Hey Tennis Friends!
It’s Davis Cup Time!
For those of you who have never been, Davis Cup is not you grandfather’s tennis. It’s raucous, exciting, and patriotic!
I took the trip up to Portland, Oregon to support the United States team against the Russians.
My friend Tricia and I showed up to Memorial Coliseum way early, to beat the crowds. As it turned out, so did tennis ambassador Bud Collins! His wife, Anita, was kind enough to take our picture as we were bundled up from the winter temperatures.
Once inside, at some point, apparently I didn’t feel that my red, white, and blue attire was patriotic enough . . .
That’s right, as the sign says, “FREE Airbrushing” Now, how could I pass that up? Actually, this was my third Davis Cup event, and at each of them they offered free face painting. Such a deal!
Now I’m ready to cheer on the team!
The opening ceremonies were terrific! Since we showed up so early, we actually had some of the kids that were part of the show on the commuter train with us.
When the American players came out, they had confetti cannons and fireworks for each player. It was over-the-top and fun!
Unfortunately, the lighting was kind of poor from our seats. From the camera’s viewpoint, at least.
This is the only decent picture that I have, but, unfortunately it doesn’t show any action. It does, however show the Bryan brothers communicating to each other, after a point. After Andy Roddick and James Blake won their singles on Friday, Mike and Bob sealed the deal Saturday, with a 7-6, 6-4, 6-2 win over Igor Andreev and Nikolay Davydenko.
The United States won the Davis Cup for the first time in twelve years, beating the Russians (again) for the trophy 4-1.
It was great fun to be there for the entire three days, and I highly recommend making plans to attend Davis Cup, at least once, in your tennis travel lifetime. You won’t be disappointed.
I’ll see you next time, with more tennis, . . . outside the lines!
– Marcus Tennis
