This morning I arrived at our away tennis match at about 10:00. It took some doing to find the right place--huge neighborhood, twelve tennis courts, scorching sun. As I walked into the pavilion, I noticed that our opponents in line 5 were drinking Bud Light from cans.
Reader, this was a curiosity. You just don't see this in the Thursday morning ladies' league. Maybe the Sunday "Business Women" league, as they're called, maybe they're drinking beer at their matches, but they also wear pants, ride sitting astride, and work outside the home. I wouldn't put anything past them. Probably the evening men and the mixed doubles are imbibing too. But Thursday ladies? Popping open a cold one before their match? Notable!
(Also I just have a thing about beer in cans. I think sometime in the past my father implanted the notion in my brain that it is unladylike to be seen drinking beer from a can. My issue.)
When my partner T got there, I was like, don't look but look over there. And she was like, oh how funny! And I was all, I've got a good feeling about this, maybe they're not taking this seriously and we can beat them!
Ah, no we couldn't. They carried their beer cans (and a spare for each of them) to the court when we began to play. And they beat us 6-1, 6-4.
We did a bit better in the second set, I kid you not, because they were getting drunk. T sidles up to me and goes, "Play fast, they are getting tired." And they were, but not tired enough.
Maybe we should have had a couple drinks too.
After match point, they hugged us (beery and cheery) and we walked off the court to see that our coach had come to watch. Oh embarrassment! And she told me that my ground strokes looked good but that I was frequently out of position. And then I loaded my plate with what I thought was some kind of spanakopita or Greek side dish but which turned out to be a dip. It was incredibly rich. I was like, "Is this egg?" And my partner said, "I think it's ricotta." So I ate half a pound of fat and drank a diet Gatorade. Good grief.
Then I drank one of their beers.
For every minute of this, it was so hot. So so hot. I looked cute but that was little consolation.
Okay, it was some consolation.
xo
Thursday, September 29, 2011
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13 comments:
Very enjoyable post, as always, thanks!
You are the highlight of my day. You and your tennis.
I played ALTA when I was a teenager and I hated every moment. I am so relieved that I am not you, sipping beer from a can and playing in the hot Georgia sun.
:)
Did they say: "I love you, man."? Because that would have put the icing on the cake.
Re: Beer straight from a can. If you are a lady, and you are doing it, then it is ladylike.
(And if we're being honest... if you hold the can in a fashion that suggests, "We are drinking from cans! Aren't we having fun!", then you're good.)
Of course today it's much cooler, right?
I guess they were following the rules of no glass near the courts. I like bottles at home too, or of course when paying for them out. My MIL will only have beer poured into a glass.
I love your descriptions of the other n'hoods you see and the other ladies.
I'm not as surprised at beer in a can as I am at beer at 10:00 am. For me, beer, in the morning, in the hot sun = sure nap half way through the game.
When I saw yr tweet abt the beer, I thought, "Gangsta!" I would have warned you were abt to match up against The Bride, but I saw it when play was well underway. xo
Looking cute is a huge consolation in my book! I laughed about you eating the ricotta. I'm sure it helped replace electrolytes and stuff. Oh and this has totally become a tennis blog. It's like I don't even know you anymore!!
You said: "(Also I just have a thing about beer in cans. I think sometime in the past my father implanted the notion in my brain that it is unladylike to be seen drinking beer from a can. My issue.)"
You're dad was right, it is unladylike to drink beer from a can. The only place it is appropriate is in a boat or on a beach. But not a beach connected to a four or five star resort...
In the same way, a lady must never allow a cigaret to hang from her lips while smoking.
Your description of the "Business Women" was the funniest thing I've read in ages.
I believe, in the South, beer in a can is instantly acceptable, once you've put it inside a koozie from your (or your husband's) alma mater. Much is forgiven in the name of school pride, especially during football season.
Perhaps you should carry a spare koozie in your tennis bag for such occasions? Of course, depending on the alma mater, it might heat things up on the court even more...
I played a match once where the women polished off a 6 pack of Smirnoff Ices and then started pouring wine into those red Solo cups...it was interesting. I was surprised they didn't just drink from the bottle!! Thankfully my partner and I beat them because they were seriously wasted by the third set hahahaha
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