There are few things that I enjoy more than ranting about something that bothers me. But if I can't be the one doing the complaining, the next best option is to watch another well accomplished complainer at work. This weekend, we were treated to not one, but TWO masters of the craft showing off their talents.
First up, there was Serena Williams at the U.S. Open on Saturday night. Here's a quick recap of what happened: Serena was called for a foot fault on her second serve at the end of her match with Kim Clijsters, which gave Clijsters match point. Serena was not pleased. She began pacing and then, well... you can just watch what happened for yourself.
(At this point, I'd like to apologize to non-tennis people out there because you probably have no idea what any of that last paragraph meant. If that's the case, I invite you to just skip ahead. Why waste each other's time, right?)
I don't think those two are going to be exchanging Christmas cards anytime soon. Anyway, the line judge in question ran over like a whipped dog, told the head ump that Serena was threatening her, and the head ump and tournament officials ultimately called an unsportsmanlike penalty on Serena, which translated into a point for Clijsters to give her the match.
Now, a foot fault is something I don't think I've ever seen called during a pro tennis match because it's the ultimate of ticky tack calls in tennis. If you're going to call one, that foot better be CLEARLY over the line (which it wasn't in Serena's case). Also, to essentially decide a match with a call like that is about as weak sauce as it comes. And it's not just any match; it's the semifinal of the US Open. This isn't some high school JV tennis match. These are skilled players and, as such, they should be ones to decide the outcome, not a ref.
Okay, so let's talk a bit about Serena's rant. Was it out of line? Yeah, probably. Was it a ridiculous loss of composure? Totally. But as someone who has yelled at a ref or two in his life, I absolutely loved it. Too many refs act like they're above the law and go on power trips because they have so much influence over a game or match. You gotta put them in their place sometimes. For that, I give you a high five, Serena.
Speaking of acting like they're above the law...
It's time for Kanye West. Funny, I had just started thinking that it had been a while since Kanye had done anything really controversial. Right on cue, Mr. West.
As we all know by now, thanks to our friends' Facebook status updates, as Taylor Swift was being given the award for Best Female Video at the MTV Video Music Awards, Kanye jumped onstage, grabbed the mic from her, and began telling the crowd (and Taylor Swift as well) how Beyonce should have won the award for "Single Ladies." Here's a complete recap and video of the incident.
Okay, let's break this down. First off, anyone who knows me knows I love Kanye. And as a Kanye fan, you sort of learn to live with his behavior and his constant need for attention. It's kind of like being a Giants fan and liking Barry Bonds. Did he do 'roids? Yeah, probably. But the guy was a native son of San Francisco, he was the best player on our team for years, he made us immeasurably better, and he made us nationally relevant. As a result, we loved him (and continue to love him) unconditionally. Same goes for Kanye. He does/says stupid and obnoxious things, but we still love him.
With all that being said, there's no way to argue that Kanye wasn't a huge douche on Sunday night. It was Taylor Swift's moment and he had to steal it away from her. But while Kanye may think he was giving Beyonce her props by saying she should have won, the only person he was putting the spotlight on was himself. Look, 'Ye, as a true fan of yours, I can only say this: get over yourself, dude. It's time to grow up and just do your thing without being so caught up in the lives of other people. I still love you, man (as long as you don't do another 808s and Heartbreak-type album), but it's getting harder and harder to defend you.
Kanye does bring up a very good point, though: how the hell did Taylor Swift beat Beyonce?? Beyonce's video KILLS Taylor Swift's! Beyonce's was innovative, entertaining, and memorable. It also became so popular that it was turned into an awesome SNL parody. Taylor Swift's video? It's basically a four minute teen chick flick. I've seen hundreds of videos like this one! And furthermore, the only reason I even watched it was because of Kanye's outburst! Maybe she should be thanking Kanye for giving her more exposure.
It should also be noted that at the end of the night, Beyonce won Video of the Year and gave her acceptance speech time to Taylor Swift. B is a classy lady and I have a ton of respect for her. She's also hella fine.
There is one more thing that's bothering me, though: Beyonce didn't win Female Video of the Year, but she won the overall Video of the Year? How is that possible? (By the way, this was annoying me so much that I just looked it up: "Single Ladies" has over 65 million hits on YouTube and "You Belong With Me" has about 3 million. The numbers never lie, people. Unless, of course, you're Bernie Madoff). The logic of these award shows lacks big time and gives further proof that they're rigged just so that more celebrities get camera time. But I guess the VMAs are a good way for MTV to stay relevant in the music world since they do just about nothing music related anymore. In fact, I'd go out on a limb and say that MTV contributes nothing positive to society as a whole. Well, except for this show, of course...
Stay classy, MTV. (That goes for you too, Serena and Kanye.)
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