Tennis fans were not the only spectators watching the Inaugural Pickleball Slam on ESPN on Sunday afternoon, April 2, 2023.
NFL legend and Hall of Famer Deion Sanders was also glued to his television watching the action.
He tweeted his thoughts while it was going on.
What Sanders Said
Deion Sanders who goes by Coach Prime on Twitter posted the following commentary.
“I’m watching Agassi/Roddick vs McEnroe/Chang play Pickleball on @espn and it’s good. I loved these guys in their PRIME & even more now. Why am I glued waiting on McEnroe to give me a McEnroe Moment! Lololol. He is still the Man to me.”
I'm watching Agassi/Roddick vs McEnroe/Chang play Pickleball on @espn and it's good. I loved these guys in their PRIME & even more now. Why am I glued waiting on McEnroe to give me a McEnroe Moment! Lololol. He is still the Man to me. #CoachPrime @CUBuffsFootball
— COACH PRIME (@DeionSanders) April 2, 2023
He Is Not Wrong
Sanders is like the rest of us in our 40s, 50s, and 60s who loved watching Andre Agassi, Michael Chang, and John McEnroe, in their heyday on the tennis court.
All four were a little out of their element in pickleball, but their competitive natures and athletic abilities helped them to play well.
So this is what a ‘McEnroe Meltdown’ looks like up close: pic.twitter.com/gnTsLXNerq
— The Pickleball Slam (@pickleballslam) April 2, 2023
Though McEnroe has mellowed, we still saw shades of the “You Can’t Be Serious” guy who challenged umpires and his opponents in the 1970s and 1980s.
Happy birthday John McEnroe. You can’t be serious!
— Honest☘️Larry (@HonestLarry1) February 16, 2023
ESPN Can Grow This Event
It is not clear what the television ratings were for the Sunday afternoon live event.
But ESPN has started a good thing in pairing tennis players with pickleball.
This could be an annual event and could encompass female tennis players, and mixed doubles, and one Twitter user even recommended athletes from other sports including Sanders.
It could be played outdoors and be linked with tennis’s second half of the Sunshine Double, the Miami Open, instead of competing with it.
The men’s final of the Miami Open was televised live on The Tennis Channel at the same time pickleball aired.
A former tennis player, James Blake, is the tournament director of the Miami Open so he could be tapped to figure out ways to either tie the events together or not have them compete against each other.
"this is James Blake, he's a legend!"
@JLPegula and @CocoGauff give fellow American @JRBlake some love 💜 pic.twitter.com/Wj5Ue0g0AJ
— wta (@WTA) April 2, 2023
The Inaugural Pickleball Slam proved to be good for both sports so now it is time to build upon its success and make it better next year.
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