Posted by Paul Bonham on September 2, 2008, 23:29:44
Seattle Washington

Wow, I wonder if this might be the last post on the old board. It's kind of like buying a lottery ticket. I was just watching US Open tennis, and one thing that's always annoyed me: why must the fans applaud after every point that is played? Imagine you are playing on board 1 of a Swiss and you are surrounded by throngs of spectators. Now imagine that after each move, both yours and your opponent's, the spectators break into applause. Imagine they do that even when you make a weak or bad move. Imagine yourself having to acknowledge the applause after your move, even as your opponent makes a winning move, a move that you missed completely! Tennis fans should realize how ridiculous they are by applauding. As if those players don't get enough reward already. The same goes for golf, where the "gallery" applauds after a golfer makes a hole, even if s/he double bogied the hole or worse.