tennis and ping pong

Tennis and Ping Pong? Am I out of my f*ckin' mind? No. Not this time. I've just read Tim Adams book Being John McEnroe and watched the Japanese movie Ping Pong. Both combines art, psychology, drama and sports in a really original and entertaining way. Tim Adam's book is such a must read for all sports and litterature fans. It's both funny, emotional and exciting. Especially the parts that describes the relation between John McEnroe and Björn Borg. I remember the Wimbledon final back in 1980. Me & my family were at my grandfathers house just north of Helsingborg. He really loved to hate Mackrrån as he used to call McEnroe. We were all screaming and shouting in front of the TV during the game. It was such an exciting game. A game that Borg finally won after 5 tough sets. Tim Adams book brings me back to those times and manage to make the life of John McEnroe to something that concerns us all. How the hell did he manage to do that?
The movie Ping Pong is based on a manga by the ultra talented artist Taiyo Matsumoto. That and the fact that the movie script was written by award-winning screenwriter Kankuro Miyafuji is probably the reason why this movie about ping pong works so well. It's so much more than sport. It's a bit like a surreal ping pong version of Rocky! Can it get any better than that? Now I only wish that VIZ would translate Matsumoto's Ping Pong books to english and publish them. Damn you VIZ!