You think they like me now, wait until the lights hit me.

Melanie Oudin has been the story of the U.S Open so far. She had upset her way to the quarterfinals before losing last night to #9 in the world Caroline Wozniacki in straight sets. It was her first match under the lights in New York, and it seamed to take a toll on her. Her forehand wasn’t working for her and she was frustrated the whole match. The thing is this post is not about her amazing nine day run. This post is about the sad things that happen to young people when they gain a little fame.

Oudin found out quickly that she is no longer a 17 year old from Georgia; she is now America’s 17 year old superstar. She tried to go practice on the practice courts but was bombarded my people and needed heavy security. She had requests for interviews from everyone. She was even bumped from her hotel because her reservation had run out. All of that doesn’t sound that bad, but then I went on espn.com and si.com and what I read bothered me. The headline was “John Oudin's divorce filing cites daughter Melanie's coach”. Although these sites think that people want to know about this, the truth is they don’t. People fell in love with the innocence of Melanie Oudin. They want to watch her develop into a superstar. They don’t care about her parents divorce.

I know people are doing their job, but come on. This girl is 17; she just had one of the great runs in sports. She is the real deal and America has already fallen in love with her. I don’t understand our society. It seams that we always have to test the mental stability of our young stars, athletes and entertainment. I don’t know if it’s that we feel like we need to make sure they can handle the pressure of the spotlight, or people just want to dig up everything they can to get their name out as a writer. For once, can we just let this girl be a tennis player? She is a sweet heart and she loves tennis. If I had the chance to talk to Melanie I would tell her, good job and keep it up. Get ready for the ride of your life.

More than Sport, It is Life.