European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - July 10, 1986, Darmstadt, Hesse Thursday july 10. 1988 the stars and stripes Page 19 commentary Becker serves notice he s the Champ Boris Becker looks As if he should be Drifting Down inc Mississippi River on a raft leisurely considering inc mysteries of life instead of playing ten Nis Al Wimbledon he has the Orange hair the flashing Blue eyes the Boyish enthusiasm of Mark Twain s Tom Sawyer. And he plays grass court Tennis like Sweden Sebjorn Borg. Bore owned Wimbledon for five straight years. Now Becker Only 18, has claimed his second straight Crown beating top seeded Ivan Lendl the world Sno. 1 player 6-4,6-3,7-i sunday there is a difference Between the two champions. Borg was a poker faced stoic with a Maltor of fac approach to his dominance of the sport. Becker has the Bounce of a boy who enjoys ruling the most hallowed turf in Tennis. If he were just a Little mischievous the kid could pass for one of Twain s famous characters with no trouble. But instead of aunt Folly Becker has int iliac the fierce looking romanian with the Droop ing Mustache looking after him. Siriac claims 10 be a direct descendant of count Dracula. Nobody argues certainty not Lendl who had enough problems with Becker without question ing his Mentor. Last year Becker was the upset Winner of Wimble Dan. He became its youngest Champion and the first unseeded player to capture the Crown. I think for everybody it was a Surprise when 1won," he said. Suddenly from nowhere i become a Champion. Everyone was surprised. Even me a suddenly he was a celebrity honoured like a con quering hero in his tiny German Hometown of Lei men where the youngsters learn their Tennis in the Boris Becker Tenn Shallen. Look Al me on the Balcony he said watching tape on one Celebration. Just like the it was like the culmination of a teen Ager s came so quickly Becker said that i had no Lime to dream about maybe that was the one thing that was wrong with his Early Coronation As King of Wimbledon. It might Appow Boris Becker hard the cheers in Leunen monday. Have been too much too soon. After he won the championship his game often floundered instead of flourishing. In ensuing grand slam events where the ten Nis spotlight shines brightest Becker was Ordinary. He made in to the fourth round of the . Open was Defeated in the second round of the australian open and lost in inc quarterfinals of the French open. I went through some .ind Downs he said. I had som Tough losses and some great wins. In Alt made me better meanwhile Siriac and Becker s coach Cumber Bosch honed his game. He is a much by incr player this Siriac said proudly. His volleying to More solid his shot Selec Tion More Becker s serve was timed Al a frightening 156 Mph compared to the 130 Mph he was producing a year ago. I resumed to Wimbledon brimming with Confidence anxious to prove his i9s5 Victory was no Duke. None of this helped when the seeds based on the computer rankings were announced. The defending Champion was no. 4, behind Len behind mais Wilander and behind Jimmy Connors the first time since Bong in 1977 that the defending Champion re turned to Wimbledon seeded somewhere other than no. I. Al least he was in familiar surroundings Back a Centre court a Selling that shakes some players but seems like a private playground to Becker. I had a very Good feeling the whole two weeks he said. Especially on Centre court. It always Felt Good out there. Ii seems like my court. I Felt Al Home on the his booming serve brought him Back there Sun Day against Lendl who was anxious to certify his no. I ranking by succeeding on the one surface he has not solved grass. Becker went to his strength. The rocket serve had been broken Only three times in two weeks at Wimbledon. Lendl would take in away Only twice scant compensation for the 15 aces in claimed. After three sets with a paucity of the acrobatics he used a year ago Becker was a Winner once More grinning again like Tom Sawyer Al Centre court. Lendl was asked about the Champion. I Don t know the he began the Youngsun the boy whatever you want to Call i then he had a solution for the him football s no bomb in Brighton / by Joseph Lelyveld Brighton England not the cheerleaders waved their pompous and screamed from the charcoal Grill where the cheeseburgers sizzled wafted Over the Gridiron. The marching band played the Marine corps hymn. It was All As american As the fourth of july Only it was july 6 and it was eng land As the Hometown team the b-52s struggled la keep its Hopes alive for a playoff berth in the Budweiser league. The Brighton b-52s play a game that comes As close to what they Call american football not to be confused with foot Ball which is sometimes also called soccer As these relative but commuted neophytes can make in come. It would be an exaggeration to say thai a craze for Ameri can football is sweeping Britain bul four Yean after pro football games from ibb United Stales started appearing regularly on British to the b-52s play in a league with nine divisions and 64 teams. The Budweiser league sponsored bythe makers of the Beer ii one of two leagues. The British american football league where the b-52j played first two seasons has nine divisions with 38 an there Are at least 102 learns whose players and fans will form the Vang and of the crowd Dot in of petted to Blondon the Dunstable Cowboy to Bibi Tion game on a British pitch which in the same As a and diplomats worry a fair amount these Days about the phase of anti americanism Britain has supposedly been going through since the american bombing of Libya from British bases in april but fans who Wear b-s2 to shirts seem to be immune to such infections. In any Case there is already enough in Terest in this sport to sustain a handsomely produced weekly newspaper called firs Down with a full color Centrefold showing stars of the National football Tell the beginner where to Send his postal Money order for videos of nil games or manuals on the game. The monthly magazines touch Down and Gridiron . Promote pack age hours to Florida or California this fall to see the dolphins or 49ers. Obviously somebody 11 hoping Tocash in on this budding enthusiasm. But it in t members of the b-s2s squad each of whom pays dues equivalent to s11,25 a week pita the Cost of most of his gear for us privilege of being clobbered. Phil Cregeen who said he once played Rugby for Sussex and harboured ambitions to play for England on the National team explained what it was that Drew him to the b-j2s two years like the hitting he said. The hit Ling is More , a chef trainee in the work Day world said he also liked the tactical complexity of the game. Jeff Berry of Croyden said he became disillusioned Wilh soccer because of the violence of the crowds. After watching american football for a while on to he studied inc rules and joined a new association of referees. Now he officiate most weekends As a Linesman. What we believe said Essam Bara Kat a Young investor from Lebanon who took a flier on the b-52s, becoming in club s principal shareholder is that the Spectator sees violence in american foot Ball so he s on a sunny july afternoon when Mostof Brighton was either at the Beach or indoors watching the Wimbledon final son to about 700 paying fans turned up Al Wilodean stadium to watch the Home town Side sometimes called a team Lake on the Greenwich Small marching band made up of schoolchildren in Sailor suits helped the seven cheerleaders from local exercise studio set the b-s2s think of themselves As n sneers. They were the first club in Brit Ain to Lake on an american learn hold ing a visiting Junior College learn from san Francisco to a score of 76-0 in a game last autumn that attracted 12,500lo their Liny a roofed stadium which consists of Little More than a turnstile and two dressing rooms. Next they were the first club to hire american coaches. They brought Over Walter Lang a member of the us Latham that beat Michigan in the 1983 Rose bowl and Chester coynes another former Bruin. Finally they Are planning to become the first British team to go abroad on a trip later this year to san Francisco for a return game against Cit College the obscure powerhouse that trounced them that could come to pass the b s2i needed to break a four game losing British cheerleaders join the act. Bears cowboys coming up Streak Here sunday or face elimination from the Budweiser playoffs. They came Back from a 1-6 halftime deficit to win e4-7. Coynes the offensive coach was asked As he walked off the Field How he b-52s might have fared against the Tea mat the High school in Jefferson Texas where he once was a d get blown out they would t stand a Chance coynes said. Bui Asfar As enthusiasm or eagerness goes they re College level or better
