First and foremost, I am a tennis fan and nothing if not an
extremely lucky one, having been fortunate enough to complete the
Career Spectator Slam. Yes, I've swigged a brew in the raucous (by
tennis standards) stands in Melbourne, I've quietly munched a
baguette alongside the almost Martian red clay of Paris and for years
I took week-long staycations, trekking out the 7 Line to the US Open,
my hometown major, but it was only a year ago that I could finally
cross Wimbledon off my tennis bucket list. What follows is a little
bit on why it took so long, how I finally got it done and why you
should embrace the queue.
A little clarity, the Big W, if
we're parsing technicalities, was actually the very first major I
visited. As a college student, I was in London in March and dragged
a few buddies to SW19 on an appropriately rainy day to take a tour of
the Wimbledon Museum and eat strawberries and cream. It was the only
time I'd see Centre Court pre-Roof and the day as a whole remains a
cherished memory. That said, attending the actual Wimbledon tournament thoroughly intimidated me,
despite being a tennis fanatic and seasoned traveler, before I
finally took the plunge last summer.
