Skip to main content

Why Everyone Likes Roger Federer

Just a few days ago, Roger Federer turned 30. He might just be the best known Swiss person ever. Everyone knows that he is one of the worlds best tennis players and some might say he is the GOAT.

I must admit that I am not much of a tennis expert and have never been very much into watching tennis on television but if Roger is playing I make sure to at least have a look. More often then not I'm rewarded with an interesting match.

Despite stardom and the enormous amounts of money Roger earns every year through tennis, add campaigns and more, it seems like he remains a very likable and Swiss person. I've thought about it and figured the following could be some of the reasons why.

5 Reasons everybody likes Roger Federer

  1. He speaks Swiss German with a Basle accent and English with a Swiss German accent. 
  2. He keeps his private life private and if he decides to publish some private moments he does it through his Facebook site. So far, I haven't seen him sell the pictures for good money to the yellows.
  3. Roger is always friendly and polite with a dry sense of humor breaking through once in a while. The typical Swiss guardedness is usually cast off during and especially after an important or especially challenging tennis match.
  4. Already quite early in his career he founded the "Roger Federer Foundation" that is in charge of several social projects in Africa and Switzerland. The foundation mainly supports children.
  5. The three words Roger uses to describe himself are: authentic, modest and loyal.
To summarize in Roger's words: "It's nice to be important but it's more important to be nice!"




© 2011 IRENE WYRSCH "A HUMOROUS GUIDE TO SWITZERLAND" ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

You have something to add or would like to ask a question? I would love to hear from you!

Popular posts from this blog

Schätzli, Schnüggel and Müüsli - Terms of Endearment in Swiss German

Kiss -  Oliver Haja  / pixelio.de If you've ever been invited to the home of a Swiss couple, you are probably familiar with the most popular Swiss German term of endearment "Schätzli" ('little treasure') or one of it's many varieties like e.g. "Schatz" or "Schätzeli" . Obviously, this is not the only pet name used by Swiss couples (or parents for that matter). Like many other languages, Swiss German offers a wide variety of words and phrases that you can use to address your loved one. Swiss German Terms of Endearment What most of these pet names have in common is the ending "-li" which basically turns the thing or person a word refers to into something small or cute. For example "Haus" means house and "Hüüs li " means small house. Plus, this ending "-li" can also be added to first names as a means of endearment, e.g. Benjamin li , Esther li or Fabienne li . I tried to come up with a colle...
4 comments
Read more

How to Say 'I Love You' in Swiss German

To be completely honest, I'm not very fond of hallmark holidays and Valentine's Day is probably the mothership of them all. In my home there will be no cheesy cards or flowers on that day and, personally, I'm happy about it. However, I know that there are many people who like to celebrate Valentine's Day and take it as an opportunity to show their love and appreciation to their loves. Even in Switzerland, there are plenty of people celebrating it nowadays. If you're short on ideas for this years Valentine's Day in Switzerland you might find some inspiration here: Valentine's Day in Switzerland . If you're already set and have the perfect date ready, how about surprising your loved one with a few romantic Swiss German phrases? You should know that the expression "I love you" has only recently made its way into Swiss German from the High German "Ich liebe dich". Swiss people used to simply say "I like you" or "I like ...
4 comments
Read more

How to Spot a Swiss Person

"You're not from here, right?!" These were the words the saleslady of a small clothes store on a busy Tel Aviv street directed at me a few years ago. I was surprised she had spotted my foreignness so easily. After having lived in Israel for a few years and mastered the local Hebrew, I thought I was able to blend in quite well by then. So, I asked her how she knew. She replied with a smile and said: "You nicely folded the clothes you tried on before bringing them back out!" Oh that! Something I assumed was 'normal' but, apparently, the locals didn't do that. My Swiss background gave me away.  A Stereotypical (Swiss) Person As an expat I can usually spot fellow expats right away even if at first they seem to fit right in. Be they Swiss people I encounter abroad or foreigners living in Switzerland. Mostly, I catch a word or a phrase in a foreign language or see clothes or other items that are clearly not local. Here in South America it's very easy t...
13 comments
Read more