Crying for Argentina: What Weepy del Potro Really Said at US Open

Dick Enberg is just the poor sap in this whole thing. But Juan Martin del Potro beat Roger Federer to win the U.S. Open Monday, becoming just the second South American man to win it. And the first, Guillermo Vilas, was in the stands to celebrate. And throughout the match, a huge Spanish-speaking crowd sang O ... lay, Olay, Olay, Olay ...

And then del Potro politely and with great humility spoke to the crowd in English, a language he doesn't speak particularly well yet, or comfortably. Then, he asked Enberg, the CBS announcer, if he could say a few words in Spanish.

More: CBS Defends Enberg

"I'm sorry,'' Enberg said over the p.a. "We're running out of time here.''

Well, there was time -- time to get a word in from Lexus.

Eventually, with del Potro on his third pass at Enberg, all but begging him to allow him to speak Spanish, Enberg handed him the mic.

And del Potro, who is from Argentina, lit up, nearly breaking into tears during his talk.

So I asked him what he had said, what had gotten him so emotional. Here's what he said:

"Well, because my parents want to come watch the final and say no be there (they didn't come). Of course, they are part of this moment. They believe in me a lot like my coaches.

"It's a special moment for me, for my parents and my friends. This trophy is for these, too.''

Look, this moment was an insult. But it wasn't Enberg's fault. He is out there on court with strings being pulled, told to hurry up, get to sponsors, get to commercials.

A great moment in a young man's life had been sold out.

In the end, del Potro did get to say what he wanted. So that really is what matters most.

But tennis is an international sport, not an American game. Del Potro is a 20-year old Spanish-speaking man who had spent the entire two weeks saying it was his dream to win the U.S. Open.

And to make him beg to speak to his people in his language in that place, Arthur Ashe Stadium, the biggest tennis stadium in the world, was not only a failure to recognize the moment, but also to recognize modern times and one of the beautiful things about the worldliness of the game.