IRINA FALCONI #11 - JULY 30
"I have you living life like you should, you said you never had it so good..."
That's the song I'm going to finish the WTT season on. Because, I really have never had it so good.
The season was three weeks long.
Fourteen matches. Something like twenty takeoffs and landings. And let's not even talk about how many hours were spent in the car. Probably more than were spent sleeping.
But hey, that's what the season is about.
I am actually writing this blog from D.C. I know that I haven't told you about my last two matches as a Boston Lobster this year, but just wanted to give you a sense of direction if you will.
So Orange County Breakers. The day after we played Philly, we had to get up and hop on a flight early that morning to the west coast. Good thing we went a day earlier so we could get adjusted to the time change and everything because trust me, it definitely messes you up.
We got there, Carly and I did our girl thing and went shopping because that's what you do when you are near the biggest mall in Southern California. After that, it was time to lay low. Nothing too crazy, just takeout and some Family Guy. Pretty sure that sounds like a pretty perfect evening if I don't say so myself.
The next day, we had a chance to get three more hours of sleep because of the time change, which means that we would technically play our match at 10 pm OUR time. Yeah, how we doing? It was a little rough, and we had some chances, but the Breakers were able to "break" us down. They clinched their conference which salutes a congrats. Oh, and Kastles. Great job on your run. Making history ain't a easy thing to do and ya'll obviously knew how to do it.
After that, guess what? Sacramento it was. We arrived at the airport, got picked up in a swagger limo, and then got driven to a super nice Marriott that had complimentary laundry and made me VERY happy. The Capitals brought their A game and they took it to us. Hey, you can't always win the last one, but no worries here. The amount of fun and memorable experiences that I had with an amazing group of people is unforgettable.
 As cheesy as that may seem, it really was great. Sure the traveling, and the lack of sleep will be completely exhausting, but it truly was great. Oh but wait! The best part about this whole thing was finishing the match and then getting in a car to the airport---again. Oh yea, know what a redeye is? It's the latest and last possible flight out of an airport. I was so glad that I had got the flight because I ended up having a doubles match the next day (in D.C.). One stop in Minneapolis, and then to Baltimore, and then another hour in a car crammed with 10 bags of luggage. Talk about working with adversity...
Oh and yeah, my partner got the W.
That deserves a Holla to yo Lobsta.
Well, everyone, thanks a lot for reading. It's been a great season.
I appreciate all the support, all the good feedback, and the fun questions I was able to answer.
Thank you. Thank you. Thank you!!!
Deuces!
-IF
NOTE: Irina Falconi completed her WTT season for the Boston Lobsters on Saturday, July 28 in Sacramento then flew overnight to the East Coast where she started a WTA Tour event on Sunday afternoon. Continue to follow her results @irinafalconi or on the WTA Tour.
IRINA FALCONI #10 - JULY 26
So we have turbulence.
Three babies crying.
Passengers sitting next to Jan Michael that don't speak a lick of English.
And the ring. Now the ring was a fun one today. It's not something that happens on every flight. Two hours into our flight from Philly to LAX, we suddenly hear a phone alarm ringer thing. So we hear it for a few seconds and we figure that the person responsible will go ahead and shut it off. After about 2 minutes, we start looking around with daggers in our eyes. Everyone has their heads turned to a specific corner. And we keep looking and looking hoping that the person will get the hint. They turn to us, let us know that it's not them, so we shake our heads and go to the next possible candidate---the cat sleeping. He says it's not him. And then after 5 minutes of everyone being extremely loud and vocal about the stupid ring---a lady takes her headphones off, laughs, turns her ringer off and pleads an apology to us. Meh, I guess you have to forgive and forget right?
The babies. You know when they say "Oh, let's hope we don't have a crying baby" in the plane? Well, how about you make that plural? Yeah, and not only that, but they have very unique wailing sounds. And no, it's not just a little cry---it's a full on the-world-is-coming-to-an-end-and-my-ears-hurt-because-I-can't-pop-them kind of wail. Ha, that was fun. Pretty sure after a few minutes of that, all you can do is just laugh and thank goodness that it's not your kid. Because you obviously have the most behaved and sweetest angel EVER!
The turbulence speaks for itself. We have a few players on our team that aren't big fans of sudden jerks and movements 36,000 feet above land. Yeah, I guess I can see that.
Anyway, that's right! This is a tennis blog right? Yeah, alright alright.
So once again, I have decided to do a little three day recap. I mean, we had three matches, three days in a row, so that's what I decided to do. Bam!
First match---Philly.
Now, as you now know, sometimes marquee players will come and play one, even a few matches for a specific team. So who did WE get for our match against the Philadelphia Freedoms at home? The Big Man---John Isner.
Now, let me tell you a little story about how I met John Isner.
Back in the dizzle, when he was first starting out and we were both on the Pro Circuit tour, I saw him play against this cat in Lexington, Kentucky. The reason why he left such a "tall" impression on me wasn't only because of his height---but because the guy he was playing tried to lob him. It was honestly REALLY funny.
 So I was with my best friend, Nina Pantic, and we're walking towards the courts, and I see him walking towards me. I look at Nina and say, "I gotta ask how tall he is." Now, for those of you that know me, I am quite the shorty. 5'4 on a good day---so the doc tells me. So, I went up to him, stopped him in his tracks, and asked him "Hey man, look I gotta ask you, how tall are you?" And he answers "Eh about 6'9, 6'10." So me, being the unfiltered little teenager that I was, looks at him in astonishment and says "Dang, you're a TREE!" And I walked off.
That was my first ever encounter.
Whether he knows or even remembers that encounter, is a different story, but I just felt the need to share my embarrassing story --- of myself.
Anywhoozer, Johnny came and went---rather quickly. He actually went out of his way to come and play a match for us, and then right from there --- he had to go to the airport and go represent the USA in the Olympics. Pretty cool if I don't say so myself.
So yeah, he came in, played singles, mixed, and doubles, and then had to leave. It was a quick trip, but it was worth it because he totally gave us a win! Carly and I finished off strong in the end with a great doubles match to clinch the match. Holla!
 So side note---he totally had an awesome presentation for when he left. There was a patriotic song playing, he had a cop follow the taxi, and everything was just awesome. I bet he felt like the president. And because of that---he'll probably end up winning the gold. No big deal.Alright, so that was that night. The next day? "ON THE ROAD AGAIN!" If you haven't heard that song, you should. Very fitting for a tennis player.
So yeah, we got in our automobiles and headed to Albany, New York. TOTALLY underrated city! I've been to Albany before but I had never seen this part of it! It was totally historic and reminded us of San Francisco.
We got a little hit in to feel the courts out before we played the match---it was quite different. It was in a gym called the Fieldhouse and it was just different. Indoors is always a little different.
At the end of the night, we didn't get the win, but we didn't get much time to mope around --- we had another match the next day. And guess who? Yup, Philly. But this time we played them at home.
I'll tell you what, a total of 10 hours in a car, with 4 hours of playing, and little sleep---will get ya. It'll hit ya out of nowhere, and when you least want it to show up knocking.
It was a super close match---18-17. I mean, it was down to the nitty gritty. Side note: Mark Philippoussis was the marquee player for the Philadelphia Freedoms and during doubles, he hit a drop shot that Jan-Michael ran his heart out on, but just missed it. To take out his frustration, he resorted to kicking my racquet. Yup, this supposedly "grown man" went on like a little kid and kicked my racquet after missing my shot. Tisk tisk JM.
So yeah, the next day, once again, we were off like a prom dress!
Off to the West Coast.
Off to the home of In-N-Out burger.
Yum.
GIVE A HOLLA TO YO LOBSTA ALL THE WAY FROM THE EAST!
-IF
IRINA FALCONI BLOG #9 - JULY 23
Hmmm, honestly---after a good tiring trip, the best thing to do is lay down and just chill with a little Enya in the background. I mean, Bob Marley is up there as well, but at the end of the day, you really can't go wrong.
Well, if you haven't already heard, we had a pretty epic night last Thursday night.
And people, at the end of the day, it's not about the result. Dang it, now don't quote me because I don't want you to think that we don't care about whether we win or lose.
I mean, whenever anyone goes out on a ring, field, or court---you're going there to win. Oh gosh, I feel like I could go off on that subject but I'm going to go ahead and just write about having Andre Agassi on my team.
Yup, that's right. Last night epic.
I had Andre Agassi on my team playing against the NY Sportimes that had Martina Hingis and John McEnroe---can you get any better than that? It was super legit.
Anyway, this is going to be more of a compilation blog thing, haha.
I literally have a little paper that helped remember all the stuff that I would talk to you guys about. It's all fun stuff don't you worry.
Alright, so the trip to New York was rather hectic. A lot of our staff drove but we went all cool like, via planes. Now, let's talk about the advantages between flying and driving. We had an 11:10 flight, arriving at 12:15 or so...So, our flight ended up getting delayed, and we hit an hour and a half traffic getting to the hotel. As we're pulling up, literally parking right in front of the hotel lobby, the peeps that were driving show up right in front of us. So thoughts? Nope, I don't have any. Cuz driving is fun. You get to go at your own pace and you're not in that whole airport environment. However, in a one hour flight, who's complaining with that?
Now, New York holds a very special place in my heart. I was raised here, so every time I arrive, I feel like I'm going back home. Even though I literally have about 1,032 homes, this one is sweet.
The match was tough---we lost to the Sportimes at home, but hey, they all played well and it was a heck of a match.
Got to catch up with a couple of legends after the match, so it was definitely a night to remember. I totally lived vicariously through Carly (Gullickson) when she played mixed dubs with Andre against Johnny Mac and Martina. She told me afterwards that she was nervous (no kidding) but still, that's a story you tell your grandkids about.
We decided to go to the Ritz Diner which felt like we were in a Seinfeld episode. Pretty sure the entire DAY was a Seinfeld episode. Gotta love me some Kramer.
Alright, so the next day? Guess what? Oh yeah. Back to JFK it was! We got home and it was our first day "off" in a while. We got to chill and just be a couple of normal tennis players. Even though there's no such thing. I mean, let's be honest. Everyone that does a professional sport has a little bit of psycho to 'em. Yadda yadda, alright I can totally go off on that topic. So what do tennis players in WTT do on a Friday night off? You sleep. You chill. You hang. Pretty much you become a cat for the evening. I have three, I would know.
Boston Lobsters' Irina Falconi, Carly Gullickson-Eagle and Jan-Michael Gambill joined other guests at the storied Longwood Cricket Club.
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Now, Saturday---that was fun times. We got to make a special appearance at the Longwood Cricket Club. One of the most prestigious, if not the most, in the northeast United States. But wait! We got to play on grass and we had to wear all white. Wimbledon take two? It was great! After that, we got to dress up and join our friends for a wonderful dinner at this fantastic venue. Ya know, tennis players probably feel like Superman sometimes. Cuz Lois Lane would always just see him in his regular clothing---which to us is tennis clothing. And when he put his cape on, he would become Superman---yet we become normal when we put on regular nice girly clothing...bah, you know what I mean.
So Saturday came and went, and it was great. A special shout out to all the members and staff that made that event possible. We thank you for the amazing evening and great food. They even had this ice cream machine thing that was made with nitrogen something? Bah, I know I went to (Georgia) Tech but I don't know the nerdy science term. Oh! And this one cupcake had a Swedish fish on the top. Hehe. Sunday. Good ole Sunday. The blessed day where champions are made. And sure enough. The boys got it done. We got a little revenge on the Sportimes and we redeemed ourselves. And no, we kept it interesting. We won 21-20! And it was glorious. Now, that's a lot in three days. I'm sure I'll remember some more random tidbits about the days, but hey, that's why you can keep reading :-D Philly today! New York tomorrow again! And guess what? Yup, Philly again the next day! What can I say---us north easterners love each other :-) Give a holla to yo lobsta and eat a crab cake for me.
-IF
IRINA FALCONI BLOG #8 - JULY 19
EYE OF THE LOBSTER
Just finished with a little Bob Marley and now I'm on to Mariah Carey. Huge shoutout to my trainer Kim Wilson. That's our girl. And Whitney Houston of course. RIP...
Wow, that's a kinda depressing ending to my beginning. But I promise it'll get exciting...:-)
Alright so Wednesday. Yet, another match. And it was a match at home. So, obviously, we want to win every match that we play. I mean, I obviously want to win everything and be Federer-like, or Djokovic-esque, but hey, it's not going to happen 100 percent of the time. Even those guys lose. But anyway, getting sidetracked again.
Kansas City Explorers. That was the team to beat last night.
Wow, Queen- We are the Champions just came on. Ha, I like where my iPad's "head drive" is at...I tried to be clever there...Mmm...That almost worked...Maybe not.
Ok ok, so let's get to the day. So Wednesday was the day that my man Travis was coming from Kansas City. Oh the irony!
Once we got him all settled it was time for him to meet the crew. Everyone knows him as the pugilist. It's kind of an inside joke, but here's the gist of it. The other day when Bud (Boston coach Bud Schultz) was giving us our introductions, he decided to get a little bit more intimate. Instead of talking about our tennis successes, he decided to talk about other things.
For JM, he talked about the fact that he coaches my girl Coco Vandeweghe and she had reached the finals of a big tournament.
Eric and Carly were introduced as newlyweds.
And what did he say for me? Oh it was good.
"And last but not least ladies and gentlemen, we have Irina Falconi. And Irina----is dating a pugilist!"
For about 10 seconds, I couldn't talk because I was laughing so hard. But at the same time, I had NO IDEA what a PUGILIST was! So everyone looked at me with a dazed and confused look, so I just stared back and laughed.
Sure enough, we asked him what the heck it was. He looked at us as if we were joking but all of us were at a loss. He explained that the definition of a pugilist is a professional boxer.
So, from that day on, he's been asking people during our introductions whether they know what a pugilist is---no one under the age of 50 knew what the word meant. Bud's vernacular is kicking everybody's BUTT!
Once we got all settled with practice and everything, we went to visit tents to take some pictures with the people that make it all happen. And like the weatherman had predicted, it started to drizzle a little bit. The match was postponed to 7:15. Not a big deal really but hey, it changes the time of when I have to make my perfect bun, alright?
Whilst getting some food, the team got together and for some reason we started talking about the pronunciation of specific words. We also talked about how some call soft drinks as soda, and some refer to it as pop...to say the least, the conversation was pure fun.
Then the match came.
When I tell you that it couldn't have been any closer---I am not exaggerating. I mean, Supertiebreaker, Overtime? Oh yeah, remember when I talked about loving to play under pressure? Yup, I definitely did last night.
It came down to me in the last set...
I didn't win the set, but when it came to the Supertiebreaker, I got off to a strong lead, and got us a win of 20-19 at home. Talk about NITTY GRITTY?! Pretty sure I saw a twinkle in (Boston team owner) Bahar's eyes. Just saying...
Oh! And let me tell you a little bit about the name of the blog---Eye of the Lobster.
So in the last set, it's super close and in between points, the DJ decides to play "Eye of the Tiger." So sure enough, right before I'm about to serve, this little 8-year-old boy shouts at the top of his lungs "COME ON IRINA! EYE OF THE LOBSTER!"
It.
Was.
EPIC!
Oh and of course we had to go to Friday's afterwards! Even though it was Wednesday...
And per usual---it was an epic team dinner. From heels, to catheters, to horoscopes, to
Anywhoozer! New York tomorrow!!!!! Going back to my roots to get in that little empire state of mind. Holla!!
Fan Questions:
Davida: My favorite shot is the dropshot.
The guy that sent that email about Carly: She recently got married and she is not sure whether she's coming back or not. She says that she will keep you posted!
-IF
IRINA FALCONI BLOG #7 - July 18
So I'm totally listening to Maroon 5 as I'm writing this. I tell you what, they are totally an underrated band. I mean, you don't ever hear people say they don't like one of their songs. I mean, they are just a solid band. Don't hate...That's all I'm saying.
So...Breakers...
Lindsay (Davenport) was there! It was a lot of fun.
A shout out to the lady that made the stadium possible, the FABULOUS Joan Norton!! It was her night, and there were a couple of points last night where I looked at her, and said "This one's for you Joan!" So Joan, from all the Lobsters out there: WE THANK AND LOVE YOU!!! You're awesome!
Talk about ADD...Andy... (Sorry friends, inside joke once again...) The gist of it though is the fact that our good friend Andy is super ADD. We had a whole discussion at dinner the other day how people are just taking adderall when they don't even HAVE ADD. Anyway, talk about non sequiturs tonight. Ha!
So...on a completely different note, I got an amazing gift from a very special man in my life. This was the note that came with the dozen roses, where one of them was a beautiful white rose:
"Out of every bunch, there is always one that stands out."
Shout out to Travis Hartman. <3
Aren't I the biggest cheese ball romantic out there? Cuz, that was totally cheesy. Would you like some wine with that cheese Irina? Yes, I totally just referred to myself in third person. Is that a problem? Didn't think so.
Bam! Alright, so yesterday...as you probably saw, we didn't win our match against the Breakers. BUT! Not to worry! We have a chance to redeem ourselves at home against the Kansas City Explorers tonight! So yeah!
So, let's be honest. You don't REALLY want to know about how many crosscourt forehands I hit, right? Because if you were wondering, I'll tell you right now that I didn't hit any :-)
Anywhoozer, after the match we went to Friday's. I guess it's become our team thing.
And the funniest thing that happened was probably when JM brought his friend, and one of the first things that Bud said to this cat was "So, take this in the best possible manner---but who are you??"
It...Was...AWESOME!
I can say that you had to be there but you probably knew that already haha.
Alright friends, so, the time has finally come...The Q and A section...These are a few questions that people have sent to me:
Emily from Connecticut asks: If you were an animal, what would you be and why?
If I were an animal, I would be an eagle.
David from North Carolina asks: What was it like seeing the First Lady Michelle Obama at your recent match?
Seeing the First Lady was a big deal. My trainer actually told me that I had a similar smile that a woman has on her wedding day. The whole glow thing? So I guess I had the First Lady Glow.
Shane from Arizona asks: What is your favorite World TeamTennis moment and why?
Favorite World TeamTennis moment was probably meeting the First Lady, and coming back last night from down 2-4, to win 5-4 in the tiebreaker.
Jack from London asks: What is the one song you have been listening to this season while you are on the road?
Call Me Maybe by Carly Rae Jepsen.
Kristi from Maryland asks: What is the difference in the culture of team tennis and the culture of the pro tour?
The biggest difference in culture between team tennis and the pro tour is obviously the whole team dynamic. On the tour, you have a team that can consist of a coach, and trainers, and family, but in team tennis, you have 3-4 other players that you're playing for and with. And another thing is that World Team Tennis is much more dynamic regarding the crowd.
Alright so those are the ones that I have for now!!!
Keep sending 'em to falconi@wtt.com or us #AskFalconi on Twitter and I'll make sure to answer them accordingly.
Shout out to all my readers---ya'll are rock stars and lobsters in my mind :-D
-IF
IRINA FALCONI BLOG #6 - July 17
Talk about a night of firsts...
So let me tell you how it went down yesterday...
We had a nice late morning flight. With enough time and everything, all things went smooth. Got picked up in a decked out Escalade that definitely did the trick for me. Now now, I know some of you may not be Cadillac fans (I am really not a huge fan either) but for some reason, this one did it for me. I think it was just the SWAG factor that helped...
Alright, so we got to our hotel that was in the heart of the city. Now it's a shame that I can't tell you where it's at because of like super duper high end security reasons (since we are like valuable and whatnot) but let me tell you, this hotel was nice. We had our own kitchen! Now that may not be a big deal to some of ya'll, but I like having the option of making egg whites in the morning...Just saying.
After some lunch, we did the usual---chilled. Everyone went to their respected rooms and just relaxed before showtime.
And yes, the Kastles continued on their winning streak.
Hey! More power to ya! They played great and totally used the home court advantage!
Now, let me tell you something. Even though this was a match, and we were pumped to win and compete---this match was epic.
It wasn't just the cheerleaders...
It wasn't just the crowd...
It wasn't just the fact that Venus Williams was the marquee featured player...
It wasn't just the guy in the 5 foot stilts that was MCeeing...
It wasn't just the smoke blasts that were shot up when the Kastles made their entrance.
It wasn't just the dozens of helicopters that would swing by every couple of minutes just a few feet from the crowd.
No...It wasn't just that...
 It was definitely the fact that we got to meet the First Lady and watch her watching us play.
Now I know it ain't the BIG MAN, but the First Lady is still a pretty solid effort.
I mean, we didn't even know she was coming till about 5 minutes before she showed up because of security reasons. Now when I tell you that the security was Jason Bourne style, I ain't kidding.
When we saw her in the crowd watching us, you could spot like 5 guys that could probably kill you with one move from their pinky. They probably could have done some damage just by staring at us...Who knows... Those guys in the secret service are cray. Yeah, I just went Kanye on it. Deal with it.
Alright alright, so yeah. You probably saw the score by now. And you prooooobably saw that we didn't do great, but hey, like I said before, the Kastles team played well. I gotta give them full credit. Rightfully deserved.
Anywhoozer, after the match, as expected, we had a SLIGHTLY longer line of autograph singing due to the Kastles' marquee player, but it was still entertaining. Jan-Michael found a way to make autograph signing even MORE fun by marking me with a sharpie...But no, not blatantly. The marker was literally moving SO slow on my skin, and BARELY touching me, that he decided to make it a game and see how long it would take for me to notice---I didn't. I suddenly look over and he and Carly are laughing like little school kids. Then they tell me, and sure enough----there's a very crooked line of my right arm that was about 5 inches long. Thanks JM. Real mature... REEEEEEEL mature.
 Yeah, yeah, so after the match, sure enough, we had to be security-fied into our black tinted Escalade, to make our quick departure from the premises. Roger that. Over.
A little din din, and a little water water, and we were back in our hotel. Different hotel, different city. Another dinner, another airport.
Life of a freakin Lobster.
Breakers tomorrow night at home. Come support your Lobsters! Lindsay (Davenport) will be there! Make your appearance.
And are you ready for my slogan ideas?
Sure?
Alright here goes nothing!
"Hey... I just met you....And this is crazy...But we're the lobsters...So break you maybe?"
Nah, that's mean....
"Hey...I just met you...And this is crazy...But you're the breakers...So let's hold maybe?"
Yeah, that's funny. All you tennis players will understand that...
For those of you that don't---ugh...I guess I can explaaaaaaain...
When you serve a game, and win the game---that is called a "hold."
When your opponent serves a game, and you win the game---it's called a "break."
Simple?
Yes.
HOLLA TO YO LOBSTA!
-IF
IRINA FALCONI BLOG #5 - July 16
"Adversity will make or break a team"
And guess what?...It made us.
Last night, we played the Springfield Lasers. In the middle of the third set, the skies opened up and it started to drizzle. So what to do? We had to move the match indoors. What does THAT mean?
All the ball kids.
All the lines people.
All the food.
All the equipment.
Had to rounded up, driven, and set up at an indoor facility some miles away.
We could have easily used the adversity as an excuse to not be great and crumble---but we didn't. As cheesy as that may sound, 'tis so true.
We went on to defeat the lasers, and make it a great Sunday. Holla.
Remember in that second blog how I talked about winning a match at home is super special? Well that was the case last night.
It was really fun to see how many people got in their cars on a Sunday night and drove for a bit to support their very own Lobsters. It was a super sweet gesture, and I speak for the team---thank you very much fans. We do it for you.
Anywhoozer...I hope ya'll are enjoying the blogs...Feel free to send me questions if you like at (Falconi@WTT.com) or on Twitter using #AskFalconi and I would have no problem answering to the best of my ability.
Tonight, we play the Kastles at home. They are still undefeated. Venus will be there...
I gotta feeling...
That tonight's going to be a good night.
-IF
IRINA FALCONI BLOG #4 - July 15
Alright, so here are a couple of shout outs I have to give a couple of my peeps today.
1. Huge shout out to my girl Coco Vandeweghe (Sacramento Capitals) for getting to her first ever WTA final! She plays tomorrow so check her out on ESPN! Holla to the Americans.
2. My awesome teammate, Jan-Michael Gambill, played me Sir Elton John's newest CD, called Elton vs. Pnau----FREAKIN AWESOME! You should totally listen to it and buy it! One of the songs in his CD, Good Morning to the Night, was picked as one of the songs for the 2012 London Olympics! Pretty sure that's uber legit. Holla to Sir Elton.
3. Gotta give a congrats to the Washington Kastles for increasing their winning streak to 20... We played them last night, and they played great tennis. Congratulations and good luck for the rest of the season.
4. And last but not least....I forgot to say this yesterday but happy belated Friday the 13th. Teeheehee.
 Alright, so yes, we played the Kastles yesterday. We had a great crowd out there and I think that the most exciting thing that happened last night was seeing our "get-mugged" headshots out in the stands. Now listen to this, we straight up had these HUGE cardboard cut outs with our faces on 'em. You're trying to serve, and a giant sized version of Bud Schultz' head is looking right at you. Talk about seriously focusing on that little green thing in the dark night. Muahaha.
On a completely random and totally out of the way side note---during a Pro Am today, several grown adults had a discussion on what a baby chicken is called. I claimed it to be chick, but a person that we will call "Larry", claimed that they were called chicklets. Now, we should totally take a poll. Whilst I was totally fine with calling it a chicklet, I'm pretty sure it's chick. I mean, don't you think of gum when you think of Chicklets? Or maybe that's just me...We also started talking about what came first---the chicken or the chick/chicklet. Am I really writing this? Yup..And it's getting published too...And read. Booyah. Success.
Dinner tonight was fun. Two things that we talked about really stood out:
1. Dirty underwear.
2. And the number 12,000
I know it's not fair for me to not really fill you guys in on inside jokes, but that's the whole beauty about being on/in a team... There will always be stories and jokes that no one will ever understand---unless you were there of course...So technically, you don't HAVE to be on a team...it just sounds cooler to me.
So, WHOOP WHOOP! Another day, another match. Tomorrow we play the Springfield Lasers. We're planning to claw them up with our monster Lobster claws. Rawr.
Talk about random. Pretty sure that this blog couldn't have been any more random.
Give a holla to yo lobsta tomorrow.
Bazinga! =
-IF
IRINA FALCONI BLOG #3 - July 13
"Hey...I just met you...And this is crazy... But here's my autograph...So keep it maybe?"
Carly Rae Jepsen---you're awesome. You've given the world, and especially ME, a song that I can totally sing over and over again, with different lyrics---EVERY TIME!!! Thanks... Maybe?
Anyway, you're probably wondering why in the WORLD I'm writing that to start off my blog tonight. Well let me tell ya.
Last night, was a Philly kind of night.
For those of you that don't know the World TeamTennis format, I'm going to tell you a little bit about it.
So, as you know---we play matches. Both away, and home. So what does that mean? We like to take trips. Lots and lots of trips. They usually only last a day, but the airport becomes like a second home to us. A different hotel almost every other night---it's the rock star life.
Anywhoozer, yesterday we played Philly at home. We got on a flight at 12, got to Philly, practiced a little, played the match, Cheesecake Factory ritual dinner after, and a couple of hours after that, we were back in the airport heading back to Boston. Sure it sounds hectic, but when you get access to the US Airways lounge club with Jan-Michael and Eric's awesomeness status---you tend to like that time in the airport just a little bit more.
As for the match--- we got beat. Big difference between losing and getting beat. And let me tell ya, I gotta give it to the Philly team. They brought it. They used the home court advantage to the fullest.
The match was super close up till the last set---where Carly and I enjoyed a little cream cheese with that bagel. Poop! (YOU'RE WELCOME TRACY!)
Alright friends, well that was that. You can only imagine what the dinner conversation was at Cheesecake Factory...Ha! I'll let your mind wander.
Oh! P.S. Watched Ted today. Very funny. I laughed, cried, and cried of laughter. Oh Seth. Good times, good times.
Tomorrow we play the Kastles.
Give a holla to yo lobsta peeps!
-IF
Note: The Boston Lobsters host the defending WTT Champion Washington Kastles on Friday, July 13. The match will be live streamed on WTT.com/LIVE at 7p.m. EDT.
IRINA FALCONI BLOG #2 - July 10
I guess fourth time is the charm...
Talked with coach Bud Schultz today (July 9) after the match and he told me that it's been a while since we won the opening match at home... So what better way to start the season than with a little break in the streak?
Yeah, a great W for the Boston Lobsters tonight. I was able to be a part of that victory tonight, and let me tell you---it was awesome.
Sure it wasn't winning the final on Centre Court Wimbledon -- but hey, at the end of the day, a win is a win. Period.
This morning we got together at noon (yay to sleeping in) and had a great first official team practice. A little warm up, a little doubles action, and some singles points to finish it all off---great way to start a season.
So after our practice, what do you do? Well, if you're me, you go to CVS and spend some time getting the latest beauty supplies to help me win. Duh. I mean, had I not gotten that Sheer Blonde Shampoo and Conditioner today - who knows what the outcome would have been.
No but seriously, after a little quick trip to the local pharmacy, I got to my room and made it pretty all over again. Rearranged, folded, fixed, cleaned---it's like I'm home.
Once I get my amazing Asics uniform, I put on my game face and met up with my girl Carly Gullickson-Eagle to have our pre-match warm-up.
After hitting my 100,100,300th serve, we went and showed our awesome faces to our amazing sponsors that make World TeamTennis possible. Our other teammates, Robby, Eric and Jan-Michael all met up with us for some grub before the match, and to have a team talk. I mean, I'm pretty sure we talked about having an ice cream contest, along with setting up a time to go to Six Flags, but hey, whatever works right?
We got out there and faced the Sacramento Capitals. From the very beginning, the sets were close. The lineup was strong on both teams, and we knew that we had to get our act together with the Boston crowd to get the W. After the third set, where Robby and Eric did work on the court, we felt good with a solid lead. In the end, we came out on top. There were a couple of shots that the Lobsters hit tonight that should be on ESPN's Top 10 tomorrow---so be on the lookout...
Tomorrow is a day off...What to do, what to do?
Practice.
Workout.
Go shopping.
Get nails done.
Massage.
...
Pampering much?
LET'S GO CRUSTACEAN NATION!
-IF
NOTE: The Boston Lobsters won their home opener on July 9, defeating the Sacramento Capitals 20-14. Irina Falconi won her singles match over Asia Muhammad 5-2 to close out the win. Full results on www.WTT.com.
IRINA FALCONI BLOG #1 - July 8
Can I get a WAZZUP from all my crustacean fans out there?!
I can't hear you!
I said---! Whoa whoa! Alright alright! Yeah I did hear you. Keep it down ya'll. :-)
Anyway, your girl Irina Falconi here, reporting LIVE from the most crustacean nation in the country---BOSTON!
So a little birdie suggested the idea of me blogging for the WTT season, and I totally thought it was a killer idea. Like duh.
I figured that there is no better way for an avid WTT fan to relate to the players throughout the season than to get a behind the scene look on what the grind is all about.
So here's a little kickoff blog to start us off for the season.
I actually just arrived yesterday into good ole Boston international. Got my bags without a problem, and before I knew it, I was getting my hotel room all homey-like. Now what that means is that for the next three weeks, I will have my own room at the Lobsters’ hotel. I won't have to check out at all which truly is a blessing, and I will be able to just make it my place for a while. So sure enough, I got all my picture frames, my posters, and---nah nah, I'm just kidding. I made the hotel room like home to the best of my ability. When I tell you that I have over 40 different bathroom accessories, I'm totally not over exaggerating. A picture might be in order...
But anyway! Since I took a little time off after my European tour, I wanted to get a hit in with THE man, Bud Schultz (Boston Lobsters coach). Now, Bud and I go way back---like last year way back. So we got together and grinded on the court for a couple of hours so I can get the feel of a tennis ball again, and remember what it's like to be on a World TeamTennis court again.
After that, a little dinner was in order with another one of the players on the team--Carly Gullikson-Eagle. Since you can never go wrong with Chili's, we decided to talk away over some guacamole that was awesome along with some good ole tea.
Today was another day of practice, and a little sponsor party gathering. Our friend, Joe and Tracy, are huge contributors and advocates of our team, and invited us to their humble home for an amazing gathering to kickoff the season with our other teammates Jan-Michael Gambill, and Robby Ginepri. Eric Butorac and I couldn't resist, and just HAD to try out the indoor court that they had in their house---we both approved, it was like perfection.
Tomorrow we have our first match against Sac-Town.... Look out for a blog tomorrow night!
And remember!
Give a holla to yo lobsta!
-IF
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