Ponies run free, or for $69.99
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- September
- 7
The longest line in the pressroom was easily caused by the announcement of the media gift, the freebie that major tournaments and leagues give to the friendly people who cover this 14-day exhaust-a-thon. This year the gift is a white polo Polo, with one of those ubiquitous ponies on the upper right side (as you look at it.)
Problem is, after days of seeing big ponies, little ponies, white, navy and pink ponies, ponies on ball kids and ponies on tennis balls, I might have an allergic reaction if I tried to wear one.
I usually dive into the crowds a couple of times a year here to find a local person to comment on some tennis issue, and this year was no exception. I scouted the outer courts last Thursday and tried to find some telltale emblem to show the place a person comes from—a North Rockland lacrosse T-Shirt, a Scarsdale tennis bag.
All I saw were ponies.
It was slightly depressing that we have become a culture of brands to the extent that our own individuality is limited to a Swoosh or red star. And that’s my complaint with the J-Block—the suite is paid for by Nike and the hats are provided by Heineken. Such a corporate backer for a group of friends from the affluent community of Fairfield, Conn. Let Nike pay for a suite for a group of kids from the Harlem tennis program that sparked Blake’s interest in the first place.
Maybe they could even use some free shirts.
This entry was posted
on Thursday, September 7th, 2006 at 12:29 pm by Jane McManus.
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