Tennis Anyone?

On my last night in Sydney, I found myself in front of the Sydney Opera House along the harbor. But, I wasn’t there for one last nostalgic look at the beautifully designed Opera House, or even an opera. Instead, I came for a tennis match.

My last night on the continent happened to coincide with the men’s championship of the Australian Open. While the tournament takes place a thousand miles south in Melbourne, tournament sponsor American Express erected a Jumbotron in front of the Opera House steps to bring the tournament to life in Sydney. They also set up a two-story hospitality suite and VIP viewing section for card members.

Since I happen to be a card member, I thought I'd take advantage of the free hospitality suite. While it was nice to enjoy a hospitality suite without feeling ultimately responsible for it somehow (a.k.a. my former work life), I was drawn out of the suite almost as quickly as I found myself in it. As hospitality suites can often do, it isolated me from the raucous crowd outside of over a thousand people who’d gathered on the Opera House steps to take in the match on the big screen.

However, the crowd was more than just random passersby who randomly decided to catch part of the match. This crowd had gathered for a purpose. Rather, two purposes. Decked out in Swiss and Chilean flags and painted faces, with patriotic chants to accompany them, half were there to support their Swiss champion, Roger Federer, while the other half were there to emphatically cheer on their burgeoning Chilean star, Fernando Gonzalez.

I might as well have bought a ticket to the match itself as my perch on the steps had all the elements of being live in Melbourne. Plus, the Jumbotron had a better view than any ticket I likely could’ve afforded. I found a place on the steps and watched the three set match amongst the throngs who cheered every ace, volley and point like it was happening on a court directly in front of them. Long rallies sent the crowd into frenzied cheers and applause, while questionable line calls for their respective players were met with disapproving boos, as though their disapproval might actually affect the call. The Chileans chanted Gonzalez’s name repeatedly and sang their national anthem with equal frequency while the Swiss cheered surprisingly loudly, they are Swiss afterall, for Federer though not quite matching the Chileans fervor.

But, both sides seemed to believe that their boisterous support from Sydney could somehow carry through the television and into Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne. I ultimately found myself enthralled with the match despite not having nearly the vested interest of the rest of the crowd. If anything, it was the crowd itself and the experience they created within which I had a vested interest. I also found myself with a new found interest to visit Chile as soon as possible.

When Federer ultimately prevailed at the end of the match, not a person moved as they waited even for the trophy presentation ceremony. Throughout both player's remarks, the crowd on the Opera House steps applauded in unison with those in down in Melbourne. When the telecast ended, the crowd dispersed, but chants from the Swiss and Chileans continued down Circular Quay, past the ferries and trains, and out into the city as they made their way home.

What started out as just taking advantage of some free hospitality, turned into one of my more memorable experiences in Sydney and Australia. While I’ll be lucky to remember who won, let alone who played, I’ll be hard pressed to forget my first visit to the Australian Open on the steps of the Sydney Opera House.