Tradition and Sense

I've never been the biggest fan of traditions. I often find them outdated, outmoded, and unnecessary. Some are great; most are not. The same goes for Wimbledon, where some rethinking is needed.

By nature, I'm a pragmatic person, and traditions often are not pragmatic. It's not that I'm against the concept, it's that I don't want them to interfere with what I think is a better way of doing things. Many times the reason for keeping a tradition alive is just because that's the way it's always been done, and that is what I have a problem with. Traditions with reasons are good. Traditions without them are usually dispensable.

For instance, the no advertisements: All for it. Who doesn't love not seeing a bunch of crap all over the court? Putting the "Mister" and "Miss" honorifics in front of people's names: Again, great. A nice nod to English culture.

The all-white? Not a fan. There is no reason for it. People wore all white centuries ago because they were wearing long sleeves and pants (or dresses), and they were quite hot. White is the coolest color to wear, making it a rather efficient choice. Overheating because of clothing isn't a problem anymore. Ergo, wearing all white is hardly needed.

I can live with the rule, though. Not playing on Middle Sunday, though, makes me want to rip my eyebrows off. There is absolutely no reason to suspend play for a day in the middle of the world's biggest tournament. What's more, with the rain of the first week and what has been fine weather today in London, not playing is needlessly making the players suffer. Guys on the bottom half of the draw, who aren't even through the third round, are now at a competitive disadvantage, as whoever advances to the finals will now have to win four matches in six days just to get there.

Please tell me what sense that makes, how that helps anyone. Sure, it makes Monday that much more exciting, but is it worth the cost? The tournament is really costing itself money here. Tournament officials had better hope the skies remain dry for the next seven days, as even one more rainout will cause serious problems.