A Moment in History

The 2009 Inauguration was disputably the most moving political event of a grand scale in a while. It was clearly a historical moment that was one of a kind and one for the books. I think in this time of difficulty that America is facing, having this overwhelming feeling of patriotism, change and hope is the only way to move forward. Of course, some people may not see it that way, as politics are divided. However, the outcome is ultimately inescapable and everyone needs to be on the same page more now than in a while. A lot of people criticized the expense of the event we watched just yesterday, but it simply couldnt have been done in a simpler way. Despite its cost, the event had to be rich and beautiful and elegant, because it marked a new era in history, it stood for a lot of different things to a lot of different people and it had to be noticed. It screamed greatness, change and hope. In our world of tennis, there are also heroes of the day. Tennis is as much a part of life where it concerns questions of gender, race, nationality, patriotism. In many ways, American tennis has been elevated to unprecedented heights by the Williams sisters and here is what they had to say about this great moment in history.

Source: Tennisinfoblog.com

Q. Big night back home for Americans with the inauguration. Can I ask you what that means to you? Also, early hours of the morning tomorrow. Will you try and wake up and watch it?

SERENA WILLIAMS: This is an amazing moment for American history. Even yesterday, the United States being Martin Luther King’s birthday. To have his birthday and Obama’s presidency fall so close to each other. This morning I was watching on the TV before I went out to play. I looked at my arm, and I literally had chill bumps.

I’m a big fan of African American history, learning my roots so I can be a better person. You just look at all the things that we’ve come through. Now to have this opportunity in less than 24 hours is amazing.

I don’t know, I’ll probably record it. I need my rest for this tournament. But it’s definitely something that I probably will look at.

Q. Is it inspiring for you and your sister? Do you feel in some ways yourself and Venus have done in a sporting sense what Obama has done in a political sense?

SERENA WILLIAMS: I definitely think myself and Venus has opened up a lot of doors, being the first African Americans to do so much in tennis. But I never really look at that. I just look at trying to stay focused.

At the end of my career, I always thought I would go back and kind of dwell on that, because I don’t want to get complacent and be like, Oh, I did this, I did that. It can become easy to become complacent with nine Grand Slams and counting (laughter).

Also: tune into a video conference with the William's sisters provided by Espn.go.com

http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=3846053