Andy's Mojo: It Went Into Blake!

So this whole "Where's Andy's Mojo?" American Express ad campaign debacle? I realize that it was pretty bad watching Roddick, with the ad campaign and American Tennis' rep in his back pocket, lose in straight tie-breaks to unranked Gilles Muller in the first round. In my opinion, I don't think it was that bad. Bad for Roddick, but not bad for the ad campaign, or for American Men's Tennis, by any means.

Sure, A-Rod was embarrassed at his Major tournament. And, of course, he is the best American man we've got. But, hey, from a PR standpoint, it was pretty easy to spin. Look:

Andy's Mojo got away from him, and didn't get back to him in time for the US Open to start, thus, Roddick falling to Muller in Round 1. By the time Andy's Mojo returned, Andy was in defeat, but wanted American tennis to go on in the US Open. So, he ordered his Mojo to help James Blake, thus, Blake defeating Raphael Nadal to advance.

I mean, it would work: Blake has had a reputation of flopping against the Top 10 players in the world. How else could Blake have defeated Nadal, possibly one of the best defensive players in the world, if it hadn't been for a little help from Andy's Mojo? The service style, the smashing forehands ... as some experts who watched that match said, Blake looked like a man possessed, and he played the best match of his life. I mean, he basically played, for the most part, Roddick's game to defeat Nadal. With that line of thinking, American Express and the USTA would be chomping at the bit to keep the ad campaign going.

Sure, it would take a bit of maneuvering and cooperation from certain parties, but it would work out for everyone. It would shine a new spotlight on American Men's Tennis, not to mention reintroduce James Blake to the sports world. For Roddick, it would even work out - it would show how good of a sport he is about that loss. And, hey, if Blake does the impossible and goes all the way, could you imagine the PR bonanza that Blake and Roddick would get, not to mention AmEx? And, hey, let's not get ahead of ourselves - this still is James Blake, and he would have to beat Roger Federer, quite possibly one of the greatest tennis players in history, in order to win the US Open. I'm just saying, if, by some miracle, it did happen.