Go Mental

'Noon, everybody. I won't take too much of your time, because we've got Jackie-Oh's Deuce Club post in the pipeline and Rosangel's given you a nice table-setter for match-calling and general tennis discussion at this lean time of year. With Pete Sampras back in London for the first time since he last won Wimbledon, it seems entirely appropriate for us to have our "book group" discussion of the autobiography I recently co-authored with Pete, A Champion's Mind.

I'm looking at next Wednesday (Dec. 10th, a week from today) as best time, starting in the afternoon (two-ish), so that our overseas friends (of whom we have many) can participate. I'll post some remarks and then invite all of you to weigh in with your "reviews", and I'll also be happy to answer questions having anything to do with Pete, or the process of producing the book. I'll also make time in the evening to continue the discussion, for those of you who will be stuck at work or otherwise indisposed during the early chat-round. So you can pencil that in on your calendars.

Pete, like his pal Roger Federer, is a "celebrity" as well as athlete, and just yesterday I had an email from long-time TW lurker Lance K., alerting me to an intriguing study published recently by the British Psychologial Society.

It's a funny kind of name, inn't?  I mean, "psychological" is an adjective, right (I am right, ain't I?), so this evokes images of hordes of Brits in sensible shoes and anoraks (bushy, corkscrewing eyebrow hairs a must for the men) getting all "psychological" with each other over a rather intense afternoon tea - Ah, now i see why they're a psychological society, instead just a bunch of regular folks having tea and talking about. . . stuff.

So if I were a member of this august society, and at all concerned that members of regular society would think I was some sort of nut job, I'd lobby to change the name to The British Society of Psychology, or even the British Psychology Society. . .  On the other hand, if my image is accurate, let's cut to the chase and call ourselves - the UK Psycho Club! Or should we start our very own splinter group here at TW (Jewell - you're in charge of recruitment)?

I digress. This study is a must read for anyone who's ever wondered about the psychology of name-dropping (or feels obliged to read everything every article ever published that includes the name, "Roger Federer"). Even more pertinently, it suggests that many, many of you (Tari? Tim? Fedfan?) would be much in demand as "research partners" in Switzerland, while the likes of Jesse Levine, Yyves Allegro, or Tony Godsick would be shunned as pariahs. You'll understand what I'm talking about if you overcome  your torpor to actually click on the link and read the synopsis of the study.

Then you can jump into the Comments and, as Joey Ramone used to say,  Go Mental . . .

-- Pete