Davis Cup 2000 Final
- Barcelona -
by fs
This was my second Davis Cup final with the Fanatics, and all I can say is, it was like a blood transfusion –or shock treatment, to instill energy and happiness in one’s life!! I totally recommend it!! Seriously. There is NO ONE who can party like the Aussies, no one. And out of all the partying Aussies, there was none wilder than Pat Rafter. I was pretty impressed. I am sure you will read the reports, but all I can say is, there were PLENTY of gals from this board who pawed Pat profusely. That’s all I’ll say.
Some very quick comments:
-the Spaniards deserved to win, the way they were playing. And JC Ferrero is going to be a big tennis star. The guy has the goods.
-the Spaniards did NOT deserve to win, the way the crowd, and Duarte (the coach, aka FAT BASTARD) , and the players (Alex Corretja esp ) behaved. Suffice it to say that Peter Rafter (Pat’s bro) told me “We have lost all respect ”(for the Spanish players). So have we, Peter, so have we. It’s a shame, cos I always thought Alex C. was a gentleman. Though the Spanish DID have enormous pressure on them to win the damned Salad Bowl.
-The Aussies went in there knowing they had a slim chance. They went our partying EVEN HARDER than when they won last year at Nice. So this tells you what the Aussie spirit is like!
Welcome back Astrid, Jody, Mel, Joes, Elina, and sorry we didn’t say goodbye (hard to do that when you are rushing from the Pub straight to the airport at 5 in the morning!). And I miss you Catherine, Joelle, Leontine, Marjolein, Susan, Kathy, Joanie, Sheena, Robin and all my partners in fun at Bartha!! There better be another meeting soon!!Ok, a bunch of us figured it'd be impossible to summarize accurately what all happened, and the spirit of the tie in Barca, so we came up with a "Best of" list, a bit a la Jon Wertheim.. please feel free to tack categories on, Barca-babblers! but the things that stood out the most are:
DRINKS OF THE TIE: Red Bull & Vodka (pronounced Red BOOL in EU); the mini beers at the tennis, a requirement for all true fanatics
CHANT OF THE TIE: "YOU Fat Bastard" (Aimed at Javier Duarte, the portly coach of the Spanish Team who is indeed fat and a bastard. A close second "Who let the Aussies out? Who?who?who?whowho?!"
ACCESSORY OF THE TIE: Inflatable 'roos galore. A genius item, for which the Spanish crowd went wild after winning the cup. Offers to exchange 'roo with Davis Cup were met with angry denials. Also, special mention goes to Bill the Platypus, as well as to the oh-so stylish and fashionable green hospital bracelets sported by or unremovably stuck to the wrists of Fanatics.
SONG of the TIE " I will Survive" (aka the 'Roo Song) and Down Under (played approximately 102,073 times at the party on the last night).
COMPETITION OF THE TIE: the mini-golf tourney (Who won? Joelle stop claiming it was you)
BIGGEST MYSTERY OF THE TIE: what did Pat Rafter complain about during his match -something the Spanish players were yelling at him? Second biggest mystery: where people disappeared to for over an hour when they went to get food and drink at the tennis.
COSTUME of the TIE: tennis balls/paper Newk mustaches/Henry's mini-boxing 'roo hat/the green men ("Room 302 Chics" (sic)).
DANCE MOVE OF THE TIE: Woz's gyrating hips seductively in front of spanish police officer/ Pat Rafter's moves at Star Winds.
LIP-SYNCING OF THE TIE: Lleyton's/ Pat's/ Roche's/Sandon's etc/ Waltzing Mathilda version
SPEECH OF THE TIE: Woody's ("I wish I were still 25 yrs old, so that I could enjoy 10 more years of Fanatics' support), Newk's at the awards ceremony ("you'll be playing on what the cows eat").
GOOD SPORT OF THE TIE: Kim Clijsters, who donned a fanatics shirt, aussie flag, and kangaroo, and attending and supporting all of the Australian matches. Ok, Lara, too. It must have been hard for her to don a not too fashionable Fanatics t-shirt. Plus she was a lot of fun at the party.
BAD SPORTS of tie: 13,000 Spanish fans
BUMP 'N' GRIND DANCE OF THE TIE: Kim Clijsters grabbing Lleyton Hewitt to the tune of "Baby One More Time" onstage at the Star Winds.
MAKE OUT of the tie: KC and LH in taxi queue.
INSULT OF THE TIE: Alleged spitting on one of Lleyton's group by Spaniard (could be an urban legend though).
SWEETEST GESTURES OF THE TIE: Aussie players with Bee walking her all the way down la Rambla to Plaza Espanya after a night of celebrating at the player party, Simon the Fanatic catching other Fanatic girl in mid-air prior to her hitting the broken-glass covered floor of the club, Pat Rafter's 3 cheers for Newk and Roche.
BIGGEST ABSENCE of tie: Newk from after-hours party (unofficial rumour: too pissed to attend).
SURPRISED LOOK of tie: the one in Spanish police officers' eyes who rushed to the aisles to guard against potential hooliganism by Fanatics, only to watch, dumbfounded, as Fanatics tossed 'roos here and there to the tune of "I will survive".
BEST TRIP of the tie: Excursion to Parc Guëll, walking to the top if the mountain to find out what we came for was way down!:-)
WORSE TRIP: any walk on La Rambla after midnight.
BIGGEST SURPRISE JERK of the Tie: Alex Corretja, who went from seemingly deserving the title of sportsman of the year last year to randomly attacking and trying to bait lleyton, inciting the spanish crowd during the matches and then insulting Aussie team sportsmanship.
BEST SPORTS OF THE TIE: Rochey, Woz for getting us Babblers together again, Simon for hanging with the Babblers again and Robyn for being her wonderful self again. Hip Hip Hurray!!fs
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