What is the purpose of a sport? For the players it might be a passion, or something to keep them active and fit. For a coach it may be to share knowledge of the sport or maybe to let out childhood angst by yelling at America's youth. But for spectators and fans, the entire reason to watch a sport is to socialize with friends, cheer on the players, and make noise. Lots of noise. Sports are loud events, they were created for the sole intent of letting out steam and burning energy. That's their entire purpose! And for most sporting events, this is usually socially acceptable. When was the last time you saw an audience sitting down completely quietly at a football game? Or a completely silent crowd at a basketball game? My guess would be never.
Unfortunately, that's not true for all sports. Case in point: tennis. Tennis is a "quiet sport". If you've ever been to a tennis meet, you know that there is pin-drop (or rather, ball-drop) silence at these events. It's just the sound of the neon yellow ball hitting on racket strings, and adolescent boys hitting on girls in their short tennis skirts. There aren't any screaming fans or parents yelling at their children. It's a classy country-club-type sport, so any and all spectators are dressed in their Sunday best, and prefer strawberries and cream over peanuts and popcorn. The entire atmosphere is completely mellow- they could probably set up an ACT testing center right in the bleachers during a match.
Technically, the logic behind this grave silence is understandable. If an overenthusiastic parent is yelling at their child while he or she is trying to serve the ball, it's reasonable to assume that the serve will most likely not be making it into the court. Seeing as tennis is a game of the utmost precision and accuracy, I suppose it makes sense that one should be as quiet as possible to allow the players to focus on the game. But with that said, I also feel that in many cases it strengthens a player's game to hear supporters yelling and cheering their name. Who doesn't want to be rooted for? Especially when it's just you playing your solo game, not backed up by a team or squad. Furthermore, it's important for athletes to know how to play under pressure and deal with a crowd. It's ridiculous for them to be sheltered from all of the noise in world- even in their classy country club environments.
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