

Sometimes, it’s not what you see, but what you don’t see that makes a place special.

5 comments

  1. Square Eyes

    I found that when I went to America that in between quarters they would have people run onto the field and act out an advertisement, I think one was for pizza or some sort of sandwich. I did find that really strange! Our football in the UK is pretty driven by advertising, but you’re right in saying that Wimbledon is a breath of fresh air. I love listening to the umpires of the ladies refer to them as Miss Williams, and Miss Sharapova. And there’s something so classic about watching tennis players on grass play in white. Growing up in the UK I thought that this was the standard for all tournaments of tennis, so when I first watched the U.S Open it was really strange!!
    Great post x

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  2. Michael David

    I guess I don’t watch enough tennis to notice that (unless Caroline Wozniaki is on the court), but that’s really cool. Tradition in sports is what it’s all about, and why I love baseball so much. I think one day the uniforms might look like nascars, though…that would be awefull.
    –Mike
    ‘Minoring In Baseball’

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  5. The Wizard of Ozzie

    I was a tennis fan before I was a baseball fan, Square Eyes, so the elegance of Wimbledon was a standard I held all sports to. But even other tennis tournaments, like the U.S. Open, have gotten too sponsor-happy over the years.
    I fear that day, Mike. I’m afraid that it’s going to be a reality very very soon.
    There are definitely better examples of ugly advertising within ballparks, Kristen, but that was the best picture I could find. At least the Red Sox try to make the ads blend in with the stadium.
    My dad and I call Citi Field ‘Shea’, Jays Nest. Some things corporations can’t buy.
    Catherine

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