A fan's year
by MAC
It's been a packed year for this particular fan. From Chennai to the Masters Cup I've been supporting Rafa in my own way - hero shirt and flag in hand either in person or from the safety of the rear of the sofa.
This is my year.
For me it started quietly with Chennai. Not a favourite tournament as it's on at an inconvenient time of day when you live in the UK. No television coverage, of course, so it was my first foray into the delights of an online betting site to view the matches on the tiniest screen possible. It's hard to get really involved when you can barely see the players let alone the ball.
Things improved marginally when the Australian Open came along. At last - television coverage! Such a shame it was Eurosport who only offer one channel and believe that because you are British you just MUST want to see Andy Murray. At least that meant we were guaranteed to see them play each other - just a shame I had to be at work at the time. I tried having the live scores on my PC but it's hard to contain yourself from vamossing at important moments and for some reason work takes a dim view of that. Assorted text messages kept me up to date. Though when they say "Tell your boy to stop faffing around and win this" it's hard not to feel a certain amount of apprehension. And what was never letting him play outdoors in daylight all about? Admittedly the night matches gave me a better chance of watching him but even so...
The first highlight for me was jetting off at almost a moment's notice to the Davis Cup tie in Geneva. Well - it's not that far and only involved one day off work. If Rafa had actually played and I'd managed to decide which digital camera to buy I just might have got some good pictures. As it was I spent a large amount of the time watching the back of his head as he cheered on the rest of the team. I have to say that I just loved the Spanish supporters. What other country has a complete mariachi band to play at end changes? Of course the best part of the weekend was catching him on his way back to the hotel to give him our Vamos Brigade trophy. He patted my shoulder after our picture was taken and it took a lot of resolve to resist the temptation never to wash there again.
Indian Wells was a joy. It wasn't a joy getting up in the small hours to see the matches but it was a joy to see him win his first tournament for what felt like far too long.
I'll draw a veil over Miami. Suffice to say I'm not proud of myself. I spent far too much time hiding behind the sofa.
Hoorah for April and the start of the clay court season. Once again I remortgaged the house to afford tickets for the whole week in Monte Carlo and a sojourn at the Hermitage. I must say it was worth it. We just couldn't believe our luck with both the weather and Rafa managing to win this tournament for the third year running. We thought we couldn't expect to have the same great result as we'd witnessed last year and were prepared to spend a few days shopping at the end of the tournament. Once again, though, our boy came through and prevented a serious assault on the credit cards.
The rest of the clay court season was supported from the comfort of home. Good TV coverage helped a lot here and being in Europe meant that it was generally at a convenient time to watch. I have to say, though, that my nerves weren't strong. So many points to defend. I know as a fan I should be confident but I have to admit to having everything crossed for an inordinate amount of time. Many's the time I left the recorder running and went for a long and vigourous walk in the hope that it would all be over with the right result by the time I came back. I just knew that things weren't going to go well when I saw the single magpie outside my house at the start of the Hamburg final. Just to prove my dedication, though, I gave up my tickets to the Bon Jovi concerts in Southampton and Milton Keynes just to be able to quake in front of the TV for the Roland Garros semi and final. Greater love hath no woman than to do that.
And then we were into what is laughingly known as the British summer. Queens is great! A wonderful venue with masses of opportunities for up close and personal encounters of the Rafa kind. And, of course, a chance for brief media stardom.
My best investment of the year was one of those marvellous tents that pop up instantly. This proved a godsend in the Wimbledon queue. As well organised as ever, the queue was marvellous but sitting under an umbrella isn't the most fun you can have in SW19. Still, I can't really complain since I only queued in rain and did get full play on the days I went into the grounds. The only good part about the rain was that it meant that Rafa played his semi-final on court one and we could get tickets for this for quite a modest amount of queuing. For once the sun was shining and I could discard the mac I'd been wearing for the whole of the previous week. Consequently I will never, EVER forgive Novak Djokovic for giving up halfway through and denying me my one opportunity to see a full Wimbledon semi (and probably a close up shirt change, too). I've never seen Rafa lose a match at Wimbledon - if only I'd been able to get tickets for the final...
After a brief return to the sofa for Stuttgart I gave the credit card another hammering by crossing the pond for Montreal. We didn't get tickets beforehand because of the mean way that they have two sessions each day. No way was I going to shell out to see no Rafa. It did mean a few panics (especially when Rafa had to play the local hero) but we managed by fair means or foul to see every Rafa match. We also caught a number of shirt changes on the practise courts. Worth all the numbness of the nether regions perched at the back of the bleachers to view the (naturally) distant court. Next time, Rafa, if you could manage to actually practise shirtless like the rest of your compatriots that would be really kind. I was a tad cross that they kept making him play the night matches (are they all in cahoots over this?) but at least it freed up a couple of days to actually see the town. Oh and now of course I do have a mouthy witness who will attest to the fact that I do actually hide behind the hero shirt when things get tough.
I can't say I enjoyed the season much after that. Actually I can't say I saw much of the season after that. What little nerves I have were in shreds after the US Open. It's just not fair having to put up with those matches in the wee small hours of the morning when your body is at its lowest ebb. I had high hopes for Madrid and then Paris. They were dashed, of course, by someone who hadn't done much all year. I do hate the way that the press just loves you if you end the season on a high even if you've been pants for the first 10 months. Shanghai was always going to be hard. Knew the moment we saw the round robin draw. It's on when I'm at work so I managed to miss most of that as well. I just hope Rafa is still reaching the Masters Cup Final when it comes to London in 2009.
So that was my year. I make no apologies for this being a very personal view. Thanks to LZ, vero, OjosEspagnoles, babolatbabe, vamosnadal, daisy, Mr daisy, Lovely, juanita, Amethyst, cincimini, woody, Alex, Seb, *Kate*, jamumafa, carly and AM for being my partners in crime at assorted tournaments over the year and for making it all so much fun.
I hope to see more of you on the road in 2008.
This is my year.
For me it started quietly with Chennai. Not a favourite tournament as it's on at an inconvenient time of day when you live in the UK. No television coverage, of course, so it was my first foray into the delights of an online betting site to view the matches on the tiniest screen possible. It's hard to get really involved when you can barely see the players let alone the ball.
Things improved marginally when the Australian Open came along. At last - television coverage! Such a shame it was Eurosport who only offer one channel and believe that because you are British you just MUST want to see Andy Murray. At least that meant we were guaranteed to see them play each other - just a shame I had to be at work at the time. I tried having the live scores on my PC but it's hard to contain yourself from vamossing at important moments and for some reason work takes a dim view of that. Assorted text messages kept me up to date. Though when they say "Tell your boy to stop faffing around and win this" it's hard not to feel a certain amount of apprehension. And what was never letting him play outdoors in daylight all about? Admittedly the night matches gave me a better chance of watching him but even so...
The first highlight for me was jetting off at almost a moment's notice to the Davis Cup tie in Geneva. Well - it's not that far and only involved one day off work. If Rafa had actually played and I'd managed to decide which digital camera to buy I just might have got some good pictures. As it was I spent a large amount of the time watching the back of his head as he cheered on the rest of the team. I have to say that I just loved the Spanish supporters. What other country has a complete mariachi band to play at end changes? Of course the best part of the weekend was catching him on his way back to the hotel to give him our Vamos Brigade trophy. He patted my shoulder after our picture was taken and it took a lot of resolve to resist the temptation never to wash there again.
Indian Wells was a joy. It wasn't a joy getting up in the small hours to see the matches but it was a joy to see him win his first tournament for what felt like far too long.
I'll draw a veil over Miami. Suffice to say I'm not proud of myself. I spent far too much time hiding behind the sofa.
Hoorah for April and the start of the clay court season. Once again I remortgaged the house to afford tickets for the whole week in Monte Carlo and a sojourn at the Hermitage. I must say it was worth it. We just couldn't believe our luck with both the weather and Rafa managing to win this tournament for the third year running. We thought we couldn't expect to have the same great result as we'd witnessed last year and were prepared to spend a few days shopping at the end of the tournament. Once again, though, our boy came through and prevented a serious assault on the credit cards.
The rest of the clay court season was supported from the comfort of home. Good TV coverage helped a lot here and being in Europe meant that it was generally at a convenient time to watch. I have to say, though, that my nerves weren't strong. So many points to defend. I know as a fan I should be confident but I have to admit to having everything crossed for an inordinate amount of time. Many's the time I left the recorder running and went for a long and vigourous walk in the hope that it would all be over with the right result by the time I came back. I just knew that things weren't going to go well when I saw the single magpie outside my house at the start of the Hamburg final. Just to prove my dedication, though, I gave up my tickets to the Bon Jovi concerts in Southampton and Milton Keynes just to be able to quake in front of the TV for the Roland Garros semi and final. Greater love hath no woman than to do that.
And then we were into what is laughingly known as the British summer. Queens is great! A wonderful venue with masses of opportunities for up close and personal encounters of the Rafa kind. And, of course, a chance for brief media stardom.
My best investment of the year was one of those marvellous tents that pop up instantly. This proved a godsend in the Wimbledon queue. As well organised as ever, the queue was marvellous but sitting under an umbrella isn't the most fun you can have in SW19. Still, I can't really complain since I only queued in rain and did get full play on the days I went into the grounds. The only good part about the rain was that it meant that Rafa played his semi-final on court one and we could get tickets for this for quite a modest amount of queuing. For once the sun was shining and I could discard the mac I'd been wearing for the whole of the previous week. Consequently I will never, EVER forgive Novak Djokovic for giving up halfway through and denying me my one opportunity to see a full Wimbledon semi (and probably a close up shirt change, too). I've never seen Rafa lose a match at Wimbledon - if only I'd been able to get tickets for the final...
After a brief return to the sofa for Stuttgart I gave the credit card another hammering by crossing the pond for Montreal. We didn't get tickets beforehand because of the mean way that they have two sessions each day. No way was I going to shell out to see no Rafa. It did mean a few panics (especially when Rafa had to play the local hero) but we managed by fair means or foul to see every Rafa match. We also caught a number of shirt changes on the practise courts. Worth all the numbness of the nether regions perched at the back of the bleachers to view the (naturally) distant court. Next time, Rafa, if you could manage to actually practise shirtless like the rest of your compatriots that would be really kind. I was a tad cross that they kept making him play the night matches (are they all in cahoots over this?) but at least it freed up a couple of days to actually see the town. Oh and now of course I do have a mouthy witness who will attest to the fact that I do actually hide behind the hero shirt when things get tough.
I can't say I enjoyed the season much after that. Actually I can't say I saw much of the season after that. What little nerves I have were in shreds after the US Open. It's just not fair having to put up with those matches in the wee small hours of the morning when your body is at its lowest ebb. I had high hopes for Madrid and then Paris. They were dashed, of course, by someone who hadn't done much all year. I do hate the way that the press just loves you if you end the season on a high even if you've been pants for the first 10 months. Shanghai was always going to be hard. Knew the moment we saw the round robin draw. It's on when I'm at work so I managed to miss most of that as well. I just hope Rafa is still reaching the Masters Cup Final when it comes to London in 2009.
So that was my year. I make no apologies for this being a very personal view. Thanks to LZ, vero, OjosEspagnoles, babolatbabe, vamosnadal, daisy, Mr daisy, Lovely, juanita, Amethyst, cincimini, woody, Alex, Seb, *Kate*, jamumafa, carly and AM for being my partners in crime at assorted tournaments over the year and for making it all so much fun.
I hope to see more of you on the road in 2008.