After the amazing experience Jude had at last year's US Open Tennis final he quickly decided he would make a return trip to the 2011 final. This year's final saw the same players competing as last year, the top two players in the world Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal..............but would the result be the same?
And rather than travel alone like last year, this year Jude would have Limerick's finest Roberto De Matteo for company.
Upon arrival in New York the bus chucks you out on 34th St and that's just a couple of blocks from the Empire State Building. It's always a great sight to greet you.
So just like last year the final was postponed to the Monday due to rain but that was grand, sure Jude and Rob had booked their hotel for the Sunday night anyway in anticipation of a cool pub crawl after the final, so it just meant they had their pub crawl the day before the final instead. Their hotel was the Pod on 51st and 3rd which is nicely situated in Midtown East.
The Pod is a cool wee spot altogether - check out the art on the wall there. Wha?
Rob got settled into the Pod nice and quickly, here he is sitting in the garden area before the pub crawl started. So in New York it's not like Portaferry where you can do a pub crawl and hit all 9 pubs, the place is so huge you have to have a plan, like a route to follow, a map. Jude and Roberto decided that today they would do a 'Pub Crawl of The Avenues' by starting just over on 2nd and dandering down towards Greenwich Village as they cut across the avenues.
First stop was the Press box on 2nd Avenue which was a cross between American style and Irish.
On 3rd Avenue the Whiskey Rebel was a nice wee spot. Here Jude poses outside.
This being a 'cultured' pub crawl it would be wrong not to include some of New York nice scenery and beautiful buildings, just like this one.
Rob loved the Heartland Brewery so much he wanted to stay there.............forever. Rob's a brave man too. Why?
He's wearing a Celtics top in New York that's why!!!!
After 3 pints the lads starting forgetting to take pics outside each pub. I can't for the life of me explain why. They had been in 4 by the time they reached Greenwich Village. This area is famous for many things but mostly for its arty cultured clientele, for example folk such as Jude and Rob would fit in here very nicely indeed. If it's good enough for Bob Dylan or Madonna then it's good enough for the lads.
And rather than travel alone like last year, this year Jude would have Limerick's finest Roberto De Matteo for company.
Upon arrival in New York the bus chucks you out on 34th St and that's just a couple of blocks from the Empire State Building. It's always a great sight to greet you.
So just like last year the final was postponed to the Monday due to rain but that was grand, sure Jude and Rob had booked their hotel for the Sunday night anyway in anticipation of a cool pub crawl after the final, so it just meant they had their pub crawl the day before the final instead. Their hotel was the Pod on 51st and 3rd which is nicely situated in Midtown East.
The Pod is a cool wee spot altogether - check out the art on the wall there. Wha?
Rob got settled into the Pod nice and quickly, here he is sitting in the garden area before the pub crawl started. So in New York it's not like Portaferry where you can do a pub crawl and hit all 9 pubs, the place is so huge you have to have a plan, like a route to follow, a map. Jude and Roberto decided that today they would do a 'Pub Crawl of The Avenues' by starting just over on 2nd and dandering down towards Greenwich Village as they cut across the avenues.
First stop was the Press box on 2nd Avenue which was a cross between American style and Irish.
On 3rd Avenue the Whiskey Rebel was a nice wee spot. Here Jude poses outside.
This being a 'cultured' pub crawl it would be wrong not to include some of New York nice scenery and beautiful buildings, just like this one.
Rob loved the Heartland Brewery so much he wanted to stay there.............forever. Rob's a brave man too. Why?
He's wearing a Celtics top in New York that's why!!!!
After 3 pints the lads starting forgetting to take pics outside each pub. I can't for the life of me explain why. They had been in 4 by the time they reached Greenwich Village. This area is famous for many things but mostly for its arty cultured clientele, for example folk such as Jude and Rob would fit in here very nicely indeed. If it's good enough for Bob Dylan or Madonna then it's good enough for the lads.
Their favourite pub in Greenwich village was 'The Fat Black Pussycat' on Aveune of the Americas (leading to 6th Ave). As you can see they were still sitting in there well after 9.00pm and they still had 4 Avenues to do!!! Time to get a move on then as they planned to be asleep by midnight.
Here's Rob at the Peter McManus Cafe in the Chelsea area of 7th Ave. Jude and Rob met at least one randomer in every bar and of course they'd be intent on conversation. That's all well and good, the lads definitely blended in and all ....well to a point....just long enough to finish a pint and then it was a case of, 'listen squire we gotta go, we're on a pub crawl, time is precious and our time here is done, nice chatting, see ya later'. In here the randomer was over on his own from Co.Derry for 1 week to take in 5 rock concerts! His girl wouldn't go with him so he said, 'sod that I'm going on me own'. Now that's the style!
Here's Rob at the Peter McManus Cafe in the Chelsea area of 7th Ave. Jude and Rob met at least one randomer in every bar and of course they'd be intent on conversation. That's all well and good, the lads definitely blended in and all ....well to a point....just long enough to finish a pint and then it was a case of, 'listen squire we gotta go, we're on a pub crawl, time is precious and our time here is done, nice chatting, see ya later'. In here the randomer was over on his own from Co.Derry for 1 week to take in 5 rock concerts! His girl wouldn't go with him so he said, 'sod that I'm going on me own'. Now that's the style!
Connolly's on 8th was next. At this stage Jude and Rob decided it best to head back towards their hotel - big day tomorrow and there's a lot of pubs in this town!! Amazingly the next pub they got to on Park Ave was also called Connolly's!!!
Eh......the camera does not seem to have been set correctly here, but that's Jude outside Connolly's.
Eh......the camera does not seem to have been set correctly here, but that's Jude outside Connolly's.
Rob pulls a move outside the Waldoff Astoria which is a nice hotel (Jude and Marguerite's friends John and Karen stayed there when they got married in - see blog Aug 2009) and it's just around the corner from the Pod.
It was now well past midnight and time for bed in anticipation for the big day to follow.
Today was the day Jude and Rob had been looking forward to for a long time and thankfully the 2 best players in the world had made it to the final (the tickets were bought in May so they obviously were not who would make the final).
The Pod is cool, modern and it's all you need in New York City. Here is Jude after he has downed 3 or 4 cups of tea. He's in the reception area checking his Fantasy Football scores!!!!
After a quick nip down to lower Manhattan to see the progress of the new World Trade Center building as it rises into the sky............
.....and a quick spot of lunch in the Dark Horse.......
It was now well past midnight and time for bed in anticipation for the big day to follow.
Today was the day Jude and Rob had been looking forward to for a long time and thankfully the 2 best players in the world had made it to the final (the tickets were bought in May so they obviously were not who would make the final).
The Pod is cool, modern and it's all you need in New York City. Here is Jude after he has downed 3 or 4 cups of tea. He's in the reception area checking his Fantasy Football scores!!!!
After a quick nip down to lower Manhattan to see the progress of the new World Trade Center building as it rises into the sky............
.....and a quick spot of lunch in the Dark Horse.......
........the lads made their way out to Flushing Meadow. Paradise!!
As always the crowds were huge.
Rob was quite indecisive in this shop. There were soooooo many t-shirts to choose from. 'Eh...Jude...eh...what about this one, wait no I like this one, no maybe this one's better......' he rambled on, but he eventually went for this one.......
......and he stuck it on himself straight away. Jude likes to wash new clothes before sticking 'em on but Rob's from Limerick and has no fear whatsoever, so on it went. I must say, it does look the part now.
Here Jude and Rob make their way into the Arthur Ashe stadium with their super cool US Open 2011 gear on. Wha?
The Arthur Ashe Stadium is just beautiful, it is the largest tennis arena in the world and a real sight to see.
Last year Jude was lucky enough to see Rafael Nadal win to secure the career grand slam. That day Nadal beat Djokovic by 3 sets to 1.
But Novak has just had one of the greatest years in the history of mens tennis by losing only twice all year (2 games all year) and winning both Wimbledon and the Australian Open.
So who would win today?
Jude and Rob's seats were class for the game. Here they are with their cool US Open headsets on. The headsets provided commentary from the king of tennis himself, John McEnroe, who was doing the US TV coverage from a booth not too far away.............
.......in fact there he is himself, John McEnroe. Wha?
As always the crowds were huge.
Rob was quite indecisive in this shop. There were soooooo many t-shirts to choose from. 'Eh...Jude...eh...what about this one, wait no I like this one, no maybe this one's better......' he rambled on, but he eventually went for this one.......
......and he stuck it on himself straight away. Jude likes to wash new clothes before sticking 'em on but Rob's from Limerick and has no fear whatsoever, so on it went. I must say, it does look the part now.
Here Jude and Rob make their way into the Arthur Ashe stadium with their super cool US Open 2011 gear on. Wha?
The Arthur Ashe Stadium is just beautiful, it is the largest tennis arena in the world and a real sight to see.
Last year Jude was lucky enough to see Rafael Nadal win to secure the career grand slam. That day Nadal beat Djokovic by 3 sets to 1.
But Novak has just had one of the greatest years in the history of mens tennis by losing only twice all year (2 games all year) and winning both Wimbledon and the Australian Open.
So who would win today?
Jude and Rob's seats were class for the game. Here they are with their cool US Open headsets on. The headsets provided commentary from the king of tennis himself, John McEnroe, who was doing the US TV coverage from a booth not too far away.............
.......in fact there he is himself, John McEnroe. Wha?
Jude reckons he could beat these two edjits at tennis any day............but he's honest enough to say they might be better singers than he is. So Jude and Rob were not the only celebrities in the stadium, here's Jay-Z and Beyonce enjoying the action too.
Novak burst into a 2 set lead with some amazing high speed tennis. The rallies in this match were unreal, often running past 30 strokes at high pace. It would remind you of Jude and Rob playing on Boston Common. Well maybe not then but it was pure magic to watch.
Then Rafa took the 3rd set 7-6 in what the commentators proclaimed was one of the best sets of tennis ever.........and John McEnroe should know!!!!
'Hey get out of me way, aye just stand there a wee minute mucker, I'm getting my pic taken', says Jude.
Watching a grand slam tennis final is just one of the best sporting occasions you can see. It is so intense and the skill levels are nuts.
At one point Jude spotted folk hanging over the back of the stadium taking pics so in between games he went up to investigate. This is what he saw. Nice!!!
Rob didn't let go of that bag all day, he must have had money in it or something, or gold, or his favourite bar of chocolate, or a winning lottery ticket, a slice of left-over pizza, or........
Then Rafa took the 3rd set 7-6 in what the commentators proclaimed was one of the best sets of tennis ever.........and John McEnroe should know!!!!
'Hey get out of me way, aye just stand there a wee minute mucker, I'm getting my pic taken', says Jude.
Watching a grand slam tennis final is just one of the best sporting occasions you can see. It is so intense and the skill levels are nuts.
At one point Jude spotted folk hanging over the back of the stadium taking pics so in between games he went up to investigate. This is what he saw. Nice!!!
Rob didn't let go of that bag all day, he must have had money in it or something, or gold, or his favourite bar of chocolate, or a winning lottery ticket, a slice of left-over pizza, or........
......we may never know.
In the 4th set Rafa battled hard but his great effort today was not enough as.............
.......the great Novak Djokovic fell to his knees as he won his first US Open Mens Final on a score of 6-2, 6-4, 6-7, 6-1.
All games should end in a handshake, no matter how tough the loss or great the win.
In among the millions of American flags you will spot the Spanish flag and the Serbian flag.
Novak is presented with the US Open trophy. Nice!!
Rafael Nadal, with the runners up trophy, tries to be respectful in defeat while Novak Djokovic tries to be modest in victory.
Next year that could be Jude kissing that trophy. Wha?
When exiting the stadium Jude met and briefly chatted to tennis legend Boris Becker. When Jude spotted Boris he quickly handed Rob his camera saying, 'ok Rob you nail a good pic of Boris and I', Jude then began chatting to Boris. 'Wha's the craic Boris, great game today wha, I say wha's the story, any chance of a wee pic here Boris, wha? When Boris left Jude asked Rob to let him see the pic and Rob replied, 'I didn't get one, I was waiting for a good one'. OMG!! Then after a quick debate about why Rob failed to get the pic he and Jude made their way back to Boston happy they'd saw a brilliant and historic final.
In the 4th set Rafa battled hard but his great effort today was not enough as.............
.......the great Novak Djokovic fell to his knees as he won his first US Open Mens Final on a score of 6-2, 6-4, 6-7, 6-1.
All games should end in a handshake, no matter how tough the loss or great the win.
In among the millions of American flags you will spot the Spanish flag and the Serbian flag.
Novak is presented with the US Open trophy. Nice!!
Rafael Nadal, with the runners up trophy, tries to be respectful in defeat while Novak Djokovic tries to be modest in victory.
Next year that could be Jude kissing that trophy. Wha?
When exiting the stadium Jude met and briefly chatted to tennis legend Boris Becker. When Jude spotted Boris he quickly handed Rob his camera saying, 'ok Rob you nail a good pic of Boris and I', Jude then began chatting to Boris. 'Wha's the craic Boris, great game today wha, I say wha's the story, any chance of a wee pic here Boris, wha? When Boris left Jude asked Rob to let him see the pic and Rob replied, 'I didn't get one, I was waiting for a good one'. OMG!! Then after a quick debate about why Rob failed to get the pic he and Jude made their way back to Boston happy they'd saw a brilliant and historic final.
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