Clash of Talent

David R.

March 12, 2011 - 12:42 PM

The Nike Clash Of The Champions event was as incredible as I thought it would be, but it definitely came and went faster than I imagined. I was able to head over to the arena at about 2:30 on Tuesday, and when I got there I was taken back by how incredible the arena looked. If I hadn't known any better I would have thought that Matthew Knight Arena had been constructed for tennis.

There were people all over the place inside trying to get all of the details finalized for the night's event. The event operations crew was making sure that the flooring had been placed properly, while the event emcee was practicing for the grand introductions. Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer arrived first, and they were taken right to the locker rooms along with their friends and family who came along for the show. A little while after, Maria Sharapova and her opponent Victoria Azaranka arrived, and they too were then taken to the locker rooms by myself and another intern in our department. Each athlete came with their own Nike representative who also knew the run of the show, so I really didn't have to do anything on my own, other than assisting with the event's opening introduction.

The arena was almost pitch black and each player entered the court by walking down a flight of stairs in the stands among all of the crowd members. A spot light was placed on each person as he or she was being introduced, in en effort to keep the crowd's attention on that specific player. The crowd went crazy and it was especially loud because there wasn't an empty seat in the house. Rafael Nadal certainly received a loud scream from all of the female attendees whose knees were weakened by his presence.

The event began with a womens singles match between Sharapova and Azarenka, which was won by the underdog (Azarenka), and then a doubles match was played before Federer and Nadal faced off for the main event. The doubles match was more for entertainment purposes and the players put on an entertaining show. Even tennis great John Mcenroe got into the mix, and all of the players were wearing microphones to allow for a little more interaction with the fans.

My responsibilities weren't too demanding, so I was basically able to watch the event for free at the equivalent of a front row seat. I was down by the locker rooms for the majority of the event and enjoyed being in the presence of the best tennis players in the world. There was a large number of Nike representatives on hand, and it made me realize how much work truly goes into a production like this. The event flew by particularly fast because the players arrived in Eugene around four in the afternoon and were gone by about 10. They came, performed, and left so suddenly, but I'm sure that is just a typical day for professional athletes such as these. Before leaving, each player was given a customized Oregon football jersey as a souvenir for the special event.

This event was a nice break amid the finals grind, and now I'm in the library about to crank out an essay. My motivation is derived from the fact that in six days I'll be soaking up the rays during Vegas Spring Break round two!