Catch your breath! No I wasn't driven there bound and gagged in the trunk of a car... 
The US Open is in full swing!
The US Open is in full swing!My friends, suddenly, Queens is the place to be! 
This is my only real annual sports time. I may not follow the traditional American fare. I couldn't tell you who's on the Lakers this year and I have no idea where the last College Football score ended up. Tennis is a whole other story. We lucked out and ended up catching Wozniacki and Kuznetsova for a thrilling match. 
Every few volleys one of them would take the advantage. You'd be sure it was over - last set, advantage determined, and then the lead would get stolen out from under them until the score board reversed.
This is my only real annual sports time. I may not follow the traditional American fare. I couldn't tell you who's on the Lakers this year and I have no idea where the last College Football score ended up. Tennis is a whole other story. We lucked out and ended up catching Wozniacki and Kuznetsova for a thrilling match. 
Every few volleys one of them would take the advantage. You'd be sure it was over - last set, advantage determined, and then the lead would get stolen out from under them until the score board reversed. 
We routed for Wozniacki the whole way and in the end she kicked it to the curb and we got bragging rights (funny how that works out). 
We ended up competing most of the night between watching the match and trying to ignore the N.J. DBs behind us. They were one member short of a boy band.
They spent the evening making up false statistics and then swearing to God that they were true. At one point I started up a tally to make them tolerable. That's a She Sure is Sketchy tip for you. If you cannot stand the girl popping gum in your ear on the train, the kid hitting his brother on the head or the jerks kicking your seat - just start a tally. It makes it easier to handle. You end up kind of feeling like you're winning every time you put a mark on the sheet. 
The last count was 28 "I swear to Gods." This is impressive if you take into the account the things they were willing to take to the pearly gates for affirmation - stuff like the night's location of Will Ferrel, the speed on the last ball to graze the net, the age of the ball girls, etc.
These sketches are whipped gestures. They each took about 20 seconds. Tennis at this level is so fun to watch. The players never stand still. They're always bobbing around. 
These sketches are all Wo. She was completely feminine through it all. I saw Sherpova play twice in 2007 and she grunts loud enough when she swings her racket that you wonder that she isn't made to say "excuse me" after every volley. Caroline was much more Emily Post, plus her tennis dress was adorable. 
Here's another tip: If you want She Sure is Sketchy blogtime you should probably be wearing something flouncy.
Here's another tip: If you want She Sure is Sketchy blogtime you should probably be wearing something flouncy.This was my favorite gesture of the night:
We could hardly hear anything once they announced that Djokovic was coming out. The crowd was screaming so loud that we couldn't even hear the NJDB behind us. I put my notebook away and leaned as far out of my seat as I could for the rest of the evening. Sadly the match couldn't hold a candle to what the girls pulled off earlier in the evening.
It kind of got to be one of those "don't play with your food" situations. After the second set it was clear that Stepanek wasn't going to be moving on into the quarter finals. The rest of the match just left Djokovic putting him through his paces. Stepanek can be an amazing match to watch. Last night he was Dullsville. I think he must have gotten psyched out early on. He changed his shirt after the third set because he'd soaked through it. So it's safe to say he was a tad stressed. I doubt it gets much tougher than walking into an almost silent stadium and then standing there to hear the crowd erupt when your opponent comes out and takes his side of the court. That can't do much for your ego. The stadium was deafening too. At one point that the announcer has to ask everyone to settle down. I have never been at a match where people had to be asked to be quiet. It's just not done. Every time Djokovic raised his racket you could hear a pin drop. Then if Stepanek missed something the crowd would go wild. It is the closest I've ever come to feeling Grecian.
After Stepanek was properly smashed and Djokovic was mid victory interview things really picked up. SO MANY people had left by then because it had just gotten boring.
ALWAYS STAY FOR THE CREDITS, PEOPLE!
Wonder of wonders, a blessed chain of events Rube Goldberged their way into my Labor Day Cup of Joy.
Djokovic let his mouth run off (big surprise), did a John Mcenroe impression, said something to the effect of "I could beat Mcenroe with one arm tied behind my back!" and tossed his racket on the court for good measure. Then the cameras flashed up to the booth and Mcenroe was THERE watching! He grabbed a racket and came DOWN to the court!
He wasn't warmed up but still schooled Mr. 22, seated 4th in the world. Not many 27 year-olds can say that they saw John Mcenroe play at the US Open - Now I can. He actually only volleyed for about five or six minutes but the energy in the stadium was like elixir of bliss.
Fun x Infinity = The US Open
Yay for tennis and the Open and oh hell, it was a fantastic night...
Yay for Queens!
It kind of got to be one of those "don't play with your food" situations. After the second set it was clear that Stepanek wasn't going to be moving on into the quarter finals. The rest of the match just left Djokovic putting him through his paces. Stepanek can be an amazing match to watch. Last night he was Dullsville. I think he must have gotten psyched out early on. He changed his shirt after the third set because he'd soaked through it. So it's safe to say he was a tad stressed. I doubt it gets much tougher than walking into an almost silent stadium and then standing there to hear the crowd erupt when your opponent comes out and takes his side of the court. That can't do much for your ego. The stadium was deafening too. At one point that the announcer has to ask everyone to settle down. I have never been at a match where people had to be asked to be quiet. It's just not done. Every time Djokovic raised his racket you could hear a pin drop. Then if Stepanek missed something the crowd would go wild. It is the closest I've ever come to feeling Grecian. After Stepanek was properly smashed and Djokovic was mid victory interview things really picked up. SO MANY people had left by then because it had just gotten boring.
ALWAYS STAY FOR THE CREDITS, PEOPLE!
Wonder of wonders, a blessed chain of events Rube Goldberged their way into my Labor Day Cup of Joy.
Djokovic let his mouth run off (big surprise), did a John Mcenroe impression, said something to the effect of "I could beat Mcenroe with one arm tied behind my back!" and tossed his racket on the court for good measure. Then the cameras flashed up to the booth and Mcenroe was THERE watching! He grabbed a racket and came DOWN to the court!
He wasn't warmed up but still schooled Mr. 22, seated 4th in the world. Not many 27 year-olds can say that they saw John Mcenroe play at the US Open - Now I can. He actually only volleyed for about five or six minutes but the energy in the stadium was like elixir of bliss.Fun x Infinity = The US Open
Yay for tennis and the Open and oh hell, it was a fantastic night...
Yay for Queens!
Thank you for the tally tip. I will start tallying every time this Orem DB in my class tries to say something intelligent (key word: tries).
ReplyDeleteHow is it that you always happen to be at the most "happening" place on the planet? That NYC moment w/Mac was on all the key blogs yesterday w/comments like "I would have given my firstborn to be there"! So proud.
ReplyDelete