Vamos Brigade


09 Feb 2007 02:52 am It's now 2:52 am (or stupid o' clock as it is also known) and I'm all packed and ready to head out through the ice to the airport. Flight currently is supposed to leave on time. All I have to hope is that having everything crossed will not impair my driving skills. Next report, hopefully, from the shores of Lake Geneva - or the grotty hotel in the back streets near the airport more likely. 09 Feb 2007 09:40 am Well I'm here in Geneva. Rafa can't be far away. Roads were absolutely fine despite all my fears. One thing I am curious about, though. Why do they call it "Fast Bag Drop"? Took bloody ages. Only half an hour late taking off. All I have to find now is LZ. 09 Feb 2007 11:15 pm OK guys - LZ and I are sitting at adjacent teminals in the Cyber Corner in the hotel. I am finding this a bit of a struggle as I cannot find the bloody apostrophe on this keyboard. Just in case anyone was thinking of relying on me for directions for future reference I should probably point out here that the route I took to the Palexpo from the hotel involved way more bushes and grass verges than was entirely necessary. I only discovered this on the way back. There's actually a perfectly decent pedestrian walkway that I completely failed to discover on the way there. Still, no harm done. My first impression when I arrived at the Palexpo was that there were 9,000 Swiss fans and me. There is a huge contingent of Spanish fans behind us, though - complete with mariachi style trumpeter (I guess this is the original Spanish version), two trombonists and a large assortment of percussion instruments. They certainly sound louder to me than the Swiss cowbells. (I'd like to mention here that some of the cowbells are so huge that I hope never to meet the kind of cow large enough to wear them.) As a rough guess I'd say about a quarter to a third of the spectators are Spanish supporters. Anyway, despite Rafa not playing we had a fab time. Our seats are in the perfect position to watch the players come in and out. As you know from the texts from LZ this happens a lot as far as Rafa is concerned. We are convinced he is being paid by a modelling agency since the only reason he seems to leave and come back again is to show off a change in outfit. At one point all he did was go out for his hat and then wear it for two games - what was that all about? It is indoors, Rafa - it is not likely to rain. One good thing about this is that it did give us plenty of opportunities to hang over the wall looking winsome in the hope of an autograph. The flag slipped a bit so it took him a fair while to get anything remotely resembling his signature on it so he put RN underneath. I have to say it was sheer joy watching Rafa coach Nando from the sidelines. As they went off after the second set he was jabbering away at him. Pity he would appear to have ignored his advice. At least I hope that is the case otherwise it doesn't bode well for the rest of the weekend. (Hoorah found the apostrophe - now all I have to do is find the close brackets) - yay found it on the equals sign. Wonder where the equals sign is. Some while ago someone asked whether anyone had seen Rafa pick at his shorts in pratice. We now have documentary evidence - or at least LZ does on her camcorder - that he does it when watching tennis matches. Must be something to do with the fabric used in sports clothing. I will post the pics of the signed flag and programme when the battery has charged up on the laptop and I can bring it down to plug in here. Much as I love you all I am not paying 10 euros per hour just for the pleasure of doing it in the comfort of our palatial bedroom. There are only a couple of decent ones of Rafa since he has an annoying tendency to move. This wouldn't be quite so bad it it weren't indoors where my camera struggles to determine the correct light level. I do have some interesting arty shots. If only I weren't too old to enter for the Turner Prize. And now I think it's time for bed. We have to plot the best way of getting the gift to Rafa. 10 Feb 2007 10:35 pm OK - we're finally back in the hotel. (and why do you have to press the z key to get the letter y on this keyboard?) What can I say about today? We got the hotel shuttle service to the Palexpo which saved a lot of wear and tear on the feet and a lot of swearing at traffic - this part of town is so not geared up to pedestrians. They were still practising when we arrived so got a quick glimpse of Rafa rushing past to the players fastness to the side of the court. I would so love to know what they have in there. Whatever it is must be pretty alluring since Rafa has to go there at least once every set. They certainly have a large stock of bananas since he usually comes back chomping on one. It was good to see that Feli in particular is aware that people have come to see Rafa so picks his shorts out of his arse every so often so we don't miss it. I have to say that the match had to have been one of the best matches I have been at. It was such fun - the crowd are amazing. You just have to jump to your feet and cheer almost every point. I actually stopped gazing at Rafa on the substitutes bench and got really into willing Feli and Nando on to victory. I did manage to get the rest of the team to sign the flag which was cool. Nando after the practise, David in one of his frequent trips to the delights of the players area and Feli after the match. We had planned on a trip into Geneva tonight but that was because we thought "Hey it's doubles on a fast court - that ain't gonna take long". Nearly 5 hours! So instead we popped round to the Crowne Plaza in the hope of a bit of quiet Rafa stalking - oops did I say stalking? - I meant spotting of course. One gold plated orange juice later and we were rewarded by a quick glimpse of him hugging his cousin before getting into the lift. His cousin did what most of us would like to do which is rush up to him and fling her arms round him. Damn - if only I were about 5 years old. We contemplated hanging around longer but since the family were all there it just seemed intrusive. Instead we called the hotel to come and pick us up. The quick glimpse of how the other half live in Geneva was enough for us and we dined stylishly in the local MacDonald's Well it was all that was open and under 50 euros for dinner. No pics today I'm afraid - Rafa way too fleet of foot for my "oh you want to take pictures indoors do you, haha" camera. Gutted that we won't get to see Rafa play and thus not get to see his sweat glistened arms but still wouldn't have missed this experience for any money. Have had enough now of this damn keyboard (or kezboard as it would prefer I write it) If you are bored go back and count how many times I used the letter y and you will know how many times I had to hit the delete button. 11 Feb 2007 10:19 pm OK guys - here's the lowdown - complete with pics if the laptop battery holds out. Most of the day was much as before. Struggle up in time for breakfast - nip online and then take the hotel shuttle to the Palexpo. I thought LZ's cheering outfit was maybe a little too much until I saw this Swiss lady Now that's what I call a cheering outfit. Also - should any of you be wondering what to buy me for my birthday? I want one of these that the guys outside us to whizz around on. We went in and saw the last bit of practising - no sign of Rafa. As ever he was last to arrive to the court . He's last anyway and then takes four times as long to get to the court 'cos everyone is lining the barriers hoping for an autograph or pic. Even the Swiss supporters were shamlessly hanging over shouting his name. Anyway - we watched the matches. Nando's was fun. He played really, really well. After every set there is a break and people rush over to the side of the team area so thay can get Rafa's autograph. I took a couple of pics After the excitement of the winning of that match (and therefore the tie) it was all a bit of an anti-climax. The Spanish supporters brass section disappeared for a while and half the Swiss went home to dream of Roger. David never looked like he was there. Rafa actually wasn't for most of the first two sets. They shot off afterwards and that was that. Or so we thought... 11 Feb 2007 10:35 pm We decided that going to the hotel was maybe our best chance of getting the gift to Rafa. Picking up Vero on the way we strolled around there, not necessarily holding out much hope. As we round the corner just outside the hotel we see a familar band of men coming down the hill from the back of the Palexpo. "It's Rafa" says Vero, "now would be good". There was a short interlude while we ran around like mad things for a bit - trying to decide on our best position. LZ nearly laid down her life for the VB by standing in the road when a car was coming. Rafa stopped to sign autographs and then walked towards us. Gulp! With invisible hoards of generations of tough Frenchwomen behind her LZ stepped up to Rafa and said "We have this gift for you." She slowly unwrapped the trophy while Rafa looked at her with a sort of "WTF?" look on his face Then his bloody mobile phone rang and he said "one minute" and answered it Told whoever it was that he was on his way to the media centre and then turned back to LZ. She gave the trophy to him with a sort of curtsey and he actually looked quite touched when he read the inscription. My powers of speech returned enough at this point to gibber out a request for a picture and got this Then we asked if we could have our pictures taken with him. Here's LZ He's looking at Vero here because she was telling him that the gift came from the site that had all the traffic. And then it was my turn And he's actually smiling! Then he patted my shoulder and shot off into the media centre. I was still shaking 10 minutes later. After that we wandered into the hotel and saw him go up to his room. LZ wouldn't let me carry out any of my plans involving the room service trolley so we left. And that was just about it. A great weekend though and worth every penny. I would throughly recommentd a Davis Cup tie to anyone who loves tennis and atmosphere.

09 Feb 2007 02:52 am It's now 2:52 am (or stupid o' clock as it is also known) and I'm all packed and ready to head out through the ice to the airport. Flight currently is supposed to leave on time. All I have to hope is that having everything crossed will not impair my driving skills. Next report, hopefully, from the shores of Lake Geneva - or the grotty hotel in the back streets near the airport more likely.

09 Feb 2007 09:40 am

Well I'm here in Geneva. Rafa can't be far away. Roads were absolutely fine despite all my fears. One thing I am curious about, though. Why do they call it "Fast Bag Drop"? Took bloody ages. Only half an hour late taking off. All I have to find now is LZ.

09 Feb 2007 11:15 pm OK guys - LZ and I are sitting at adjacent teminals in the Cyber Corner in the hotel. I am finding this a bit of a struggle as I cannot find the bloody apostrophe on this keyboard.
Just in case anyone was thinking of relying on me for directions for future reference I should probably point out here that the route I took to the Palexpo from the hotel involved way more bushes and grass verges than was entirely necessary. I only discovered this on the way back. There's actually a perfectly decent pedestrian walkway that I completely failed to discover on the way there. Still, no harm done.
My first impression when I arrived at the Palexpo was that there were 9,000 Swiss fans and me.
There is a huge contingent of Spanish fans behind us, though - complete with mariachi style trumpeter (I guess this is the original Spanish version), two trombonists and a large assortment of percussion instruments. They certainly sound louder to me than the Swiss cowbells. (I'd like to mention here that some of the cowbells are so huge that I hope never to meet the kind of cow large enough to wear them.) As a rough guess I'd say about a quarter to a third of the spectators are Spanish supporters.
Anyway, despite Rafa not playing we had a fab time. Our seats are in the perfect position to watch the players come in and out. As you know from the texts from LZ this happens a lot as far as Rafa is concerned. We are convinced he is being paid by a modelling agency since the only reason he seems to leave and come back again is to show off a change in outfit. At one point all he did was go out for his hat and then wear it for two games - what was that all about? It is indoors, Rafa - it is not likely to rain.

One good thing about this is that it did give us plenty of opportunities to hang over the wall looking winsome in the hope of an autograph. The flag slipped a bit so it took him a fair while to get anything remotely resembling his signature on it so he put RN underneath.

I have to say it was sheer joy watching Rafa coach Nando from the sidelines. As they went off after the second set he was jabbering away at him. Pity he would appear to have ignored his advice. At least I hope that is the case otherwise it doesn't bode well for the rest of the weekend. (Hoorah found the apostrophe - now all I have to do is find the close brackets) - yay found it on the equals sign. Wonder where the equals sign is.
Some while ago someone asked whether anyone had seen Rafa pick at his shorts in pratice. We now have documentary evidence - or at least LZ does on her camcorder - that he does it when watching tennis matches. Must be something to do with the fabric used in sports clothing.
I will post the pics of the signed flag and programme when the battery has charged up on the laptop and I can bring it down to plug in here. Much as I love you all I am not paying 10 euros per hour just for the pleasure of doing it in the comfort of our palatial bedroom.
There are only a couple of decent ones of Rafa since he has an annoying tendency to move. This wouldn't be quite so bad it it weren't indoors where my camera struggles to determine the correct light level. I do have some interesting arty shots. If only I weren't too old to enter for the Turner Prize.

And now I think it's time for bed. We have to plot the best way of getting the gift to Rafa.

10 Feb 2007 10:35 pm OK - we're finally back in the hotel. (and why do you have to press the z key to get the letter y on this keyboard?) What can I say about today?
We got the hotel shuttle service to the Palexpo which saved a lot of wear and tear on the feet and a lot of swearing at traffic - this part of town is so not geared up to pedestrians. They were still practising when we arrived so got a quick glimpse of Rafa rushing past to the players fastness to the side of the court. I would so love to know what they have in there. Whatever it is must be pretty alluring since Rafa has to go there at least once every set. They certainly have a large stock of bananas since he usually comes back chomping on one.
It was good to see that Feli in particular is aware that people have come to see Rafa so picks his shorts out of his arse every so often so we don't miss it.
I have to say that the match had to have been one of the best matches I have been at. It was such fun - the crowd are amazing. You just have to jump to your feet and cheer almost every point. I actually stopped gazing at Rafa on the substitutes bench and got really into willing Feli and Nando on to victory.
I did manage to get the rest of the team to sign the flag which was cool. Nando after the practise, David in one of his frequent trips to the delights of the players area and Feli after the match.
We had planned on a trip into Geneva tonight but that was because we thought "Hey it's doubles on a fast court - that ain't gonna take long". Nearly 5 hours! So instead we popped round to the Crowne Plaza in the hope of a bit of quiet Rafa stalking - oops did I say stalking? - I meant spotting of course. One gold plated orange juice later and we were rewarded by a quick glimpse of him hugging his cousin before getting into the lift. His cousin did what most of us would like to do which is rush up to him and fling her arms round him. Damn - if only I were about 5 years old. We contemplated hanging around longer but since the family were all there it just seemed intrusive. Instead we called the hotel to come and pick us up.
The quick glimpse of how the other half live in Geneva was enough for us and we dined stylishly in the local MacDonald's Well it was all that was open and under 50 euros for dinner.
No pics today I'm afraid - Rafa way too fleet of foot for my "oh you want to take pictures indoors do you, haha" camera. Gutted that we won't get to see Rafa play and thus not get to see his sweat glistened arms but still wouldn't have missed this experience for any money. Have had enough now of this damn keyboard (or kezboard as it would prefer I write it) If you are bored go back and count how many times I used the letter y and you will know how many times I had to hit the delete button.

11 Feb 2007 10:19 pm OK guys - here's the lowdown - complete with pics if the laptop battery holds out. Most of the day was much as before. Struggle up in time for breakfast - nip online and then take the hotel shuttle to the Palexpo. I thought LZ's cheering outfit was maybe a little too much until I saw this Swiss lady

Now that's what I call a cheering outfit. Also - should any of you be wondering what to buy me for my birthday? I want one of these that the guys outside us to whizz around on.

We went in and saw the last bit of practising - no sign of Rafa. As ever he was last to arrive to the court . He's last anyway and then takes four times as long to get to the court 'cos everyone is lining the barriers hoping for an autograph or pic. Even the Swiss supporters were shamlessly hanging over shouting his name.

Anyway - we watched the matches. Nando's was fun. He played really, really well. After every set there is a break and people rush over to the side of the team area so thay can get Rafa's autograph. I took a couple of pics

After the excitement of the winning of that match (and therefore the tie) it was all a bit of an anti-climax. The Spanish supporters brass section disappeared for a while and half the Swiss went home to dream of Roger. David never looked like he was there. Rafa actually wasn't for most of the first two sets. They shot off afterwards and that was that. Or so we thought...

11 Feb 2007 10:35 pm We decided that going to the hotel was maybe our best chance of getting the gift to Rafa. Picking up Vero on the way we strolled around there, not necessarily holding out much hope. As we round the corner just outside the hotel we see a familar band of men coming down the hill from the back of the Palexpo. "It's Rafa" says Vero, "now would be good". There was a short interlude while we ran around like mad things for a bit - trying to decide on our best position. LZ nearly laid down her life for the VB by standing in the road when a car was coming.
Rafa stopped to sign autographs and then walked towards us. Gulp! With invisible hoards of generations of tough Frenchwomen behind her LZ stepped up to Rafa and said "We have this gift for you." She slowly unwrapped the trophy while Rafa looked at her with a sort of "WTF?" look on his face

Then his bloody mobile phone rang and he said "one minute" and answered it

Told whoever it was that he was on his way to the media centre and then turned back to LZ. She gave the trophy to him with a sort of curtsey and he actually looked quite touched when he read the inscription. My powers of speech returned enough at this point to gibber out a request for a picture and got this

Then we asked if we could have our pictures taken with him.
Here's LZ

He's looking at Vero here because she was telling him that the gift came from the site that had all the traffic.

And then it was my turn

And he's actually smiling! Then he patted my shoulder and shot off into the media centre. I was still shaking 10 minutes later.

After that we wandered into the hotel and saw him go up to his room. LZ wouldn't let me carry out any of my plans involving the room service trolley so we left.

And that was just about it. A great weekend though and worth every penny. I would throughly recommentd a Davis Cup tie to anyone who loves tennis and atmosphere.