Davis Cup 2001
Round 2
- Florianopolis, Brazil -
by ErinMN
Apr/11/2001
I debated about even starting this as I've had zero sleep in the last million hours and was in Brazil last night, but I figured you guys would forgive the poor grammar and even more mental lapses than usual, just to find out how it went! I'm sure I'll have to add to this as more brain cells fire in the next couple of days. In a nutshell, it was one of the most amazing experiences ever. So bloody glad I went. First, a huge thank you to Nana who was my volunteer personal assistant in Brazil and took extraordinary care of me, and to Thanksmate who couriered my documents to the Brazilians in Chicago so I could go. Plus she was there at O'Hare airport at 5:30 AM to meet my plane! These two went above and beyond.
Don't know what I can say to the tennis as you had some coverage and it was just amazing. We thought there was something wrong with Pat a few games before he retired, as he appeared to be walking strangely, but we had no idea about the arm. Woz predicted he'd retire based on body language well before he did. Oh well, it all worked out in the end, no??
We were a pretty small group and did a good job staying together and always assembled before arriving at the tennis. The other fanatics were really nice to us and we got the aussie flag tatoos, etc, so that was cool. I brought my roo from Barca and it turned out to be this amazingly huge hit. I learned I was on TV a lot as it was the Lone Roo, and I even made the national Brazilian TV news on Saturday night. I guess they showed me walking into the stadium blowing up the poor thing. Those of you who have a roo, kindly check where the valve is. Poor roo, it looked like I was accosting him. So I am in a million piccies with a million Brazilians as they all wanted to get a shot with "Kangaroo Girl" as they ended up calling me. I fielded lots of Australia questions as that was just easier than explain to them that I was American!
Okay, so we were cautiously optimistic after the first day, and celebrated with a libation or 12 at the Cafe Cancun that night. Met on Saturday morning again, and all the Brazilians were in a testy mood. They weren't a very nice crowd, but still the Spaniards were worse. I did my obligatory million piccies with the roo and settled in for the amazing tiebreaker fiesta. After winning that one, we all traipsed over to a nearby watering hole for refreshments. Within 20 minutes we'd cleared out most of the locals, Mongrel was being interviewed live on TV (never a good idea...), an impromptu salsa band assembled on the veranda, and we were dancing and drinking GIANT $1.25US beers. Too much fun! I'll just say the stories of the very friendly Brazilians are true when they are in the bars, but not so much the stadium.....
Sunday, of course, was amazing. We were all pretty draggy after long days and even longer nights (I don't think I got more than 4 hours on any one night and never did get a nap), plus the throats were in really sorry shape, but sometimes you have to play with pain! I do think Lleyton got a lot out of us as he looked at us frequently during the match. Did you guys get, in your coverage, the nasty things some crowd members were saying? One persistent chant was "Gay gay gay." Clever. I think it just made him play even better.
We knew it was good when we started to be encircled by security guards toward the end of the third set. Some of us were hit by junk like grapes, but it wasn't too awful. They were clearly really upset and surprised by what happened to Guga (ie losing, at home, in his dirt, with his people...!) and took out some of their frustration on us. Whatever, we still won, right! LOL So when Lleyton won, there was a pandemonium from the Fanatics you would not believe. I nearly fell into the next row below me and had to be grabbed by a neighbor, such was the excitement and general mayhem. All the security was a sobering thing, but we could not be stopped. The guys were instantly over by us and thanking us and it was really really fun.
David Rafter returned to the troops watching Fromberg to tell us that there were threats of violence and we should not leave if possible, or at least go in groups. I snuck out at one point to use the internet kiosk I'd just discovered, so I could send a short report, but I guess the body of the message did not get thru, just a cryptic "Howdy from Brazil." Sorry if you got that--really, there was more!
The players hosted the party at their hotel, which was a resort with a private beach. Absolutely gorgeous surf with the softest white sand a mile deep, which, incidently, sparks all red-blooded Aussies to play footy. More on that later.
We were treated to a really fine dinner with sushi and the works, great wine, plenty of beer, got the round of toasts. The surprise hit of the night was Fromberg. The man is hilarious. Everybody mentioned the team unity and spirit that existed with this group of guys, and they couldn't sing the fanatics' praises enough. We were all a bit verklempt. Could have been the wine though.
After that, the obligatory sand games started--footy, some kicking the ball as far as you can thing, and volleyball. Simultaneously, but it was a very big beach. Pat and Lleyton weren't too involved in it yet. The hotel hauled out a sound system and Woz started DJing some really fun stuff. I think one of the night's highlights was how we all linked up in a big circle for "Throw Your Arms Around Me" and sang for all we had left. There was a certain crack-the-whip element in some members, so it was a struggle to stay all attached and we were laughing and singing and falling, etc. Everybody was involved, so that was cool.
I then had my chat with Pat. My Chat With Pat? Ro had asked me to give him her love (along with a kiss and hug) No, don't read ahead, as I did not fill all her wishes. Sorry Ro! I did tell him that you wanted me to give your hello and that you were sad to miss your first DC of the last 8. He said he wished you could have been there, it would have been fun. I told him you were instead going to Rosmalen and Wimby.
He then started going on and on about the great surfing he had done there one morning, so I started to take my leave. Others had joined us, and we Minnesotans are not good surfers, coming from the dead center of the continent. I again said that I just wanted to pass along Ro's hello and he said "good on ya, thanks."
The touch footy devolved into Killer Rugby, and the serious crazies came out. Pat got into it then and you could really see how competitive he was. I think Woz constructed a really good bonfire and we all started settling down. I sat with another Fanatic, another great Aussie woman named Nole (!!), and we were chatting and enjoying ourselves. Dingo yelled for me from across the bonfire, so I asked Nole to watch my beer sitting in the sand and went to talk to Dingo. Dingo and I had had a bit of a misunderstanding earlier in the evening. He'd asked me to stand there and mind his shirt when he played rugby, and I misinterpreted that as "run to the ocean and get the shirt all wet because you have better things to do than stand there and look at a silly shirt." I guess that wasn't what he meant, and he wished to discuss it.
When I extricated myself from that discussion, I started to walk back to my beer. Okay, one guess at who was sitting next to my beer?? Yes, if you guessed Pat--you are correct, go get yourself a beer. I decided to be Very Cool and just walk back to where I already was and had established a spot with my beer sitting there in the sand, right? Very Cool.
So Pat was an arm's length away, with Lara on the other side of him. I tried to just treat them like any other couple on the beach and give them their privacy, but it was tough. He was going on and on about how perfect the game of rugby was and really, was there anything more perfect? I'm sure Lara was really into it. Wally Masur stopped by and he and Pat discussed how perfect the team spirit had been and that everything had gelled. Pat then took off to go play some more and I noticed someone bring Lara some ice for her ankle. I asked her if it was a rugby injury (it was not, I was kidding but I don't think it translated...) She showed me a good sized lump on her ankle and said the really odd thing was that she didn't know how she got it. I suggested she make something up that was cool like skiing, but then realized it was hot, so try surfing. It was a pleasant enough conversation.
We then watched the lads play rugby, and I was wincing and gasping more than I care to admit. Anybody realize how tough that game is?? You should get some pads or something.... Pat was a superstar of course and could really dig in the sand and move. It was fun. They were all terribly into it, and got terribly dirty, so decided to go for a swim. Pat didn't, more's the pity, as it was a skinny dip festival out there. Lleyton had left some time earlier, I didn't see him go. Some of the Fanatics girls took all the boys' clothes from the beach and ran them back to us at the bonfire. Unfortunately (or fortunately, actually) one boy had hidden his clothes and collected for the others.
Things started to wind down then and we all headed back for another entertaining bus ride back to the city. It was amazing to just hang out with the players like regular people and see them so relaxed and happy. I can't imagine how much they spent on us, and it was really thoughtful to haul us to their posh digs. I had some really good chats with other folks including the head of Tennis Australia who was the nicest man in the world. The trip of a lifetime. It's impossible to explain, and I hope I never get all the sand out of my stuff as it's a wonderful reminder.
Oh, to finish it off, I had to sit in the Sao Paulo airport for 9 lovely hours to transfer, and as I sat there, I saw Lleyton and Wayne Arthurs walk by with their tennis bags. I couldn't have been more than 10 feet from them, but didn't want to call out or anything and blow their cover. Too strange.
I think I'll go home, take more advil for my hurting throat, and nap with a smile on my face. Too much fun!
Go to Natalia's Davis Cup pics , Go to ErinMN's Davis Cup pics