View My Seats

At the Intersection of Sports and Culture

Photo Credit for Header: Alex Foucre-Stimes

A Weekend of Watching

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On the occasional Friday I like to share with the viewing audience a list of sporting events that I’ll be watching over the weekend. Of course, my list isn’t all that different from what most of you will be watching so if you are looking for something a little more “alterna”, may I suggest you try the Speed and Fuel channels instead.

US Open Tennis: The rainy weather has added an extra element of patience, physical hardship to the already grueling fortnight of tennis. Looking forward to the Serena/Woz women’s semifinal on Sat night along with the Fed/Nole & Nadal/Roddick vs Murray/Isner men’s semi’s earlier that afternoon. Although, I’m not sure how I feel about the men’s final being moved to Monday afternoon at 4pm. Wouldn’t it make more sense to move the final to 7pm and put it up against MNF rather than have it run during the end of a long work day when most people are busy with a final round of emails before getting in the car for the evening commute? I guess this decision to air the final during the afternoon shows us the true influence of the NFL.

College Football: Saturday night is date night in the View My Seats household as husband, wife, and hopefully a sleeping son prepare to watch Notre Dame/Michigan in the first ever night game to be played at Michigan Stadium. Not sure why we need to build an entire evening around this game other than the fact that my wife is Catholic and she believes Notre Dame would eventually be an excellent choice for our 7 month old son. Never too early to start saving!

NFL Football: Opening weekend and tons of great games to watch. The matchup I am most excited for is the Ravens/Steelers heavyweight bought which, to be honest I’m surprised is being played in week 1. This is the type of heavy hitting rivalry best served in the colder months when the frost is on the pumpkin and both teams are fighting for a first round bye.

view from Arthur Ashe stadium courtesy of @hodakotb

The Fishbowl Known as Arthur Ashe Stadium

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All of this rain is starting to make the northeast look and feel like an episode of The Killing, minus the circular storylines and uninspiring character development. We shouldn’t complain however because the poor folks of Bastrop, Texas would certainly appreciate some of this precipitation down in their corner of the country.

In any case, the weather is once again altering the schedule of several major sporting events, namely the US Open in Flushing Meadows, NY. Today, weather pending, will bring one of the healthiest, most robust schedules ever rolled out at a major tournament with every player remaining in the men’s and women’s draws taking the court. For instance, on Arthur Ashe Stadium today you have in order: Rafa, Djokovic, Serena, and Federer. Not too shabby for a dreary Wednesday in early September.

This particular view comes from my buddy Brownie who was in Ashe Monday for Williams/Ivanovic and Tsonga/Fish. Seeing as it was his first experience at the US Open, he was amazed at the size of the stadium, which he said felt more like an arena than tennis court. On this particular day, there was a line of fans standing around the highest row of seats in Ashe, hoping to catch a glimpse of the Djokovic/Dolgopolov match taking place in the adjacent Louis Armstrong Stadium. No word as to whether or not Brownie was one of those onlookers, but judging from this view, and the apparent lack of leg room in the upper bowls of the arena, I’m guessing he took any and every opportunity to get up and stretch the legs. It’s like sitting coach on a JetBlue flight from JFK to San Juan. Just beware of the beverage cart!!!