I Went To the U.S. Open for the 1st time. Here Is What You Gotta Know

So I've lived in or around New York City for close to 10 years now and for the entire decade I've heard New Yorkers brag about how awesome the Us Open is.   I never had much desire to go because I'm not a huge tennis guy and there is nothing New Yorkers love doing more than overhyping literally everything in New York.    They just think cause it's New York it's automatically the best, rats included. 

But last night I was offered great tickets so I said what the hell and gave it a shot.  Keep in mind I went into it with very low expectations, but here are my thoughts

1. The Traffic is An Absolute Disaster 

Now keep in mind I took a helicopter from Montauk to jfk (sick brag) which is like 5 minutes from the Us open tennis center.  So I thought I would be avoiding the traffic through my richness. However it still took me like 30/45 minutes to get into the venue once I landed and I'm pretty sure I had every parking pass known to man to expedite the process.   To be honest I never would have agreed to go if I was coming from the city because getting from Manhattan to that area of Queens near City Field, Belmont Park etc is hell on earth. I even stopped going to the Belmont Stakes cause I hate it that much.   Now all true New Yorkers will probably say I'm a moron for trying to drive into the Us Open as opposed to taking the subway but that's just because New Yorkers have accepted that they are rat people. They live with them.  They travel like them.  They've given up on basic human decency.

2. Food

I'd heard lot about the food at the Us Open to the point I started researching it beforehand to find out whether I should eat beforehand or wait to get there.   I was pleasantly surprised with the food options. Lots of good places and they weren't crazy busy either.  Taco Nixtamal, Eatily ,Hill Country BBQ etc were all right around my seats.  Way better than typical stadium concessions.

3. The Honey Deuce

This is the official drink of the Us Open.  I did a review of it so I'll let the review speak for itself

4. The Actual Tennis

Ok so this to me was the biggest surprise.   I don't know what I expecting but I loved the tennis.  It's not just a good spectator sport it's a great spectator sport.  It's better live than any other sport I've been too besides maybe courtside NBA.  Granted I had unreal seats but i think it's probably very good from anywhere in the venue.  It may have also helped that the first match I saw featured some Amazon Wonder Woman who was absolutely beating the shit out of some poor little girl.   Just smashing the ball down her throat.   Turns out her name is Aryna Sabalenka and she's about to be the new #1 women's player in the world.  She was captivating to watch and I may bet on her for every match the rest of her life because she's that good.   She hooked me right away.   It was very cool to watch live.  

5.Betting 

So once I knew I was going last night I asked people who I should bet on for the featured men's match since I know nothing about tennis.  The overwhelming answer was that Jannik Sinner was unbeatable.   He was -190.  Well the second he walked onto the court I knew I was in trouble.   The guy looked like I could stuff him in his racket bag.  To his credit he battled his little twig legs off, but you can't win when you are 6'1 149 pounds.  You just can't.   

Regardless I can see why people love betting on tennis.  Every point is a god damn war.  There is just so little predictability that your ass is clenched waiting for disaster to strike at all times.   And don't even get me started when a game goes to Deuce.   You feel like every point is life or death and the swings on the live lines make it seem like every point is actually life or death.  In fact If I watched more tennis and knew more about the players I could easily see it becoming one of my favorite sports to bet on.   Granted I'd definitely die a few years sooner but it would be worth it.  

6. The Crowd

Gotham. Getty Images.

This was a Knicks and Rangers crowd. Very bougey.  Very corporate.  In other words I fit right in. Granted one guy did get kicked out for yelling famous Hitler slogans at the German player (I assume it was Heil Hitler) but that wasn't till like 2am when 80% of the crowd had left already.   That brings me to my next point. 

7. It's Way Too Late

The final match started around 8:30.  It ended at like 1am I think?  You gotta figure it takes at least an hour to get home no matter where you live so you are looking at a crazy late night for a sporting event.   I get that I'm old now but that's just too late for me.  If I'm not in bed by 11pm on weekdays I wake up mean.  

8. Is It Worth It

So here is the million dollar question. Did the Us Open live up to the hype?   Shockingly for me it definitely did.  And the reason why is pretty simple.  I loved the actual tennis.  Now would I go back is a different question?  I think to sit for 4 plus hours in 100 degree heat I'd need a suite so it's easier to get drinks, go to bathroom and move around, but overall I was still happy I decided to go and would highly recommend it to anybody who has never been.  In fact I'll put it at #2 on my favorite Ny events list. 

#1. Snl

#2 us open

PS - I didn't mean to post Aryna again here at the bottom, but I'm kind of in love with her so I'll just keep the double post.    She is definitely going to win this tournament.