'Nice Match'
Me: Nice match.
(THE) Samantha Stosur: Thanks.
I suppose I should be thankful for what I got and I am. I am. I am. I promise I am. My first day ever at the BNP Paribas Open (aka Indian Wells) was perfect. I loved it from beginning to end. That it ended with my favorite player winning and walking not three feet from me (close enough for me to touch her or get a body part signed. I did neither. Creeeeepy. Even for me). I have to say it ranks right up there with the time I peed (in a stall) next to Steffi Graf back in 1990 at the Virgina Slims of San Diego. Up 'til tonight, THAT was my best brush with tennis greatness and my ultimate pro tennis fan experience. Truly, it doesn't get much better than peeing next to the eventual champion right before her final match.
Today, though, was special in its own way. While Samantha Stosur isn't quite Steffi Graf, she is the reason why I'm here in Palm Springs on my Spring Break baking in the sun watching pro tennis. Yes, she's the one I hoped and prayed I'd be able to see, but it's more than that. It's more than fan-dom. It's more that me begging my dad to get tickets to see Steffi play back in the day (getting to pee next to her was a bonus. Just as speaking to Sam tonight was). You see, Sam is why I came back to tennis last July. She's why living Austin has become more tolerable. She's why after feeling so lost for so long, I finally feel found again. She's why I was so pissed at AT&T for getting rid of The Tennis Channel back in October. She's why I know who Agnieszka Radwanska, Urszula Radwanska, Janko Tipsarevic, Nicolas Almagro, and Sara Errani and why I saw three of them (Agnieszka, Nico, and Sara) play today. She's why I can't wait to go back to Indian Wells tomorrow morning.
So being able to greet her after her match and have her walk so close by me was absolutely incredible to me. Sure, it contributed yet another 'I Carried a Watermelon' moment to my ever-growing list of awkward moments with pretty women, but I'm still thankful and I wouldn't trade it for anything. Yes, hindsight says I should have said something a lot more... different. 'Nice match'? It's a bit too obvious. Of course, I was just stunned that she was about to pass THAT close to me that I feel lucky that anything came out of my mouth at all. 'Nice match' may not be a scintialating conversation starter but it was certainly better than dumb-founded silence.
Next time, I promise I'll fear less and say more. Or at the very least something cleverer than 'Nice match'. I mean... Fuck me... Really, Stacee? Here I was with a woman I admire greatly, who has inadvertently played a major role in my life, standing not even a breath away MAKING EYE CONTACT and I got virtually nothing. Hey, at least I didn't stammer. 'Celebrate the victories' is what I always say.
In many ways, I think I was the one who should have said 'Thanks' to Sam tonight instead of the other way around. Of course, it would have been weird and incredibly hard to explain, but 'Thanks' is what I owe her. And NBC for their impeccable coverage of Wimbledon, which included a second round match up between a top five seed (Sam) and an essential 'nobody' (Aranxta Rus). That match started me down the path that led to today - a beautiful, hot blue sky day in Indian Wells, California, and my new ULTIMATE PRO TENNIS FAN EXPERIENCE EVER!
To Sam, I was just a fan in a blur of fans muttering a blah post-match pleasantry ('Nice match'? Oy). But to me, Sam was why I was there. In more ways than one. So it just seems fitting that I ended my perfect day with her. Sort of. I mean not with her, but with her. Eh... You get it. I'll stop talking now.
(THE) Samantha Stosur: Thanks.
I suppose I should be thankful for what I got and I am. I am. I am. I promise I am. My first day ever at the BNP Paribas Open (aka Indian Wells) was perfect. I loved it from beginning to end. That it ended with my favorite player winning and walking not three feet from me (close enough for me to touch her or get a body part signed. I did neither. Creeeeepy. Even for me). I have to say it ranks right up there with the time I peed (in a stall) next to Steffi Graf back in 1990 at the Virgina Slims of San Diego. Up 'til tonight, THAT was my best brush with tennis greatness and my ultimate pro tennis fan experience. Truly, it doesn't get much better than peeing next to the eventual champion right before her final match.
Today, though, was special in its own way. While Samantha Stosur isn't quite Steffi Graf, she is the reason why I'm here in Palm Springs on my Spring Break baking in the sun watching pro tennis. Yes, she's the one I hoped and prayed I'd be able to see, but it's more than that. It's more than fan-dom. It's more that me begging my dad to get tickets to see Steffi play back in the day (getting to pee next to her was a bonus. Just as speaking to Sam tonight was). You see, Sam is why I came back to tennis last July. She's why living Austin has become more tolerable. She's why after feeling so lost for so long, I finally feel found again. She's why I was so pissed at AT&T for getting rid of The Tennis Channel back in October. She's why I know who Agnieszka Radwanska, Urszula Radwanska, Janko Tipsarevic, Nicolas Almagro, and Sara Errani and why I saw three of them (Agnieszka, Nico, and Sara) play today. She's why I can't wait to go back to Indian Wells tomorrow morning.
So being able to greet her after her match and have her walk so close by me was absolutely incredible to me. Sure, it contributed yet another 'I Carried a Watermelon' moment to my ever-growing list of awkward moments with pretty women, but I'm still thankful and I wouldn't trade it for anything. Yes, hindsight says I should have said something a lot more... different. 'Nice match'? It's a bit too obvious. Of course, I was just stunned that she was about to pass THAT close to me that I feel lucky that anything came out of my mouth at all. 'Nice match' may not be a scintialating conversation starter but it was certainly better than dumb-founded silence.
Next time, I promise I'll fear less and say more. Or at the very least something cleverer than 'Nice match'. I mean... Fuck me... Really, Stacee? Here I was with a woman I admire greatly, who has inadvertently played a major role in my life, standing not even a breath away MAKING EYE CONTACT and I got virtually nothing. Hey, at least I didn't stammer. 'Celebrate the victories' is what I always say.
In many ways, I think I was the one who should have said 'Thanks' to Sam tonight instead of the other way around. Of course, it would have been weird and incredibly hard to explain, but 'Thanks' is what I owe her. And NBC for their impeccable coverage of Wimbledon, which included a second round match up between a top five seed (Sam) and an essential 'nobody' (Aranxta Rus). That match started me down the path that led to today - a beautiful, hot blue sky day in Indian Wells, California, and my new ULTIMATE PRO TENNIS FAN EXPERIENCE EVER!
To Sam, I was just a fan in a blur of fans muttering a blah post-match pleasantry ('Nice match'? Oy). But to me, Sam was why I was there. In more ways than one. So it just seems fitting that I ended my perfect day with her. Sort of. I mean not with her, but with her. Eh... You get it. I'll stop talking now.
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