Howdy y'all.
I'm back. I'm sunburned. And I saw Rafa perform his most famous move ever...
Yes, that is firsthand video of Rafa picking his wedgie, a feat he tackles before every single point.
I also saw him do some of this:
His unreturnable serve- A feat almost as difficult and intricate as the wedgie-pick.
Yep. I was in tennis heaven. At one point Rafa and his teammate looked like they were in trouble, and so I pulled a move from one of my favorite movies The Natural, where the mysterious woman in white stands in the crowd and inspires Robert Redford out of his slump.
Then they live happily ever after.
 |
| Glenn Close, willing her lover to do better. |
The only problem was, I left my white hat in the car (true story) and my spare hat was camouflage. So I stood up and immediately blended in with my surroundings.
 |
| The mysterious woman in beige. Not the same effect. |
It was okay. Rafa and the other guy eeked out the win. In an interview afterward, Rafa said he felt something magical from the crowd, but when he turned to look, he didn't see anyone. Stupid camouflage hat.
I also surprised my parents with second-row tickets for their anniversary to see Roger Federer.
 |
| Federer, up close and hot. Also, hawt. |
Federer totally dominated his opponent. He took the first set 6-0, and was up 2-0 in the second set when the other guy (Chela) finally won a game.
The crowd went nuts, trying to support the wounded underdog. Chela smiled and waved, and when the noise died down, he said loudly, "It's okay, Fed. Shake it off. You've got this." So funny.
Palm Springs by the Numbers:
Number on the thermometer: 90
Number of rows separating me from Federer: 2
Number on the sunscreen bottle: 70
Number of icy lemonades ingested: 42
Number of wedgie picks: 864 (862 from Rafa, 2 from me)
Number of times my mom told the people around us that they were sitting next to a soon-to-be-famous author: 1,748.
Thanks, mom.
I'll have more about the second half of our trip (Disneyland) on Wednesday, featuring standing in line behind Punky Brewster. For reals. No lie.
So, how was all y'all's week? Sorry I couldn't blog. There are only two kinds of hotels that don't offer wi-fi: the really really expensive ones, and the really really cheap ones. Guess which one we were in?
And what do you think of Rafa's wedgie pick?
It's a very confident man who can do that in public and not even flinch.
ReplyDeleteNicole- He's Rafa. He can pretty much do whatever he wants.
ReplyDeleteSounds like a fun trip! I can hardly find you in that picture. Who knew camo worked so well in a crowd?
ReplyDeleteLulabell- I know! It's like I wasn't even there. My parents lost track of me several times.
ReplyDeleteI love that your mom kept promoting you to strangers. In another year, they'll look back and wish they'd asked for your autograph....
ReplyDeleteGood thing you captured that 3 second video of Rafa taking care of business. And for those of you that still don't know...he will pull that maneuver about 578 times a match.
ReplyDeleteHmm, no video of Ana Ivanovic?
I just can't believe Rafa let you pick his wedgie... twice even!
ReplyDeleteThis almost makes me wish I was into tennis. :) The closest I've gotten was hitting a tennis ball against the garage when I was a kid. Looks like you had a ton of fun!
ReplyDeleteYou got to stay at a really, really expensive hotel? How were the commodities? ;) It looks like you were in tennis heaven. I have been in heaven like that once. Well, not tennis heaven, but show tunes heaven. My parents took me to see Michael Crawford live in Vegas for my 18th birthday. We were on the first row. Heaven, I tell you! I'm glad you had a chance to experience that with Rafa. :)
ReplyDeletewelcome home! sounds like You were in heaven. I like the camo, I'm sure it made all the difference. Can't wait until Wednesday, (Disneyland the 'Happiest Place on Earth')
ReplyDeleteRobin- Yeah, it's great. Until about the 10th person.
ReplyDeleteSam- What can I say? Women's tennis is boring.
Kent- I know! It required a special pass. We had to pay extra. But it was worth it.
Shallee- You don't have to really be in to tennis to be in to the men of tennis. Know what I mean? Wink wink.
Jenni- The commodities were awesome. We only had to call down to the front desk twice to get towels.
Anne- Disneyland was indeed the happiest place on earth. It was also the most crowded place on earth. And it was the stickiest place on earth.
I love your hate, Brodi. But if you're sunburned anyway, I guess it didn't do its job, huh? Or did you burn somewhere else--like the beach? Glad you had fun.
ReplyDeleteDonna- Ha ha. I had to read your comment a few times before I figured out that "hate" was really "hat"! The California sun was strong enough to penetrate the hat and my shirt. I'm okay, though. It wasn't too bad. :)
ReplyDelete