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| Bryan's Bunch Experiences Wimbledon 2006 |
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| Bryan's Bunch Members Present: 7 - - Amber, Tiffany, Tinne, Don, Barb, Ryan, and Oli Dates: June 30th, July 4th, and July 8th, 2006 Location: London, England June 30th: We were moving a little slow today, jet lag wasn’t too bad because we stayed up till around midnight on Thursday night. We were up for 36 hours straight...but it kept us from being really tired today. We didn’t get out of the hotel until around noon because we didn’t get up till 10am. Got down to Wimbledon around 1:30pm, picked up our tickets, and walked through the gates of The Championships for the first time ever! Goosebumps people! We couldn't really believe that we were actually at Wimbledon! We bought a program and checked the schedule of play. We knew Bob and Mike weren't playing since we'd checked on the hotel computer the night before, but we wanted to find out who else was on court. Graydon Oliver was playing his doubles match, so we headed to Court 19 to watch the end. We’ve met him before, as he was very involved in the doubles fight against the ATP. Unfortunately, he and his partner did not win their match but it was pretty close. We talked to him afterwards and he made sure to mention he was playing mixed on that same court later in the day. We assured him we’d be there to cheer him on and then wandered the grounds for a bit. We looked at our watch around 2:30pm and decided Bob and Mike would probably be practicing soon. Don't ask us why we figured that, but apparently Bryan Radar was in full effect! We found the practice courts and decided to wait around until 3pm, since we assumed they'd practice then. The guys showed up less than 30 minutes later to practice, right on time for their 3pm court time! We watched them practice, but it was just a short one because of the long match last night. Afterwards, they came up and we hugged them both and talked with them for about 15 minutes. There were lots of people standing around, but none of them really bothered us. For some reason no one interrupts when we're talking to Bob and Mike. Must be the green Bryan's Bunch shirts! We made sure to get our picture with them, since this is our first picture with them in 3 years and we had to take advantage of the fact that we were at Wimbledon! We watched Graydon’s mixed match and then Bjorkman/Mirnyi’s doubles match. We were just leaving Bjorkman/Mirnyi’s match when we saw Bob and Venus heading out for their mixed. Again, Bryan radar! They were on the TBA list, so we were kinda worried we wouldn’t know when or where they were playing. The court they were playing on was packed within 15 minutes, so we were glad we saw them walking out and could get there right away and get a great seat for the match. It was awesome watching Bob play with Venus. If the two of them played together often, they’d be unstoppable. Venus is aggressive and hits hard, just like Bob. They complimented each other really well. They won easily and it was really fun to watch. We didn’t wait for Bob after his match got done because Tinne was going to be meeting us at the hotel around 10:30pm. We practically ran from Wimbledon to the Tube station (1.5 miles people!) We got back, started writing our blog and then Tinne knocked on the door! YAY!!!!! Bob and Mike were scheduled for Centre Court for their Quarterfinal match against Douhly/Vizner. We were a little concerned how that would go since we usually only get grounds passes from them and then can't get into the main courts. Mike's girlfriend, Jen, had it all taken care of for us though and we were on the list. Phew! Centre Court at Wimbledon people! WOW! They were 3rd match of the day, so we had some time to kill. We could only get in to Centre Court for their match, so we went and watched Luke and Murphy Jensen play their 35 and older doubles match. It was great fun, as they are still as funny as they were when they were on the regular tour. The crowd was pretty quiet (as usual) when we got there, but we livened things up by cheering loudly for Luke and Murphy. It didn't take long for them to start feeding off our energy and blowing kisses to the crowd on great points! They really got into it once they started getting some cheers! We got pictures with them both seperately and Luke even remembered meeting us in Cincinnati 4 years ago! Great memory, that, course it could have been the bright green shirts he remembered! Both the first two matches went quickly, so when the Jensen's finished we had just enough time for some ice cream before going to Centre Court for Bob and Mike's match. If you'd been in Centre Court when we walked in, you would have seen all eyes on our 5 bright green shirts and looks of amazement on everyone's faces. Then, you would have heard a murmur of interest go through the area. If you'd seen our faces, you would have seen eyes and nothing else, as ours were the size of dinner plates! We were in major awe. This was THE court, the history, and we were really, really close!! We were way closer than we'd ever expected to be, so there was more awe because of that. It was awesome and we were all shaking...could have been nerves, but we like to think of it as the atmosphere! Both guys took the hint immediately and we were assured that if they make it to the finals they WILL get us in! Wooooo! After they left, we went and joined Dad at the mixed match. We watched for awhile and ate more strawberries and cream. YUM! We also watched a bit from Henman Hill after leaving the mixed match. You can't be at Wimbledon without watching at least one match from Henman Hill! Plus, this match was important. They were showing the Aspelin/Perry vs. Knowles/Nestor quarterfinal match that ended up going to 25-23 in the 5th! We could tell Dad was getting exhausted from the trip, but everytime we asked if he was ready to leave he said "NO!" LOL Finally, we dragged him back to the hotel and put him to bed. What a great day for us crazy tennis fans! It was more than we ever expected and we'll never forget the experience! July 8th: Today we had to get up really early. We were on a mission. The boys were in the finals of Wimbledon, and we were not gonna miss this! The minute Bob and Mike won their semifinal match over Knowles/Nestor, we found and booked our train tickets back to London along with a hotel. Mike's girlfriend Jenn had posted on the messageboard that we were already on the list! This was really going to happen...we were really going to be at the finals of Wimbledon to watch Bob and Mike! The train left Brussels at 8.55 am which meant we got up at 4.30am. Yawn! Somehow we lost an hour on the way and ended up rushing to meet the first train. Don't ask how it happened because we're not really sure. The alarm went off at 4:30am, but after only 2 people showering it was 5:30am and two showers certainly didn't take an hour! Thankfully we made it, because if we hadn't we would have started swimming the English Channel! That's how determined we were to be there! Once in London, we found our hotel, left our bags, and took off for Wimbledon. By this time we were feeling a little bit lightheaded and ill. Nerves were ruling big time! We tried everything to calm down...not thinking about it, pretending we were doing something else entirely, you know. It didn't work though. Watching the womens final from Henman Hill calmed us down a bit because we were distracted, but once the last point was played, butterflies came rushing back! We went over to gate 10, which is the competitor's guest box entrance. We took our seats which were in the second row and started hyperventilating quite a bit! Unfortunately we forgot to bring paper bags! LOL We watched in amusement when the seats in front of us were filled with noisy fans of the other team. FUN! They looked back at us, read our shirts, and loudly told us that we were cheering for the wrong team! We laughed and told them they'd better get used to it because we intended to cheer loudly! Once the match started, they did their best to cheer louder than us, but there were more of us! It was fun to hear "Hay mo Zicci" again though. The last time we had heard it was at the US Open in 2003, when we helped cheer for Paes/Zimonjic against Gonzalez/Massu. There was a lot of great tennis and Bob and Mike were in control of the match pretty much the whole time. We were a little worried after they lost the 2nd set, but Bob and Mike came out strong in the third and took control again. It wasn't until 5-2, 30-0 in the 4th set that we realized we were about to watch them win the Championship. Up until that point we'd been thinking only of the next point and the next game. Suddenly it hit all of us that history was about to be written and we were there to see it happen. We aren't ashamed to admit we got a little teary, but the excitement and happiness took over immediately! Finally it was match point and we all held our breath. The moment that point was over, we were out of our seats and screaming like crazy! Not to mention snapping picture after picture of Bob and Mike celebrating. We watched the trophy presentation that took place in the Royal Box, but it was all the way across the court from our seats. We had hoped it would be on court, but most importantly the trophy was ours! (Well, maybe not literaly 'ours', but we tried to claim it later!) While Mike and Bob were doing all their press interviews (a couple more than 3 we presume), we went outside and waited for them by the gate. We couldn't leave without hugging the new Wimbledon champions, now could we?! After a while Jenn came out and told us she would send the guys our way once they finished their press. They came out shortly after that and came right to the fence where we were waiting, not so patiently. We got high fives, but really needed that hug! We told them we needed a hug and Mike looked around and said, "Can't you get in here?" Ummmm no...So then the guys told us they'd make the car stop right outside the gate. We asked Mike how many towels they managed to swipe this year. Instead of answering (and incriminating himself) he just said, "Why, do you want one?". He was answered with a resounding 'YES'! He went in his bag and took out 3 towels and threw them over the fence to us. Oli and Ryan (2 members of the Bryan's Bunch) got one, while we took the other 2. This means we have championship towels people! Woohoo! They kept their promise and the car stopped at the gate. Bob came out first and Amber just about knocked him over in her excitement. After BIG hugs all around, Bob said, "Wanna see it?" Of course we said yes and he pulled out 'The Trophy'. We checked out the engraving (which Bob and Mike were thrilled to point out was already done) and they suggested getting pictures taken of us holding the trophies. We didn't argue, so Tiffany and Amber each held one of the trophies while everyone else gathered around. We're still in awe of actually holding the Wimbledon trophy! After the pictures Bob immediately took his back, but Tiffany tried to hide Mike's by stuffing it under her shirt. Sadly he caught on and demanded it back. At least we got to hold it! After another round of hugs from everyone they left. We rode the tube back towards our hotel and stopped at a Pizza Hut to have celebratory pizza and toast Mike and Bob with our pop. When the adrenalin finally wore off we crashed for the night at our hotel. What an awesome day! |
| Experiences of: Amber, Tiffany, Tinne, Don, and Barb |
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| July 4th: Happy 4th of July!! Mom and Amber went to the underground station to meet Dad (who was flying in to join us today!) because we knew from experience that he'd never find the hotel. After a tense wait, not knowing if we'd missed him or not, he finally stepped off the escalator around 11am. His plane touched down just after 8am, so we were a little concerned. After hugs all around, we went back to the hotel to drop off his luggage and head over to Wimbledon. Dad and Tinne didn't get to go on Friday, so this was their first time at Wimbledon. There was definite awe and Tiffany, Mom, and Amber know the feeling. |
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| None of us could sit still during their match because we were so nervous. Bob and Mike won two tight sets with tiebreakers in both, before taking firm control of the match and winning the final set 6-1. They gave us a wave of appreciation before leaving the court too. Dad wasn't ready to be done with Centre Court, so we watched part of the next match which was a 35 and older doubles featuring Goran Ivanisevic. We wanted to say goodbye to Bob and Mike, so we headed to the players entrance while Dad found a mixed doubles court to watch. He spent the entire day looking around and saying how great it all was! Dad loves Wimbledon! We all love Wimbledon! Bob and Mike came out a while later and we said thanks and great match. We had to high five through the fence because we couldn't get near them. Wimbledon is definitely not like Cincinnati with player accessibility! We told them we were heading for Belgium for the next few days but that we'd see them on Saturday. |
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| After the trophy presentation we had half an hour to do all our press interviews before Bob's mixed doubles final. We did 3 different interviews, perhaps you saw us or heard of us during the televised match. We were told that we were mentioned on NBC while the cameras were focusing on us. We're famous now. Autographs anyone? LOL Bob looked a bit tired during his Mixed Final with Venus, but he'd had only 40 minutes to adjust to being Wimbledon Champions before stepping out on court. He and Venus lost their mixed final, but they were still smiling. No one will get that smile off Bob's face for quite some time yet! |
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