Why tennis is better than THE IOWA CAUCUSES

Posted by Dave: Here they are. The top 10 reasons that tennis is better than the Iowa caucuses:

10. Tennis players and fans are smart. They head Down Under in January, rather than here to frosty Iowa, where Bess and I both live.

9. Tennis opponents don’t run a zillion smear ads against one another on television. (Though, maybe they should. Could be entertaining.)

8. Color commentary is by folks like Chris Fowler and Mary Joe Fernandez, rather than the likes of Wolf Blitzer and Candy Crowley.

7. Politicians make many promises they can’t keep. Tennis players generally don’t. (Generally, I said.)

6. Role models like Billie Jean King and Andre Agassi fight for the greater good -- equality, education, AIDS research, etc. – without chasing political office.

5. Rising stars like Jack Sock and Melanie Oudin don’t stuff mailboxes, like politicians do, in an attempt to win respect. They simply play their best and let the results speak for themselves.

4. Tennis fans speculate about who has a shot at winning the Slams this year, rather than who might win in Iowa, New Hampshire or South Carolina. (Yawn.)

3. They don’t put six or seven tennis players on court at once, like they do in an early-season political debate, and expect the public to figure out who’s the best. Every step of the way in tennis is a true head-to-head competition.

2. Unlike politics, there are well-defined rules, boundaries and scoring practices in tennis.

1. Imagine if Iowans like Bess and I had sole power (and in early January, no less!) to determine who stays in the running for year-ending ATP or WTA points leader status. Not sure America – or the world – would be happy with our choices.

NOTE: This is a new feature on our blog. What do YOU think tennis is better than? Post your idea here or message us directly via Twitter (@mixdubs) with suggestions for future installments in this series.