Sunday, September 23, 2007

the time of my life

i believe i owe this to everyone.. because i want to share this whole exciting experience with those who would listen.. though once again i suffer from inertia and have neglected my blog.. thanks to those who urge me to continue writing and updating :)
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the long anticipated day finally arrived, 9th of September 2007.. i think i'll never forgot this day because it marked the time of my life.. telling people that I have tickets to US Open LIVE for the men's singles finals was something which made everyone envious.. and as i dutifully watched every match paving towards the finals at madison square park sitting on the grass with a crowd of audience, it was already something which i would not have opportunity to do back home.. and the thought that i were to watch the world's best tennis player LIVE in action.. i could never imagine the excitment in me before it truly unfolds..

traveling to flushing meadows was no extraordinary feat, since we sort of mastered our way around by subway.. it was understanding and controlling my own anticipation and apprehension that was the challenge.. i made sure i had my camera with full battery and memory space for the big day.. and seemingly only taking photos seem to be the only way to show the excitment.. to make sure we had the time for shopping and immersing in the atmosphere then watching the match, we set out in the morning..

alighting from the subway station brought the long bridge leading to the stadium before my eyes.. with the patriotic american flags and the little US Open ones in between, the place was transformed into the route towards the big match..






the craze or MY craze began once we walk past the entrance and i saw the first federer image.. and subsequently my camera got really busy because there were so many of his posters and adverts around yet i couldn't bear to give any of them a miss from my memory.. anyway i've paid 185 bucks for the ticket to enter into the tennis centre as well :)



we realised that half an hour of shopping was terribly insufficient.. luckily due to our oversight on the schedule of woman's doubles finals first before the men's singles finals, we did have enough time in the end.. turned out that we managed to sit at court side for the first match.. and the view was fantastic! too bad we didn't get to sit there for the men's finals.. oh well i didn't exactly have thousands of dollars to spare on the tickets.. we went out after the first set of the woman's doubles finals to have lunch and shop around some more.. and of course more adrenaline build up when the time to the match of the year drew closer..

i bought a polo ralph t shirt which says US Open 2007, a very classic design for this year's US Open series.. and while i was looking for a cap on this very sunny day, i chanced upon a cap which says RF.. no prizes for guessing what it stands for.. but it is unique in that it is not sold elsewhere and it represents some sort of support the the great Roger Federer.. it's a guy's cap though but it didn't deter me from buying it hahaha.. so for the whole day i was so happy wearing that cap feeling empowered and supportive :) of course the match had to start but there was this whole program for the opening ceremony of the final match of the season.. there was a march displaying the US Flag while the US national anthem was being sung live by a great singer, there was air display and i was there sitting in the crowd waiting for the world's best tennis player to appear.. with A LOT of anticipation..




camera's snapped incessantly as he walked out, all in black, with his huge tennis bag slinged over his shoulder.. he was small enough to be insignificant from my view, but his impact on me was amazingly and surprisingly great.. i nearly cried when i saw him before my eyes.. i recalled miah's words on the subway trip there, that we used to be miles away from each other till this day, when our paths converge.. watching him play was a spetacular view, as he does it with lots of grace and confidence and composure.. even as he was on the losing end at the start of the first 2 sets, his consistency and experience gave him an edge over the younger opponent.. i was so worried and fidgity when he was on the down side that i was talking to him.. the encouraging words.. miah prob thot i was obsessed or something.. was he lucky? perhaps.. but in this game, luck plays some role as well i guess.. at the end of 3 sets, he claimed the title for the 4th time.. i was half hoping the game would extend into a forth set to see him play some more great tennis, but i was glad it ended in this way as well..



as he held up the cup to show off the result of his works, i felt immense pride as well.. how long will he stay the king of tennis? i don't really know.. but at least i have seen him LIVE in action, the legend of my time.. as we stand to take the last photo in an almost empty stadium, i think abt the last view i saw him being interviewed by the media and swarmed with fans.. well, i took my fair share of excitment in the wilson shop, wearing his cap, taking his racket with his signature on it, and a picture of him which is now happily stuck on my wall.. perhaps i am slightly obsessed.. just slightly ;)

rebec inspired @ 8:59 AM Comments: 0