Davis Cup one of the best birthday presents ever

0Niki Doyle • 14th Mar 2009 • My life • family, photos, tennis

It’s nearly a week after the fact, but oh well — I can’t possibly exclude my trip to see the Davis Cup match between the United States and Switzerland from this blog. I won’t bore you with a soliloquy on the wonders of the Davis Cup, held in scenic Birmingham, Ala. Let me tell you, though, I never would have thought the ITF could transform a dirty old arena into a dazzling tennis stadium. I’m not sure which was more impressive: The set-up or the tennis. I was fortunate enough to watch the Bryan brothers trounce Switzerland’s Yves Allegro and Stanislas Wawrinka on my birthday (March 7, for those of you who don’t know).

In the interest of brevity, I’ve broken down my Davis Cup highlights into three easy-to-digest pieces: A Flickr slide show, a set of links and a funny story.

I took the photos with my little point-and-shoot (wish I had taken the ol’ trusty Rebel, but didn’t want to lug all the lenses and other gear through a crowd of more than 14,000 people). Some of them turned out OK. Watch the slide show to see the opening ceremonies and a few shots of the players.

The last photo you’ll see is of me and my mother (too cute). Oh, and that random photo with the arms? Yeah, just keep reading.

Now for the links: First, you have to check out this fun story written by a former coworker of mine. I love how he captured the Waffle House trip. What Alabama visit would be complete without a trip to the greasiest truck stop chain in the world?

If you want a little more humor, check out this column by Birmingham News staffer Ray Melick. (Sneak peek: “How do you work up a mad-on for Switzerland, a country famous for its neutrality? After all, neutrality doesn’t exactly compute in a state where folks are expected to declare who they are for — Auburn or Alabama — shortly after birth.”)

And finally … the Whack-A-Mole twins! This was the view my mother and I had for most of the matches. EVERY TIME the United States won a point, these two happy-go-lucky chicks would jump up and scream. My mother and I think they’re either former high school cheerleaders, doubles partners or cooped-up stay-at-home moms. Or all the above. The brunette on the left ALWAYS waved her noise maker/sign (see photo) directly in my face. So that’s what $140 tickets get you … Now you know what was up with those random arms in the Flickr slide show. I was trying to take a photo of Andy Roddick (behind the left arm), but one of the Whack-A-Mole twins got in my way. What I would have given for one of those foam hammers that day…