A few years ago, I realized that I should actually enjoy what I do for eight hours each weekday. So I decided to turn my tennis passion into a profession. Since then, I've been on a steady (but sometimes not-so-healthy) diet of tennis that has led some people to question my sanity. But it has been a very rewarding journey, and I've met a lot of people along the way.
One of the first questions I get after introducing myself is, "Where are you from?" I often reply, "New York," because I don't want to bog down the enquirer's mind with the geographical nuances of New York State. Of course, and as any upstate New Yorker will attest, that person will assume I'm from New York City. That wasn't true - I lived almost five hours north of Gotham, near Utica. Until now.
Last week, I hopped on board a train at Utica's Union Station, bound for New York City. The train was late, dirty, and uncomfortable - everything I remember about Amtrak - but I didn't care. A few weeks earlier, I received a call that I'd been hoping to get for some time - an invitation to come down to Manhattan and work with the good folks at TENNIS. I will primarily be assisting Kamakshi Tandon, your yeoman online editor, but I will also be helping out wherever is needed around the office.
This was a necessary change for me. There was nothing with the Utica area - in fact, you can find some of the kindest people and best food in the state there - but besides my four years of college near Rochester, I'd hardly been outside of Oneida County for an extended period of time. I wanted to try something new and, coming from a relatively small town, the bustle of Madison Avenue certainly qualifies as different.
I've had the "bug" to come down to New York City for a while. Many of my friends have moved to the area, my beloved New York Rangers play just blocks away from where I am typing this, and the city is an epicenter for sports media, including tennis. But the biggest pull to New York City is its charms, which you can only experience by walking around the streets and understanding what the people do. I've done this countless times over the past few years, but never in a more moving way than last year at the U.S. Open (an experience I chronicled on my website).
It may sound low-brow, but despite Broadway, the museums, Wall Street and amazing restaurants, New York City feels like a "tennis town" to me. Without a doubt, late August (when the Open starts) is when I sense this most. But there are other reasons. The city has a diverse population, and many play, or are fans of, this international sport. Also, there's an an array of places to play, ranging from public courts in City parks, to metro-area racquet clubs, to more expensive options for those so privileged. But the biggest reason of all is that there is a constant demand for court time, no matter where you go (as I write this, Tom Perotta is talking about the struggles of getting court time). People want to play tennis here. As much as New York City provides access to tennis on the professional level, it houses a significant group of people who love the game at its grass-roots level.
Add up all of the above, and that's the reason I got on that train, leaving everything I've known behind. The only struggles I had boarding the passenger car were physical - I was lugging two bulky suitcases, a briefcase holding my laptop computer, and of course, my tennis bag. Mentally, I've never been more ready.
I've been in New York City for about a week now, and I'm learning something new each day. This morning, I finally uncovered which of the many paths I should exit Grand Central Terminal to most quickly arrive at my morning destination. But there's a lot I still need to discover. I haven't yet decided where I want to live. I haven't found a bagel shop that I want to frequent each morning. And I haven't yet stepped foot on a tennis court.
But I know I'm in the right place.
