U.S. Open
I'm sort of a homebody, what my geek friends call a "hobbit." Taking a trip or attending some big event always brings out my latent insecurity by the truckload. I have an irrational fear whenever I approach an airline ticket counter or a hotel check-in desk, or hand my event ticket to an usher, that I will be greeted with a condescending stare and a command to go away and stop wasting everyone's time. Consequently, I tend to favor activities close to home.
My wife, however, is more of an adventurer. It never occurs to her that we might drive across the country to Wally World only to find it closed for repairs. So when a friend of hers gave her a pair of complimentary tickets to Sunday evening's matches at the U.S. Open, she was thrilled. I was nervous, and I stayed nervous and slightly irritable until we were in our seats, fourth row from the top of Arthur Ashe stadium.
We saw No. 1 seed Kim Clijsters (from Belgium) beat Meghann Shaughnessy (U.S.) in two sets, despite the fact that Shaughnessy had the crowd behind her. We also saw No. 2 seed Roger Federer (Switzerland) defeat unseeded James Blake (Yonkers) in three sets, though the battle was hard-fought. Blake has charisma, physical presence, wild hair, real heart, a fiercely competitive spirit, and a home in New York, all of which made the crowd adore him. There were so many close games, games that went on for no fewer than 20 points, that the match seemed to go much longer than three sets. It was exciting, and I was a little hoarse after all the shouting I did. Mrs. Happy and I both had a great time.
Sometimes it's good to let your wife drag you out of your comfort zone.
This is how you see the Blake/Federer match from the nosebleed seats.
