YOU BEEN BLINDED

Maria Sharapova On Celebrity And Michael Jordan

Being young, rich, and famous is a problem most people would welcome with open arms. Having to deal with the media and fans seems like a fair trade-off for millions of dollars to somebody on the outside. Female tennis player Maria Sharapova loves her life, but says it’s still weird to be considered a celebrity.

From the Telegraph:

“I still find my celebrity weird - it’s always weird, you know, when I see my image on the cover of a magazine. That’s very, very strange. I remember for a while I had been getting a lot of praise from people, but I never felt as though I deserved it until I had won grand slams and held the world No 1 ranking. And then I thought, ‘OK, all that talk, I understand it now’. But before then it was just random.”

That quote sums up the difference between Maria Sharapova and Anna Kournikova. Maria felt bad for receiving attention without winning anything while Anna soaked it up. If Kournikova had won half as much as Sharapova, Anna would be 100x more popuplar now.

Being a famous tennis player has had non-financial perks for Maria Sharapova too. She got to meet MJ.

“I do get star struck myself. I remember meeting Michael Jordan one time at the airport. He came up to me and asked me if I was ‘that tennis player’. I was so nervous that I could hardly speak. I said, ‘Uh, yeah, I play tennis’. He’s a great athlete and an inspiration, and a really nice person as well.”

Michael Jordan is the greatest finisher in the history of the NBA, so I’ll let his terrible “are you that tennis player?” opening line slide.. Still, you would think Jordan would be smoother than that.

Maria Sharapova, Tennis, Michael Jordan

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