I’m not the biggest tennis fan, but I have come to like it more over the past few years. That’s because my wife is a big tennis fan, having played it in college and growing up. And being the good husband, for the past few years I have bought or won tickets to a local tournament that takes place around Laura’s birthday. The tournament is part of the U.S. Open series, so it gets some big names, but it’s at a small facility, so you probably won’t see the current #1 players in the world there any time soon.
Nevertheless, Laura and I always have a great time. Typically, the worst thing we have to deal with is August heat and humidity. The fans are usually well-behaved and enthusiastic, despite the ready availability of alcohol. The worst we had to deal with this year was a fan repeatedly shouting, “Let’s go, Dimit,” (as in, “da meat”) to Dimitri Tursanov. But that just bothered me because “Dimit” isn’t the proper diminutive of Dimitri (can you tell I studied Russian in college?).
Anyway, when you get to the U.S. Open itself, things apparently get a little crazier. But it’s to be expected. Just statistically, more people mean more jerks, which means more chances for trouble.* There is now footage of a just what it takes to be forcibly removed from the U.S. Open. WARNING: CONTAINS LOTS OF NSFW LANGUAGE.
Now I’ve seen loud jerks at baseball games and football games and in more bars than I can count. But tennis? Well, that’s a first. Then again, jerks are everywhere. Enjoy the show, though.
*My Boston-born wife would be upset if I did not make some joke about jerks and New York, so insert a New-Yorkers-are-jerks joke here.
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