My unlikely excursion to Wimbledon "Centre Court" in London England
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Who will be this year's winners at Wimbledon Tennis Championships which is in progress right now in London? We will find out this weekend. Speaking of Wimbledon, have I mentioned to you that once I watched a Tennis game at the "Centre Court" of Wimbledon? I can tell you this was case of pure coincidence and stroke of luck. Do you like to know how it happened? Please read on...
You see back in the summer of 2010 I was in London on a family vacation and we were staying with a dear cousin of mine. One fine day that began with typical London chill in late June my wife wanted to stay home to watch our son who was under the weather while I decided to go roam the city. What better way to do that than buying a Metro/Tube daily pass and aimlessly bouncing around the city. It was a great time to be in London because people were excited about England's chances in the FIFA World Cup Soccer that was ongoing in South Africa. I would get off at a random train station and walk to the nearest pub and catch some World Cup soccer action on the TV over a beer, watch the crowds cheering for their team, join them in celebrating a goal, talk to people from all over the world who call London their home.
By late afternoon I was on a train that was heading down towards South London and noticed the next stop coming up was "Wimbledon"; I knew the Tennis Championships were underway that week and I wanted go check it out. Plan was : walk to the next block and take a picture in front of the Tennis grounds and resume my train hopping. But it didn't go as per plan, instead what transpired that afternoon was beyond my wildest dreams. When I got off the train I asked a local fellow where the Wimbledon grounds were, he told me in a perfect Cockney accent (OK I made that up, for the life of me I can't tell Cockney accent from Scottish accent) that you have to walk up the hill into Wimbledon village and find your way to the tennis grounds. I got to ponder now; Do I get on that next train and go on my merry way or undertake the trek. I decided to go for it - "I gotta get that picture you know".
Halfway through my way up the hill I remember walking into a library and asked the lady how far the village was. She said "Another good 20 minute walk. You seem to be in good shape you should't have any problems." "Thanks lady, you made my day," so off I went. Walking gave me a moment to pause and think about tennis. It may not be entirely out of place here to remind you all that growing up, I was a big fan of tennis sport. As a teenager it was quite memorable to watch 1986 Wimbledon Men's finals where a 18-year-old phenom "Boom Boom" Boris Becker beat "Tough-as-nails" veteran Ivan Lendle who once famously said "Grass is for cows" to express his distaste for grass courts.
It is no exaggeration to say Wimbledon village is no ordinary village. All the royal families seem to have homes there - palatial homes at that. Once I got to the city center I did not need further directions because you just follow the crowds. The Wimbledon grounds is a large complex that is walled around and you can't see much from outside. Disappointed, I was prepared to walk back to train station but not before I asked one fine English gentleman if he could take my picture in front of the premises. He happily obliged and asked me if I liked to get into the grounds to watch the games. I said "Sure I would love to" trying best to conceal my amazement. He says "Take this wrist band and put it on so they let you in to the grounds and here is an extra ticket to watch the game in Centre Court." I couldn't believe what I was hearing; If I was flustered big time I tried not show. I always used to think Wimbledon was for Royal families and their super rich friends not for a Texas cow boy like me.
I thanked him profusely and walked towards the entrance. The guy at the security check kept staring at me and my wrist my band; when he was staring at me I bet he was not admiring my "Houston Astros" hat that I had on and finally after what seemed like an eternity mumbled something under his breath and said "Carry on."
I was in; I was at Wimbledon grounds! I looked around to take in all the sights and sounds around me and it looked rather modest than it looks on TV. There was tradition and history visible everywhere. I was walking around with a big smile on my face, looked totally out-of-sorts, dressed too warm for the weather and occasion, floundering in my outward appearance and stood out like a sore thumb. But everybody at the Wimbledon were exceptionally gracious, polite, helpful and cheerful which put me at ease a bit. Not sure what effect I had on people but some of them came up to me and offered me free tickets to the Centre Court which I politely declined because I already had them.
Most of the games are played at open courts on the grounds and anyone who has the grounds pass can watch them. The American "Williams" sisters were a big draw at this venue and crowds were going nuts to catch a glimpse of them and perhaps take a picture of them too. Soon I joined the "queue" to wait in line to watch an open court game. A cop lets the people in and out only during game breaks so as not to cause distraction to the players. I got seated in the stands and saw Chinese female player "Li Na" in action; she did well for herself that year and went on to win French Open the following year. A short time later I left the game to see what else was out there and came to find out they were scheduling a game at the Centre Court. I showed my ticket and made way my into Centre Court and found a nice spot to watch Ladies Singles game featuring "Victoria Azerenka" who just like "Li Na" was virtually unknown at the time but went on to win Australian Open a couple of years later. I guess I brought good luck charm to these ladies; they owe me a big lunch. The ambiance inside the court was unbelievable to say the least. People were impeccably dressed, looking all "posh", seemed comfortable in the setting, at ease with themselves, seemed like they belonged there. Me? All I knew was I wanted to make the best of my chance visit to the Centre Court. I kept reminding myself this is the same court you saw so many times on TV where epic battles had been waged, champions were crowned, dreams were made, hopes were crushed and hearts were broken.
Being able to see both "Tour De France" and "Wimbledon" live in person in the same summer was just fantastic. What an incredible summer that was.
==Thank You==
How do you build a capital city for such a stunningly beautiful state? By picking a breathtaking location to build it of course. No other state capital city has a grand entrance as Montpelier the Capital City of Vermont does. The drive up the Interstate 89 puts you on the north end of Green Mountains National Forest which is the central part of the state where the mountains, valleys and rivers all come together and each trying to outdo others in adding a touch of beauty to the place.
