| Behind the scenes with Bob and Mike... |
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| December 22nd, 2008
Hey everyone- Happy Holidays to you all! It's been awhile since my last blog and there's a lot to tell you guys; I'm going to rewind all the way back to September. After the US Open, Bob and I headed to Texas for some R n' R. At the end of the week we had an exhibition in Austin but it was still a perfect way to decompress from the hustle and bustle of "the big apple." We stayed on the picturesque Lake LBJ at the Horseshoe Bay resort. It was just what the doctor ordered and we golfed, jet skied, and hit a few tennis balls on the red clay. We fell in love with lake LBJ and the surrounding Texas hill country and were even tempted by a local sales agent to check out some property! We haven't bought anything yet so we're still Cal/Florida boys. After a couple of days just outside Austin, we drove to Andy's house and enjoyed some fun nights in downtown Austin. One night we went to see a very popular local band called "The Spazzmatics." They're a really entertaining 80's and 90's cover band and Andy plans on hiring them for his wedding reception in April. I guess he doesn't have complete faith yet in the Bryan Bros Band! He'll just have to wait! As you all probably know, Bob's shoulder was pretty sore after grinding through the Open on painkillers. So luckily, Andy agreed to help out and play with me against John Isner and Sam Querrey in the Austin exo. The fans thoroughly enjoyed the surprise of getting to see their hometown wonderboy and he didn't disappoint. He was hilarious as always and played some great doubles. We dominated the match 8-3 and timed our chest bumps perfectly. The following morning we hopped on Andy's private jet and zipped off to Richmond, Virginia for James Blake's charity event benefiting cancer research. It was a full day of clinics, sponsor appearances, and then an exhibition. Andy and I played together once again, this time against Blake and Isner and won 8-3. Andy's doubles skills were impressive and then he took care of James in singles right after. The next morning Andy and I drove to Washington DC and then flew over to Madrid for our semifinal Davis Cup match against Spain. It was a weird feeling leaving Bob behind and going off to battle without him. At the same time, I also looked forward to the opportunity of representing my country in the best way I could without him and doing him proud. In Bob's absence, Captain Mac asked Mardy Fish to join the team. I was really happy with his decision because Mardy Fish and I get along great and have so much fun together....not to mention he has all the skills that make for a great doubles player. And he was nice enough to agree to play the deuce court! We had a very productive and enjoyable week on and off the court leading up to Saturday's match. Mardy was in a really happy mood following his quarterfinal appearance at the US Open and his upcoming wedding. Not to mention his excitement because this was his first appearance on the Davis Cup team since 2004. Bob was in touch with the team from Florida and we all enjoyed receiving his daily humorous and inspirational emails. I talked daily on the phone to Bob about playing with Mardy and he had valuable input which helped Mardy and I gel during the practice week. In hindsight, I should have probably talked to him using Skype instead of calling directly from the room because I found out the hard way that the USTA won't cover phone bills over 2,000 dollars! Anyway, in Bob's absence, Mardy and I became closer than ever. Nothing brings you together more than working and striving for the same goal.......and then going to battle for your country in a foreign land......not to mention a Spanish bullring filled with 23,000 boisterous fans! I could only compare the atmosphere here in Madrid to our 2004 tie in Seville, and luckily Mardy and I were both there..... so we knew what to expect. But we found out pretty quickly that it was not going to be easy! After losing the first set, Mardy helped defuse the pressure by cracking jokes, and as he loosened up, I could notice his level slowly start to improve. Under his breath, he made constant fun of Pau Gasol, the starting center for the Lakers, who was sitting in the front row behind the court. I'm not going to reveal the exact names he was calling him....Mardy can be a potty mouth! Ha! Mardy and I really gelled as a team and our positive energy was good enough to turn back and silence the Spaniards, who all eagerly awaited (for 3:30 hours) to see their country clinch the tie. I still get random texts from Mardy. I got one yesterday that said, "Don't ever forget the blood we spilled together on one fateful September day in Madrid." Too funny but it's true that I'll never forget the good times and battle Mardy and I had over in Madrid! On Monday morning following Andy and Sam's losses in the reverse singles, Mardy and I flew back to LA together. He had his wedding to attend in Beverly Hills on Sunday and we were hosting our inaugural Bryan Brother's All Star Tennis Smash the day before. On the 10 hour flight home we took turns trying to break each other's high score on "Brain Academy" on Nintendo DS. That's definitely something Bob and I would do.... he had become my "stand in twin!" From the moment I landed in California, all my focus and energy quickly shifted to making our charity event a success. This included a whirlwind of media activities and last minute preparations. I really didn't think anything could be more stressful than last week's Davis Cup match, but this definitely was up there. In one year's time, our charity event had gone from the minor leagues to one of the premier events in Southern California. This was largely due to the fact that Andre Agassi was scheduled to attend....... and we felt we really needed to step up and make it worthy of this great champion. Bob and I have both idolized Andre since we first began playing, and we were so excited and honored that he decided to come help us out. He's such a remarkable human being and so extremely generous in every way. And he has set the example and inspired not only Bob and I, but a lot of the other American players to start their own charities. We've been to his event and have seen his school, it's amazing to see first hand. He is having such a huge impact on each and every one of these children's lives. It's even more amazing to see how deeply he cares and loves the kids. Our team of event coordinators worked around the clock to make sure every detail of the pro-am, exhibition, and gala dinner was first class. And my Dad, who probably hadn't slept very much since the US Open, went on promotional blitz for 3 straight weeks. He drove to every club in the area hyping the event and selling tickets. He was a man on a mission and it really paid off! When the night before the big day rolled around, the 20 available spots in the pro-am were completely full, the exo had sold out, and the 50 tables for the gala dinner had all gone too! The day of the event was great and everything went to plan. This was now the fun and easy part! We luckily had lots of our friends and fellow tour pros come and help us out in the pro-am and exhibition matches. James Blake and Robby Genepri showed up bright and early for the 8 am pro am and stayed until they had leave around 4 pm to attend Mardy's rehearsal dinner. For me, the highlight of the day was partnering with Andre against James and Robby in the featured doubles match. There were some pretty amazing points and I was blown away by how well Andre was playing. He was tearing the cover off the ball. I've never seen so many rocketed forehands and backhands. The fans were loving seeing Andre on the courts again, which is a very rare sighting these days. This was actually Andre's only tennis appearance of the year so we were all very fortunate to have him. He played fabulously, was funny, and so nice to all the fans. He was even kind enough to stay for the gala dinner where he got up on stage and auctioned off a table to his event, and a match with the highest bidder versus Bob and I. Great guy! The event was a great success, and after the dust cleared we ended up raising a lot of money for local under-privaledged kids. There's no better feeling than cutting a check and knowing it's going to give kids a better opportunity to succeed in life. The whole experience of hosting a charity event of that magnitude was eye opening. We've learned so much and we can't wait to implement the improvements to make it even more successful next year. Shortly after, Bob and I flew to Tampa for a couple days of practice before the indoor season began. We made sure our flight got in just in time for the Counting Crows concert where we had free passes. We had become good friends with Jim Bogios, the drummer for C.C. Jim Courier had introduced me to him through email and we finally met in person at the San Jose tourney, where I helped satisfy his addiction to tennis by giving him credentials for the week. I've never met a nicer guy and a guy so smitten by the tennis bug. He plays everyday and can't get enough. Luckily our schedules blended perfectly and he was touring in England during Wimbledon and touring the east coast during the US Open. I was able to hit some balls with him on the grass and also grabbed him a couple of tickets for the epic Wimbledon singles final. At the US Open he mentioned that he really wanted us to attend one of his shows and thought it would be cool if we joined the band on stage. We were only expecting to watch their show and had no expectations that we were going to be part of it! When we landed and turned on our cell phones, we both had a text message from Jim. In his message he said, "I hope you guys are ready, you're not getting out of this, you're going to join us onstage for the song " Hanging Around." Right after I finished reading his message a wave of adrenaline rushed through my body. I couldn't believe what I just read. We were going to really play with one of our favorite bands at a concert in front of 30,000 fans! I have had hundreds of dreams of playing on-stage with a big-time band like the CC...... although in some of them I wake up in a cold sweat after I've dropped a drumstick or messed up a chord! But when I read his text for the tenth time, it started to sink in that all of this might become a reality. We grabbed our bags and headed off to the Ford Amphitheater, a concert venue where we've watched some great Dave Matthews and John Mayer performances. In the limo to the show, it hit me that I really didn't know the song all that well, so Bob and I frantically brushed up on the chords and format of "Hanging Around." He had an application on his i phone where he could practice on his miniature keyboard while I was left to strum my "air guitar!"......all the while trying to take deep breaths and settle my nerves! Our driver talked to a few of the guards in the parking lot and it was very surprising that they let us drive all the way up to the Counting Crows tour buses. We then met up with Jim and chilled with him on his bus while he got ready for the show. Maroon 5 was just finishing up their set and it was almost time for the Crows to rock the place. Jim was extremely cool and relaxed before the show.....I was trying to be cool too but it was hard to hide my excitement and nervous energy. It was interesting to see the contrast of Jim's demeanor and mine. It was just another day at the office for him while at the same time, this could be one of the biggest thrills of my life. As Bob and I anxiously awaited our song we watched the show from the side of the stage. The stage manager coordinated with us when we were supposed to walk out into the lights! It seemed like an eternity but our cue finally came. At the end of "Catapult" it was showtime and I grabbed my guitar and sheepishly walked out onto the huge stage. When I got out there it was so awesome! It was surreal looking out onto a sea of fans who were all standing up dancing to our song! I was concentrating hard on not messing up but at the same time I was trying to soak it all in....after all, this would most likely be the only time I would get to experience this. During our four minutes of glory, the band was so nice and the lead singer even acknowledged us during the middle of the song! Bob said he was completely "in the zone" and even played a piano solo. While on stage, I kept looking back at Jim saying "No way dude!" He knew he had totally made our rock star dreams come true, and now we could officially cross that one off of our bucket lists! I want to thank you all for reading and both Bob and I wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. We really appreciate all of your continued support. We're currently in California busy training for the upcoming season. Hope to see some of you in 2009! Best Wishes, Mike |
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| Previous Blogs June 13th, 2008 July 24th, 2008 October 5th, 2008 October 7th, 2008 December 12th, 2008 December 22nd, 2008 April 22nd, 2009 May 18th, 2009 |
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