Barça Is Human, Which Is Beautiful

Reliable greatness can be a bit predictable and frankly, kinda dull, which is why this year's version of FC Barcelona is one of the most interesting teams we have had to watch in some time.

At its apogee, Pep Guardiola's Barcelona was reliably excellent, and great fun from a fan's perspective. But the matches weren't all that interesting. Every Culé knew they'd win each game, the only question was how by much. This year's team is very different, a true work in progress that is defined in many ways by its sometimes brilliant/sometimes no show French attacker Ousmane Dembélé. Consider, on a micro level, a great athlete such as Roger Federer.

When Federer was in his prime, as reliable as the United States national banking institution, he was fantastic to watch from an aesthetic worldview, but not so much from a sporting spectacle. He was going to win, the only question was in how many sets. Now, as Father Time takes its toll, Federer has gained beauty in his humanity, in his struggles. His margins are gone, so his matches are compelling human dramas as he struggles with himself. Serena Williams is another example.

Tennis makes a great source of human drama because an athlete not only has to execute in the face of a stimulus from an opponent, but in the face of external conditions. There are weather conditions such as wind, a sometimes hostile crowd, and monumental stakes that determine prize money, world ranking, and more often than not, legacy. Above all, there's pressure. So much pressure. Williams' matches are exquisite now that she is no longer a juggernaut. At 37, she is no longer the ruthless champion she once was: we saw that when a 20-year-old, relatively unknown Naomi Osaka defeated her in straight sets in this year's US Open Final. Like Federer, she battles her rivals, herself, and at times you can see that doubt creep in, that hesitancy where she used to charge and obliterate, now she wonders if she can, and we wonder right along with her. When she triumphs, she enjoys it more, and we feel it more. It's beautiful.