11/05/24
March 03, 2006
Borg to Sell Wimbledon Trophies, Rackets: Swedish tennis great Bjorn Borg will auction off his five Wimbledon trophies and two of his rackets to achieve "financial security,'' an auction house said Friday.
posted by irunfromclones to tennis at 04:06 PM - 10 comments
I believe he is the Lawrence Taylor* of tennis. *former New York Giants linebacker who squandered his hard earned NFL millions in risky business ventures.
posted by irunfromclones at 04:41 PM on March 03, 2006
Very sad to see this. I grew up with him as my idol. One of the best tennis players ever.
posted by ctbillsfan at 05:40 PM on March 03, 2006
Fair play to him. I've never been a tennis fan. But tennis fan or not, I used to watch tennis when Borg played. I'd hate to see him end up anything but happy.
posted by squealy at 06:55 PM on March 03, 2006
I think he had some bad investments and someone is about to sue him for 1.4M. I hate to see this happen. I saw him when I was young and thought he was the greatest ever. I even bought a Borg tennis racket when I started playing tennis. I would like to have one of his trophies in my case.
posted by dbt302 at 07:31 PM on March 03, 2006
I've never really heard too many bad things about him, so I don't really have an opinion about him. It's sad to anyone end up like this. Jim Rome was dogging on him this afternoon, and it really struck a nerve. I guess Borg went out while he was still on top, and made a couple of bad business decisions. To have to sell your life's achievements just to get out of the hole really tears at your gut.
posted by wingnut4life at 08:14 PM on March 03, 2006
Can I buy the headband with all the frown marks still in it? The dude lived most of his life in Monte Carlo as a tax exile. He must have really stuffed up. Steffi Graf's dad got done like Al Capone.
posted by owlhouse at 04:45 AM on March 04, 2006
I liked watching Borg play. However, the guy retired in the early 1980s at the age of 26. How much financial security can you gain after 11 years in a sport that's not televised weekly and is typically played in fairly small venues with limited ticket sales? Heck, even the PGA has found a way to maintain a presence on TV 12 months of the year. It's sad he has to sell off his memories, but not surprising.
posted by gdvbranz at 06:14 AM on March 04, 2006
Bad business man&acouple women who took him to cleaners!$1.4M lawsuit pending,so the sale will be eaten up before its held!Sad!
posted by mdavidsf at 09:00 AM on March 04, 2006
Would be nice if a young Swede with a fat wallet -- think someone like Mats Sundin -- bids & buys a trophy for pocket-change, then donates it to a Swedish museum. He might even be able to claim the donation on his taxes, and it'd be better that the trophy was shared with Swedish fans than collect dust on some millionaires' mantle. I grew up with Borg, and his global name and likeness were only marginally more known in the 1970s by Ali and Pele. The guy is a 20th century sporting icon, it's sad and dreary to think he can't afford to keep his own trophies.
posted by the red terror at 10:50 AM on March 04, 2006
This is just sad. I remember going to see him play at the US Open when I was 7 or 8, and thought he was a god. How did this happen? A couple of divorces? Tax problems? Profligacy?