My son and I went to the US Open this year. It was his first time. I have been
to this event many times over the years.
Some things about the US Open seem to never change. The parking and traffic
situations are always issues. With the construction at Shea Stadium, driving there is
somewhat problematic.
The food remains expensive and not very special. Although, I did have a super
ice cream cone at Ben and Jerry’s. I can’t remember exactly what the flavor was called,
but it was wonderful.
The tickets are pricey. Seats for me and my son were two hundred and fifty
dollars.
The souvenirs are quite expensive, but people still seem to be buying lots of them.
Folks seem to get caught up in the excitement of the event and they want to have
something to remind them of the US Open experience.
My daughter wanted one of those large tennis balls, but at forty five dollars, I decided
to bring her home a tennis bag and a water bottle instead.
The marketing and promotion surrounding the event is impressive. Corporations
have all kinds of tie ins, free offers and signage to sell their products and services and
enhance their image through their association with this event.
The tennis was outstanding. My son and I saw some top players and some up and
coming juniors. We watched about eight hours of super play.
I was quite impressed with Andy Murray who shows a mix of speed, power,
court intelligence, stamina and finesse. At times, he uses a one handed back hand and
at other times, he uses two. He has a great drop shot off his forehand side.
As my son noted, he makes the game look easy.
He beat Rafael Nadal because he was able to hit the ball with more depth than
was the number one player in the world. He also seemed to expend less energy during
the course of the match than did Nadal.
The weather was phenomenal. There was not a cloud in the sky and there were
some fantastic views of the new home of the Mets, Shea Stadium and the
Skyline.
The fans were very polite and quite a bit more cordial and civilized than some of
the rowdies who attend Yankee games and Mets games.
The ticket people, security people, salespeople and service people were
incredibly polite. When we left the complex, several people asked me and my son
if we enjoyed the day. We thanked them and told them we had a super day. These
people were apparently very well-trained where customer service was concerned.
I have never seen this kind of widespread politeness at a sporting event.
The day in
I am curious about the tennis and I wonder if the people who work there will be
so kind and so polite in 2009.