My September 1997 Davis Cup Experience: Australia vs. US
	I surely was lucky. I had just come to DC; I went to a Hecht's after hearing an ad that tickets still existed a day or two before the match. The store clerk had no idea where the seats were, nor did I, but the ticket turned out to be in the sixth row, next to the tournament physician and a few rows from where teammates were sitting. I think I lucked out because it was a single ticket that no one wanted. It was a very beautiful, sunny day; not too hot. Patrick Rafter played first and seemed much more graceful and delicate than he does on TV. Patrick seemed very disappointed in himself that Pete utterly destroyed him after losing the first set. I think that was the deciding match in the tie, so there was little pressure on Mark. I will try to put together more details. It's been awhile and I'm not as young as all of you (45) so I can't remember much. It was either at that match or at another one in which Mark was playing Michael Chang (I'm pretty sure it happened here, if not then at Davis Cup). At one point Michael blasted a serve or groundstroke and someone called out to Michael, who looks nearly a foot shorter than Mark, "hey, why don't you pick on someone your own size?" Both he and Mark laughed. Michael went on tiptoes and Mark went to his knees to receive Michael's serve. The crowd loved it.
		Let's see now. I remember lots of girls around 16 with their video cams and cameras bustling to get close as soon as Mark took the court. i did not see as many when Patrick had played earlier. I remember thinking that they had discovered something that a lot of the press STILL doesn't get (remember how the MALE press introducing the 1998 U.S. Open final said it was a disappointment since Patrick and Mark weren't "household names"? What are they , crazy? It was a dream match up of great ability, some personal rivalry, as well as great personal charm. I wonder how they would have described a match between 2 Anna Kournikova's, both ranked in the top 15?). I remember there were two young men leading the crowd in cheers and chants (but there was a great range of ages, genders, etc., everyone was part of it; that's what made it so enjoyable for those of us watching). They were sitting in the balcony above us and VERY drunk but not abnoxious. When I went up after the match, a little old lady told me that they had "taken a holiday" to see the US and this was part of the trip. They had a poster painted on a sheet that said something like: "Go, Patrick 'Meet Me After' Rafter and Sexy Scud." (and exhortations to the other Aussies) At one point the leaders spotted the Woodies in the crowd and started singing, to the tune of "He's got the whole world in his hands" :
			We would like the Woodies to sit with us We would like the Woodies to sit with us We would like the Woodies to sit with us We would like that, yes we would! It worked. Woodforde went up to join them. They then sang: We've got one of the Woodies in our midst We've got one of the Woodies in our midst We've got one of the Woodies in our midst We've got a Woodie, yes we do! As Mark played, the lyrics became: We like Mark Philippoussis, yes we do We like Mark Philippoussis, yes we do We like Mark Philippoussis, yes we do We like Mark! And then they would cascade into Scudscudscudscudscudscudscudscudscudscud.... Mark heard all this and smiled. I think he even said something later about how much he appreciated their support. I'll bet he would remember it. Despirte the Aussies' loss, everyone's spirits were high in the Aussie crowd and there were no hard feelings. As I said they were dancing, as the US crowd clapped to the Stars and Stripes Forever when the US won. So that's my story. Hope you enjoyed it. Marcia (If any of you guys are coming to DC for the Legg Mason Classic '99 this summer, let me know! Reach me at: marcia.miceli@cwix.com)