The love of my life

Sticking on the tennis theme ... theme or a way of life? I riddle you that.

When I was younger I spent spring break with my mom at some vacation area. A lot of those times we went to Hilton Head, SC and stayed near one of my best friends and his family. One of these years the Family Circle Cup (or something like that) was played on the island and we got tickets. It was a day that would change my life forever.

After a hearty of day of watching Mary Jo Fernandez, Conchita Martinez, and Amanda Coetzer play ... you know, all of the legends of the game ... we settled in to watch the slicey dicey awesomeness that was Jana Novotna.

Obviously Novotna destroyed her weak opponent while hardly breaking a sweat. However at some point Jana decided she had to use the bathroom. Since I did not want to miss any of the match, after a moment or two I decided to do the same. I decided to run. No way was I missing Jana play! Who else can slice like that? Who else can look like a man and still play professional tennis (ok more than a handful)?

As I turned a corner I ran into a brick wall. I fell down. I looked up. It was not a brick wall. It was Jana Novotna. I stood up and stared into that beautiful face. My heart melted. I tried to speak but nothing came out. She looked at me and said "I love you" ... ok so she said "I'm sorry" and then a bodyguard shoved me out of her way ... same thing.

I ran back to my seat without using the bathroom or missing a point. I relayed my story with a smile. Of all the players in the world to literally run into ... this was perfect. I mean .. we already mocked her incessantly and emulated her on the court for fun ... now I had a real impact on her.