Speaker 1: Hey, the folks, it is Monday, January nineteenth, and we
Speaker 1: have been trying to find the nicest way possible to
Speaker 1: say this about Venus Williams. She just set a record
Speaker 1: for being the oldest person ever to do something, and
Speaker 1: with that, welcome to this episode of Amy and TJ
Speaker 1: ro It's a compliment. She set a record. This is
Speaker 1: an achievement. That's awesome. But it seems weird to be
Speaker 1: talking about a woman and say, hey, congrats, you're the
Speaker 1: oldest to ever do it.
Speaker 2: Yeah, you know what. I hadn't thought about it like that,
Speaker 2: but that.
Speaker 3: Is maybe not what you would think some women would
Speaker 3: want to be championed four. But honestly, I saw this
Speaker 3: headline that yes, she set a record by being the
Speaker 3: oldest woman to ever play in the Australian Open, and
Speaker 3: coupled with the fact that she lost in the first round,
Speaker 3: you might think, wow, that is not what a female
Speaker 3: athlete would want to see written about her. But the
Speaker 3: point is this is a positive story because it shows
Speaker 3: a woman who was saying, you know what, I'm not
Speaker 3: done and I'm gonna keep going and doing what I love.
Speaker 3: And even though she lost the way she lost, what
Speaker 3: she said afterwards her the way she carried herself on
Speaker 3: that court and off the court, what it inspired the
Speaker 3: heck out of me today, in a day and in
Speaker 3: the last few weeks. We need some people who do good,
Speaker 3: who are good, who behave well. She is someone to
Speaker 3: look towards.
Speaker 1: She's just a DEI higher anyway. But look everything, everything
Speaker 1: that's positive. I've become jaded that somebody's gonna turn into
Speaker 1: something negative. This is a wonderful story. And we just
Speaker 1: did something recently about Helen Neuran and more and more
Speaker 1: just women embracing, yes, the age they are, but how
Speaker 1: they look as they age. This isn't that necessarily, but
Speaker 1: it is an age related story having to do with
Speaker 1: a woman who is going out there competing against children
Speaker 1: who weren't even born when she became a pro and
Speaker 1: so for her robes to do that. I look at
Speaker 1: Lebron James, I look at Tom Brady. These guys were
Speaker 1: forty something at the top of their game. If a
Speaker 1: woman can do it too, this is why this is
Speaker 1: an important story. And I applaud Venus Williams for what
Speaker 1: she the lost who cares exactly. She's been getting fine tunes,
Speaker 1: she is getting better actually in the past six months
Speaker 1: or so.
Speaker 2: I love it.
Speaker 1: This is a great story.
Speaker 2: I thank you. I so agree. Yeah, she's forty five
Speaker 2: years old.
Speaker 3: She got a wild car entry to play and this
Speaker 3: is crazy to think about forty five competing. She was
Speaker 3: seventeen when she first competed in the Australian Open, and
Speaker 3: that was three years before her opponent this weekend was even.
Speaker 1: Born before all. But to say that this is remember, folks,
Speaker 1: Venus Williams, I know we Serena is the greatest to
Speaker 1: ever pick up a tennis racket. That's been widely agreed.
Speaker 1: So it's heart. You have to stop and remember Venus
Speaker 1: was the star first. Yes, Venus was the one that
Speaker 1: came on the scene and wowed assault. Venus was the
Speaker 1: kid with the braids and those little plastic things in
Speaker 1: her air.
Speaker 2: What do you yeah, I don't know.
Speaker 1: There was a herd that came onto the scene. So
Speaker 1: she is even before her sister set an example, set
Speaker 1: a path. She was the Tiger Woods, if you will,
Speaker 1: in tennis, and that she just set a new standard.
Speaker 1: So that is who we're talking about. ROAs most of
Speaker 1: us don't know in our adult life, sport without the
Speaker 1: Williams sisters.
Speaker 2: That's so true, and including Venus Williams.
Speaker 3: I don't know what that. Venus, by the way, is
Speaker 3: a seven time Grand Slam singles champion.
Speaker 2: That is significant.
Speaker 3: Now, she never won the Australian Open because she finished
Speaker 3: as the runner up to her sister, the aforementioned sisters Serena.
Speaker 3: That happened in two thousand and three and as recently
Speaker 3: as twenty seventeen.
Speaker 1: If you have to make an argument like how can
Speaker 1: you be mad? Damn it? The only never got the
Speaker 1: Australian Open. But it's still in the family. Yes, the
Speaker 1: two she lost are still in the family. Yes, those
Speaker 1: girls are all Yes.
Speaker 3: And by the way, this match forty five year old
Speaker 3: Venus up against twenty four year old Olga Danilovitch. Did
Speaker 3: I say her name correctly? It was an exciting match.
Speaker 3: I mean the third and deciding set. We talked about this.
Speaker 3: Venus was initially four to oh in a lead over
Speaker 3: her opponent. People were getting excited. H yeah, that was amazing. Unfortunately,
Speaker 3: she lost the next six games, so she ended up
Speaker 3: losing it all.
Speaker 2: But she she can hold her head up proudly with
Speaker 2: that match.
Speaker 1: And again she hasn't played a whole lot. She only
Speaker 1: started playing again last year so far, I believe, so
Speaker 1: she's kind of getting back into top shape. She's getting
Speaker 1: back into top competitive shape, top form. So she's like
Speaker 1: just picking things up a little bit. This is this
Speaker 1: is another test. She was in control of this match.
Speaker 1: Sure she lost it, but what's next. I'm excited about
Speaker 1: this year.
Speaker 3: Yeah, in her comments, I want to get into her
Speaker 3: comments after the game because I still want to put
Speaker 3: it in the perspective of yes, it was impressive. Yes,
Speaker 3: she just broke a record by being the oldest woman
Speaker 3: to compete. But still, if you are, how many athletes
Speaker 3: you would know this better? You're more into sports than
Speaker 3: I am. How many athletes who were at the top
Speaker 3: of their game are willing to go and come back
Speaker 3: much older, not as well trained, and still tried, knowing
Speaker 3: that you probably aren't going to be what you were,
Speaker 3: but knowing that you love the game and you do
Speaker 3: it anyway, and you face perhaps potential humiliation, you face
Speaker 3: potential setbacks and failures, and you do it anyway.
Speaker 2: I would say that's fairly rare.
Speaker 1: I've been some high profile cases, even Philip Rivers with
Speaker 1: you looking at me like Phil Rivers. Yeah, retired quarterback.
Speaker 1: They just brought him back Indianapolis. They had a quarterback shortage.
Speaker 1: He's forty five, forty six, ain't played, came in, did well,
Speaker 1: did great, looked great something. There have been stories boxers
Speaker 1: have made comebacks, so those are a little more. George
Speaker 1: Foreman is a good example. It's true, but these high
Speaker 1: profile Michael Jordan is a great example of a guy
Speaker 1: who retired, came back in his forties playing for the
Speaker 1: Washington Wizards, still averaging about twenty a game. But when
Speaker 1: you're she was, she's considered one of the greatest. That's
Speaker 1: when you talk about people who were at who were
Speaker 1: the best at doing it, and now are coming back
Speaker 1: and having to compete and fight against children who, yes right,
Speaker 1: who have none of their accomplishments. That is humbling.
Speaker 3: That is humbling, and but that level of humility is inspiring.
Speaker 3: I love this story and hearing what she said after
Speaker 3: her loss. We've seen plenty of tennis players and plenty
Speaker 3: of athletes through a little fits when they lose.
Speaker 2: They're very upset.
Speaker 3: Venus walked off that court to a standing ovation and
Speaker 3: a huge smile on her face and a wave, and
Speaker 3: that inspired the heck out of me. She said, it
Speaker 3: was such a great game, such a great moment. The
Speaker 3: energy from the crowd was amazing. That lifted me up
Speaker 3: so much. And then she talked about her opponent, Olga
Speaker 3: dan A Loovitch. She said she played a great game.
Speaker 3: Also some luck there as well. That's just the sport,
Speaker 3: that's how it works sometimes, but it was an amazing moment.
Speaker 3: She talked about how it felt good to have the
Speaker 3: biggest lead I've had since I've been back, and this
Speaker 3: is where I really appreciated what she had to say.
Speaker 3: In a lot of ways, I'm having to relearn how
Speaker 3: to do things again, if that makes any sense. I'm
Speaker 3: really proud of my effort today because I am playing
Speaker 3: better with each match, getting to the places that I
Speaker 3: want to go.
Speaker 2: That is really cool.
Speaker 3: At forty five, someone who was at the top of
Speaker 3: her game saying I am having to relearn how to
Speaker 3: do things again.
Speaker 2: That resonated with me and perhaps with us.
Speaker 1: I mean, she's so hard, she's yeah, we talked about
Speaker 1: her first major or whatever she wanted. She was a teenager,
Speaker 1: but she's had a tennis racket in her hand. She's
Speaker 1: forty five now, it's been in her hand for over
Speaker 1: forty years. She knows nothing else. She's made all the
Speaker 1: money she can make. She just got married right months ago. Yes,
Speaker 1: so ro This The cool part here is that with
Speaker 1: all we see and talk about with athletes and big
Speaker 1: money and endorsements and all these things, she's playing now
Speaker 1: because she loves tennis. She's always loved tennis. There's nothing
Speaker 1: new about this. This is just tennis, folks, And I
Speaker 1: just happen to not be the greatest doing it. But
Speaker 1: I'm loving this game. It's all I know. That is
Speaker 1: wonderful of HER's. She knows she's not gonna win another
Speaker 1: Grand Slam, she.
Speaker 3: Knows that, but she's doing it anyway too much like that.
Speaker 2: I don't know why that.
Speaker 3: Makes me emotional, but it does because I think people
Speaker 3: get to a certain place in their life and they
Speaker 3: think I'm washed up. I can't do anything the way
Speaker 3: I used to, or I can't do anything new, or
Speaker 3: I can't I don't have options now that I'm this age.
Speaker 3: And when you see this story, I feel like she
Speaker 3: is paving the way for a lot of folks who
Speaker 3: are too quick to give up their dreams or give
Speaker 3: up what they love because they think they're too old.
Speaker 3: I love this story. When we come back, we're gonna
Speaker 3: hear what her opponent had to say about Venus after
Speaker 3: her win. And you know what, this is how you
Speaker 3: do it. It is so nice to see kindness and
Speaker 3: sportsman like conduct and welcome back everyone on this Martin
Speaker 3: Luther King Junior day we have. This is an inspirational
Speaker 3: story to see Venus Williams do what she did to
Speaker 3: the best of pretty much everyone's ability. And she said
Speaker 3: a new record being the oldest person to compete in
Speaker 3: the Australian Open. And even though she lost, her words
Speaker 3: and her attitude were everything, talking about how she's relearning
Speaker 3: this sport that she loves so much, congratulating the young woman,
Speaker 3: the twenty four year old who beat her forty five
Speaker 3: year old self, and it was basically an inspiration to
Speaker 3: say I can do this, I can do more. I'm
Speaker 3: just getting started again. And that is just a cool moment.
Speaker 2: But also remarkable.
Speaker 3: What Olga Danilovitch had to say about Venus Williams after
Speaker 3: her victory. I thought it was pretty cool, she said.
Speaker 3: I told myself before the match, I really want to
Speaker 3: take this moment. These things don't happen every day, and
Speaker 3: playing against Venus Williams is something I cannot take for granted.
Speaker 3: But there were a lot of nerves at four to oh.
Speaker 3: This is when Venus was rallying in that third set.
Speaker 3: She said, I told myself, okay, just play, just take
Speaker 3: everything out and just play point by point. And she said,
Speaker 3: it was such a pleasure playing against such a legend.
Speaker 1: I mean, you can't imagine, I mean any of us.
Speaker 1: Think of any wherever you are and whatever you do
Speaker 1: right now, who is the top of the game, the
Speaker 1: legend in that industry, and imagine getting a chance to
Speaker 1: go head to head with that person or work with
Speaker 1: that person or something like that. That had to be crazy.
Speaker 1: You're trying to beat the person you've looked up to
Speaker 1: in your entire life.
Speaker 3: Yeah, you know, it's I was when you said that,
Speaker 3: I was trying to think about in our industry. I
Speaker 3: think the first time I met Diane Sawyer, I was speechless.
Speaker 3: But like to imagine having an anchor off with her,
Speaker 3: I would have failed miserably.
Speaker 2: I would have been so in awe of the situation.
Speaker 2: I'm just laughing, like, I'm thinking of what is anchorman?
Speaker 1: They do?
Speaker 2: The little gang anchor gang fights.
Speaker 3: But no, but there is no We don't go head
Speaker 3: to head against maybe only in ratings against someone, but
Speaker 3: that would be the only I remember meeting someone who
Speaker 3: I'd looked up to. But yes, if you love a sport,
Speaker 3: if you love whatever it is that you do, the
Speaker 3: person who you've looked up to your whole life, now
Speaker 3: you're on that same court with them, I'm all.
Speaker 1: Feel bad, like I'm trying to beat you. You almost
Speaker 1: feel bad because you have such reverence for that person. Yeah,
Speaker 1: so yeah, I'll give her a lot of credit for
Speaker 1: being able to keep it together and do that. But yeah,
Speaker 1: at four oh, we were really really like what a
Speaker 1: story that would have been the next match and the
Speaker 1: next match? How far can she go? Would have been
Speaker 1: the question? And she's gonna don't know when is Wimbledon?
Speaker 1: What is the order? Damn it? Australian? The sum is
Speaker 1: US opens the last one, So what's next Wimbledon of
Speaker 1: the French.
Speaker 2: I'm trying to find out when is Wimbledon twenty twenty six?
Speaker 1: That is, so she would have to get a July.
Speaker 2: It's Monday June twenty ninth to Sunday July twelfth.
Speaker 1: Friend yeah, this summer it is hot. So yes, Wimbledon,
Speaker 1: she'll try to get a wild card possibly and she'll
Speaker 1: need one.
Speaker 3: And look a lot of people have talked about this
Speaker 3: wild card situation. You explained it to me in the morning,
Speaker 3: run about how that works. But there were people who
Speaker 3: did think that giving Venus Williams a wild car was unfair.
Speaker 3: They say the whole wild card should be for younger
Speaker 3: athletes who aren't known, who you know, want to have
Speaker 3: a chance. Maybe they're still figuring out, you know, what
Speaker 3: it is they're doing, and so they say those wild
Speaker 3: cards should be given to younger athletes, not to someone
Speaker 3: like Venus Williams.
Speaker 2: But you know what, ten thousand.
Speaker 3: People watch that match sitting there, and Venus Williams obviously
Speaker 3: is going to be a draw to the game and
Speaker 3: to certainly the matches that she is specifically playing. And
Speaker 3: I don't think you can deny that. So there was
Speaker 3: question with a Wimbledon would offer Venus Williams a wild card.
Speaker 1: They should, She's earned this right the rest of her life.
Speaker 1: A young cat, I understand, I appreciate, but you're working
Speaker 1: your way up to one day maybe someone would just
Speaker 1: give you a pass. She has earned the right to
Speaker 1: get a wildcard over any child out there swinging a
Speaker 1: racket right now, and we don't know how many more
Speaker 1: years we get to see her exactly. Come.
Speaker 2: I totally agree with everything you're saying.
Speaker 3: I just saw some folks out there always want to
Speaker 3: try to say something about the system and how it's
Speaker 3: not fair.
Speaker 1: Are they saying she's a DII choice Australian.
Speaker 2: I didn't hear that, thank goodness, but just wait for it.
Speaker 3: No. The other thing that's pretty cool about Olga Danilovitch,
Speaker 3: who I was not really familiar with up until this match.
Speaker 3: So funny enough, Venus Williams put her name in the
Speaker 3: spotlight when otherwise I don't even think it would have
Speaker 3: been a washed match necessarily, But they're saying for this
Speaker 3: second round, Danilovitch potentially could be meeting up with the
Speaker 3: number three seed, Coco Goff, who is basically now the
Speaker 3: American phenom here in these Grand Slam titles. So that
Speaker 3: would be an interesting match to see those two face
Speaker 3: one another.
Speaker 1: Yeah, probably go differently.
Speaker 2: I think it probably will go much different, And you.
Speaker 1: Know, Cocoa loves Venus obviously, but she's talked about it
Speaker 1: a lot. She might have a little revenge on the mind.
Speaker 3: I hadn't even thought about that, but yeah, she could
Speaker 3: do right by Venus by beating Olga Danilovitch in second round.
Speaker 3: But look, I just thought this was a cool story
Speaker 3: that we all needed to hear today.
Speaker 2: It was about it was about ages, just.
Speaker 3: A number, so there's that, but there was also just
Speaker 3: the way these two women treated one another, how Venus
Speaker 3: handled a loss, and how she walked away with a
Speaker 3: smile on her face and a promise for more that
Speaker 3: she was going to take this, reassess she was going
Speaker 3: to relearn this sport at the age she's at. I
Speaker 3: just thought all of that was something we can all
Speaker 3: take with us today and whatever it is we're reaching for,
Speaker 3: whatever dreams we may have, just to look and see
Speaker 3: what Venus Williams did over the weekend and what she's
Speaker 3: going to continue to do. And I can't wait. I'm
Speaker 3: not a huge tennis fan, I never really have been,
Speaker 3: but seeing this story, seeing this story, I am all
Speaker 3: in watching Venus Williams do her thing this year.
Speaker 1: She must see there. It's only a handful of athletes
Speaker 1: in my life at least that it doesn't matter where
Speaker 1: they are what they're doing. If they are are on
Speaker 1: television playing, I am going to plan my day around
Speaker 1: seeing them. Venus Serena were two of those. Tiger was
Speaker 1: one of them, Peyton Manning was one of them, Kobe
Speaker 1: Bryant was one of them, like it was just a
Speaker 1: handful of Johnny Manziel even was one of them for me.
Speaker 1: But those two are just they were it. They were
Speaker 1: absolutely it. You have to watch them play. So to
Speaker 1: see her still playing, I applauded. We probably thought Serena
Speaker 1: would be the one. Yeah, still playing longer, but Venus
Speaker 1: is still out there.
Speaker 3: Thank you Venus, Yes, thank you Venus, and thank you
Speaker 3: all for listening. We appreciate you as always. We know
Speaker 3: it's a day of service today, a day of action today,
Speaker 3: but also a day of inspiration and Venus Williams helped
Speaker 3: us with that today. So thank you for listening. I
Speaker 3: made me robock everyone, alongside my partner TJ.
Speaker 2: Holmes. We hope you all have a wonderful day and
Speaker 2: we will talk to you soon.