The Bimbledon Years

 As you can see, I've been rummaging around in old snapshot files and have found some more fun pictures....

Jon and I have always shared a passion for sports, including tennis. But there was one slight problem: neither one of us was good enough to make it fun to play. So, we decided badminton was our game. Jon was the one who dreamed up the idea of a tournament. It was summer, Wimbledon was fresh on our minds, and Jon's favorite tennis player was, of course, Boris Becker. Why do I say "of course?" Because Becker was the guy who literally dove for every shot--even on hard court surfaces--and Jon just thought was awesome cool. And, Becker was tall, blond and good looking.

It seemed just too plain boring to call it the badminton tournament, so one night around the dinner table it came to us: Bimbledon, the tournament of badminton champions --Badminton + Wimbledon = Bimbledon, both are lawn games, Jon was a Becker fan, I loved Chrissy...get it?. OK, OK. I'm sure I"ll hear the groaning from each and every one of you!

We had a trophy and everything. Jon and I played "for real" those first years...and then, just like Jon, he didn't want me to feel bad so he would make  sure  I won my "fair share" of games--even though he swore he never threw a game, I'm still not sure he didn't give me a few. And Jon, true champion that he was, always dove for the hard shots--not being  satisfied unless he ended the day with grass stains on his clothes. I think the last tournament we played was in San Jose (I brought my own racket on the plane with me) when Jo and I went out for his Mission Homecoming. And I won...and yes...I'm pretty darn sure he let me!

These photos are from 1987...the same year that Jon officially became taller than Jo and Vicki. Truth be told, the shot of Jo and Jon exaggerates the height difference for that year...but   that's OK. And yes, Jo presented the trophy to Jon, the champion that year, who is demonstrating the appropriate solemn expression for the occasion--just before we all broke into laughter.

If you click on either of the pictures, a larger version should open in a separate window.

Comments

[Nicole Martin]

I love it! So that would make Jon about 13-14 in these pictures? I have a lot of memories of Jon looking just like this... Thanks, Vicki...

[Lori Terril]

This is great! Last night as Shane was watching the Steelers game and I was listening (by default)I couldn't help but think of Jon and how excited he would be about the Steelers going to the Super Bowl!