mood: "the rockafeller skank" . fatboy slim
The headline says it all. This is my first post for my personal website, and what a time to be writing! I just made my return home from the great City of New York and if you’re a true tennis fan, you know that Labor Day weekend is the sweet, creamy center of the Oreo cookie that is… wait for it… US OPEN SEASON.
I would apologize for my excitement, but I ain’t sorry. Tennis is a sport I have enjoyed watching and reading about since Andre Agassi was in his prime and Venus and Serena Williams [insert heart eyes emoji HERE] banging up the court in their beads and braids. I put attending all four majors, which include the Australian Open, the French Open, Wimbledon and the US Open, on my bucket list. I am proud to say I can officially check one of these events off my list.
A panoramic view of Arthur Ashe Stadium moments before Serena Williams entered.
The weekend before Labor Day, I had exactly zero plans of making a trip to New York City, let alone enjoy a day as a spectator at one of tennis’s largest stages, but God and the universe had other plans for me. I received a phone call from a fellow church member who is more like an aunt to me asking me to join her for the Open and general NYC shenanigans. All I had to do was book a flight and everything else was covered, my room at the Waldorf Astoria hotel. While I was a little hesitant at first–I’m not a huge fan of last minute decisions, especially when potentially large quantities of coinage are involved–I decided I could use a weekend getaway in my favorite North American city.
I booked a flight on Monday to fly out on Friday, and I made sure to land in the same airport around the same time as my aunt, whom all of her nieces and nephews endearingly call “Tee Tee,” so that we could make the trip from the airport to the hotel together. We made it to the hotel, dropped our things, got situated and then roamed the streets, meeting up with Tee Tee’s nephew Christian, whose birthday we were celebrating that weekend. He was with his cousin and friend, so after popping in for a few minutes to say hi, we went back out and headed toward Times Square. I had NYC street meat for the first time from a Halal food cart that night and it was even better than I had expected. After finishing the plate, we headed back to the hotel. After all, the main event of the weekend required an early start.
The next day, I was up and ready to go. Not that the excitement of seeing some of the greatest tennis players, including Serena Williams and Andy Murray, wasn’t enough for me to get a move on, but I don’t like being late or keeping people waiting. The group consisted of about 10 people, so coordinating trips from Midtown to Flushing, Queens isn’t exactly the smallest task. Fortunately, Tee Tee’s sister Vickie is a master at planning, so the trip was simple: 45 minutes on the 4 from Grand Central Terminal to Queens.
It was a dreamlike moment to step off the train and arrive at The USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. I couldn’t believe I had the last minute opportunity to be present at the Open that day, but I was and still am very grateful.
Left to right: some of my adopted family on the boardwalk heading toward the entrance and a view of the welcome sign on a cloudy day.
The first order of business that day was to buy merch. I wanted to get something for my mom, dad and sister I thought each might enjoy. I can be indecisive so it took a while to find the perfect gifts for them and myself, but I decided on a tote for my mom, cap for my dad, shot glass for my sister and t-shirt for me. Tee Tee bought a shirt, but wanted the official Ralph Lauren Polo, leggings, shorts and Nikes worn by some of the players. I’ll just say she missed the opportunity this time around.
After buying into this country’s capitalistic ideals, we took our seats inside Arthur Ashe Stadium. I was overwhelmed with excitement, especially when Serena Williams walked in. Celebrity sightings included my wife La La Anthony (kidding about the wife part), her husband Carmelo and Kelly Rowland. Serena played one of her best matches that day, which is why I missed half of it while waiting in line at the concession stand (honestly, the seasoned waffle fries were good, but seeing Serena will always be better). Her match, while reportedly just under an hour, didn't feel like it was longer than 30 minutes. Fortunately though, I did get to see Serena warm up and play for a little while.
During Serena's match against Johanna Larsson. The picture really says it all.
We stayed from about 11:30 a.m. until roughly 6 p.m. and switched between Arthur Ashe and Louis Armstrong Stadiums. The weather couldn’t have been more perfect. The overcast day meant things like sunglasses and fans weren’t necessary. History was made on that perfect day and I got to be part of it: the all-time US Open single session attendance record was broken.
David Ferrer serves the ball in Louis Armstrong Stadium to Juan Martín del Potro, who won the match in round 3.
Friday, Sept. 3 saw more fans than ever. The total for the day and night sessions combined was 65,286, breaking the Labor Day weekend 2014 record by 26,506.
I thought being in NYC for a time as brief as this last trip would be the worst kind of tease because I love it too much to only be there for two days, but it was the perfect getaway. Attending the US Open is my single greatest accomplishment. Even greater than that one time I ate an entire package of Oreos in a day.