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 Michael's
Childhood
Baby
Michael
Michael Te Pei Chang was born on February 22, 1972 in Hoboken NJ USA.
Michael's parents and grandparents often marveled at how disciplined
and mature he was at such a young age. When he was 8 months old, his
grandmother decided not to stick to Michael's meal schedule due to
the daylight savings time, and opted to go back to sleep. After she
woke up, she realized that Michael, instead of crying, sucked his
thumb until the hour had passed.
Years later, at age 4, Michael fell and cut his chin on a dresser,
and was immediately rushed to the hospital to get stitches. Michael's
mother Betty was hysterical, but little Michael, tearless, actually
tried to console his mother instead.
Other than that nuance, Michael had a very happy childhood. He ate
all his vegetables because he wanted to be as strong as Popeye, and
he drank all of his milk because of "those athletes in the commercials."
His favorite toys included Tonka trucks and teddy bears, many of which
he still keeps in his attic today. Also, Michael would always ask
his barber to give him a haircut like Superman.
The Early Years
After relocating from the NJ/NY area to St Paul MN, Michael and his
older brother Carl found themselves in a friendly neighborhood. Michael
met lots of friends and would often tag along with them to a pond
that they nicknamed "Secret Pond" to hunt for tadpoles. It was also
in Minnesota that Carl, 9, taught Michael, 6, the barebones of tennis
by teaching him how to play table tennis (ping pong).
In addition to his maturity, another characteristic that was noticeable
early on was Michael's competitiveness. After losing a match to his
father at age 8, he got so upset that he broke his racquet (the only
time that he's ever done it). Later, he learned to make his competitiveness
work for him. In the 2nd grade, Michael lost a spelling bee by spelling
the word "close" instead of "clothes," so he went home and wrote the
word "clothes" 300 times to make sure he wouldn't forget it.
Michael also enjoyed competing for fun against Carl, and not just
in tennis. They would have frequent pillow fights, fishing contests,
and food fests to see who could eat more of their mom's homemade Chinese
dumplings.
California
Dreamin'
The Chang family relocated to San Diego CA after both Michael and
Carl swept the competition in Minnesota. Michael had to adjust to
new surroundings and a new school. He and Carl also carried with them
their collective nickname, "The Chang Gang," because they often beat
their competition on the court. Later, the teenage Michael and his
family settled in nearby Placentia CA in a tract house.
At times, Michael would miss the camaraderie of his old neighborhoods
in Minnesota and San Diego. He also felt somewhat left out of cliques
because of his race and being one of only a few Asians at school.
Still, he looked forward to attending college, hopefully on a tennis
scholarship, and studying his favorite subject, biology.
Of course, Michael's life dramatically changed at the age of 16, when
Reebok and Prince Racquets offered him endorsements. Cautiously, Michael
plowed ahead with tennis as his main goal, still intending to pursue
higher education if his tennis career didn't pan out. Little did he
know that the next year, he would become the 1989 French Open champion.
(Yup,
there are Purin pictures here, but don't assume that Michael is a
Sanrio fan...)
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© 1997-2002 The Man
MC
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