Following Serena Williams' lead, a super-preppy Roger Federer took his own ride on the media merry-go-round a day after capturing his 13th Grand Slam title.
The 5-time US Open champion took a trip to the top of The Empire State Building for a photo op on the viewing deck with the silver trophy.
Fed then proceeded to meet with members of the media (sadly I wasn't invited - drats!) to discuss the big win.
Next stop for the Swiss maestro and his precious was CBS' The Early show for a visit with Harry Smith and Maggie Rodriguez. Is it me or does it look like they're treating Fed like a pregnant lady? Keep your hands off Harry!
Of course a merry-go-round ride is never complete without a stop over with the fun friends at the TODAY show, including Matt Lauer, Meredith Viera, and Al Roker.
Hey, since I'm not getting invites to these intimate media moments, can I have one of their TODAY show jobs at least? Seriously, who can't call the weather??
Oh life is cruel.
Anyway, check it:
(images via Getty)
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
(UPDATED) PHOTO OP: Preppy Fed hits the media merry-go-round, TODAY show and all
Labels: media, photo op, Roger Federer, tennis, Today Show, TV, US Open
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Does anyone else start getting the shakes once the US Open is over? And they say the off-season is so short...not for a tennis fan who was just riding the high of the Grand Slam season! :( Hopefully the season-ending Championships will have some good televised coverage.
ReplyDeleteto Erin: Yes, I'm in need of tennis BADLY right now. Plus, no real follow-up coverage on any sports channel today.
ReplyDeleteRich,
Let me tell you a little bit about how nice Roger is. I go to the Open every year with a friend of mine, who has low vision and is classified as disabled. She wears a bright orange sticker that says"Visually Impaired" when she is out in public so people can deal with her accordingly. We always get pretty good seats at the Open, and usually a tournament official or player will invite us into the player's lounge to meet other players. Last night, we got lucky again, and got to go into the lounge and media room after Roger won. We didn't expect to meet him, but it was kind of cool to hang out. Roger came in and spotted my friend's sticker, came over, and asked her if she enjoyed the match and if she was able to see it well. I think both our jaws hit the floor at the same time. He even offered to take a photo with us, but my friend is blinded temporarily by flash photography, so sadly, that was out. :(
On the way home, we spoke about it, and we really can't see any other player that would seek out someone with a disability, especially after such a great win or important match, and spend a few minutes with them. Roger truly is a gentleman.
That didn't stop me from trying to sneak into the locker room to see if Rafa left any of those red pants behind, though! ;)
erin: i'm all about taking a mini-break after this summer (which i'll be doing by the way.) it was jam-packed full of incredible tennis but my fingers hurt and that's not good for my game hehe!
ReplyDeletenatch: great story - kudos to you for meeting up with the man of the moment. jim courier would be so pissed if you got into the locker room but he can't!
so no luck on the pants though right? how about the shorty-shorts??
Rich you do such an awesome job with this website. Thank you for feeding my tennis obsession with insightful and witty posts and discussions. You deserve a break just like the players do its just too bad that for all of your hard work this summer slam season you don't get that added monetary bonus like they do... :)
ReplyDeleteerin, thanks...you're very sweet! but yes, we'll have to work on the money side of these matters. i bet i can type faster than most of the ballers - that should count for something in this sport, right?
ReplyDeleteSomeone back me up!
natch:
ReplyDeletethat's a lovely story, a testament to roger's character. i suggest you share this story on jon wertheim's column at si.com, since he has this contest or section for close encounters with the stars.
>>jim courier would be so pissed if you got into the locker room but he can't!<<
ReplyDeleteMaybe Mr.Courier should volunteer to assist the disabled, instead of running his mouth. I ran into him a bunch during the tourney, and geez, is he annoying.
>>so no luck on the pants though right? how about the shorty-shorts??<<
If ONLY Rafa wore short shorts!!
No red pants. In fact, no locker room. For some reason, security wouldn't let me in...
I did get to feel Roger's leg, though. Even though he is wiry, he looks like he's head to toe muscle (just not Rafa's statue type of muscle.) so I asked if I could feel his leg. It was as hard as I thought it would be. Uh, his leg that is...;)
Oh yes, and Mirka is stunning up close. Peaches and cream skin.
Erin I totally get the shakes after the US open. I don't have cable so my tv tennis coverage is done for the year.
ReplyDeleteNatch, OMG you are the luckiest ever. If I got to touch Roger's leg my hand would have "accidentally" slipped.