[jacs]

i was thinking that we should have more threads like these ... discussing more about a passion in our lives ... lindsay ... so, anyway ... what was your earliest lindsay memory? the first time you heard about her, seen her or soemthing like that ... post them here <IMG SRC="smilies/smile.gif" border="0">

ill post mine later <IMG SRC="smilies/smile.gif" border="0">

 

[RayRob]

Hi jacs,

My earliest memory of Lindsay would be way back in about 1994 or 1995 during Wimbledon. I used to go my Grandparents house to watch Wimbledon and it was just when I was beginning to understand the rules properly.

It was a long time ago, but if my memory serves me right, Lindsay was playing doubles (I think it was mixed) and up on the screen flashed "Advantage Davenport". My Grandad explained that if Davenport won that point she would win the game and then start a new one.

I can't remember if she won, I was only about 12 or 13 so it's not all that clear.

My clearest early memory was when she won the Olypic Gold medal in 1996. I remember setting my alarm clock to wake me up at about 2 o'clock in the morning so that I could watch the match live! I watched it in my bedroom from the top of my "bunk bed" (one of those with a wardrobe in it).

A few weeks before I'd fallen over and had to have 8 stitches in my knee and when she won I could hardly contain my excitement! <IMG SRC="smilies/bounce.gif" border="0"> I kicked out my leg in excitement, forgot that I had stitches in my knee and I almost screamed out because of the pain and soreness that I felt! <IMG SRC="smilies/sad.gif" border="0">

I couldn't well scream out load at 4 o'clock in the morning could I, so needless to say my celebrations were very quiet <IMG SRC="smilies/smile.gif" border="0"> No wonder I can remember it, I could hardly forget the pain I felt, could I? LOL

Anyway, that's my story, hope I didn't babble on too much? <IMG SRC="smilies/rolleyes.gif" border="0">

<IMG SRC="smilies/wavey.gif" border="0"> See you all around,
-Rachel <IMG SRC="smilies/smile.gif" border="0">

 

[friend]

my memory was much later than urs!!! I used to be a graf fan, but I went to wimbledon 1999 with a friend for the first time, I saw the semis (womens) and then I knew lindsay was in the final against my fav, I didnt know who lindsay was really (the shame)! then she won I had court 1 tickets and got to see her after she won singles playing with morariou against De Swart and Tatarkova, it was the best doubles I have seen and cos it was live i was so excited, I immediately was drawn to lindsay she just seemed so nice , and then she won!!!! me and my friend were on the front row and I am sure we caught her eye when corina and her were parading the trophy round (i have some wiked pictures!)
after that my mate and I ran out to the front of the club house to get her autograph, we waited maybe 2 hours and finalyl she came out I was totally in shock it was so cool, I just said Well done (noone else was saying anything) u did so well today, she just looked and said thankyou, I got her autograph and picture!! from then on i have been a big fan!

that was boring for u guys but I wish i could go back to 1999!!!

since then I have seen her again at wimbledon 2000 and again at 2001 eastbourne, I just caught sight of her at this years wimbledon but not properly

 

[Lindsayfan]

my earliest Lindsay memory is during Us Open 98 when she played Coetzer in quarterFinals.after match they did a interview to Amanda about Lindsay's chances to win her first grand slam and Amanda said "i think Lindsay is ready to win Us Open."
so i started to follow Lindsay in her matches e i started to love her!!! <IMG SRC="smilies/smile.gif" border="0">

 

[Viva]

It all goes back to Wimbledon 1999 <IMG SRC="smilies/wink.gif" border="0"> - I was watching the quaterfinal between Linds and Jana. The camera went on Linds and they'll talking about how well she was playing and I thought she looked really pretty with all her hair clips and stuff. I thought she was one of the few pretty girls on the tour to be honest. I asked my brother if he thought she was pretty and he goes, "No not really." Ugh! What does he know anyway!
atched her against Alexandra andwas very happy she beat her because Alex beat Jelena and I wasn't happy about that.
Later on Steffi made it to the finals along with Linds. I asked my brother who would win (I was going for Graf) and I said I think it will be Graf and my brother goes, nah it will be Lindsay Davenport. It didn't really matter all that much to me but I watched the match and I stopped going for Graf because Lindsay was playing better obviously but something drew me to like her. So ever since then I have been a fan.

So there ya go.

[ October 16, 2001: Message edited by: Viva ]

 

[Maajken]

My earliest memory must have been when Linds became no.1 for the first time in 1998. But i was really not into tennis then, i just knew players like Graf and Sanchez etc.
I remember my brother told me she had also won the us open (which is really odd cause he's so not a tennisfan).
I was like 'What? Who is she? I thought Martina Hingis won everything these days'. So that must have been the first time i heard of her.

Anyway, i started to really watch tennis about a year later. I was rooting for Lindsay during the chase champs that year, mainly cause i just didn't want Martina to win it.
But i really liked Linds from the first time i saw her play and i've been a fan ever since.

I still remember getting up at about 3 am to see her win the aus open. That was just awesome and definitely worth the effort <IMG SRC="smilies/wink.gif" border="0">

I've never seen her in person though, but i hope that'll change next year <IMG SRC="smilies/biggrin.gif" border="0">

 

[friend]

I got up for that aussie open win too!!! at 2am i think it was ! my parents thought i had lost it!!!!!!!! it was maybe the best match I ever saw cos I was so excited!!!
anyway gotta go to bed!! (I know its 2pm but i need sleep)!

 

[tennisfreak]

Really difficult question, jacs.

But I think my earliest Lindsay memory is during Olympic Games 1996, as she won in the final against Sanchez (I think in two straight sets). I have to admit that I didn´t care much about Lindsay to this point of time. <IMG SRC="smilies/freaked.gif" border="0"> I just loved tennis and I liked Jana Novotna. I only knew that Jana never won against Lindsay in her whole career.

I think I become Lindsayfan in 1998. It was a great year for Lindsay (as you all certainly know) and since this year I had a special eye on Linds and (of course) on her results.

Especially tough for me was the match between Lindsay and Jana in Wimbledon 1999. I didn´t know, if I should support Lindsay or Jana, but I was glad that Linds won at the end.

I think I should stop with my anecdotes now.
I´m getting sentimental <IMG SRC="smilies/wink.gif" border="0">

Pat

 

[iamkool]

MY FIRST TENNIS MATCH AND LINDSAY MATCH I WATCHED WAS IN THE WIMBLEDON 1999 FINAL WHEN SHE BEAT STEFFI GRAF! I JUST SAID LOOK MOM THAT GIRL WON! ALL I KNEW IS THAT SHE WON A TOURNAMENT! THE NEXT TIME I LOOKED I OUND OUT THAT IT WAS A BIG TOURNAMENT! IM NOT A BIG DAVENPORT FAN BUT THATS MY FIRST EVER WATCHED MATCH OF TENNIS!

 

[RayRob]

Hi Gang,

Some great stories here!

As you all know, Jan is off work sick (she'll be away from the boards for another 3 weeks), so I sent her this thread via her TV e mail addy. I offer to post her "Earliest Lindsay Memory" story. She e mailed it to me and here it is:

"My first real recollection of Lindsay was when I attended Eastbourne in 1996. I had gone to spend the week there to see my then favourite Steffi Graf play. Unfortunately Steffi pulled out with knee problems and
I did not get to see her that year (not in peson). However, I did notice this tall American with a most lovely smile, and although she did not win the tournament, I was suitably impressed with Lindsay Davenport.

I kept on following Steffi until her retirement in late 1999 but I did keep my eye on Lindsay. I was on Court No 1 at Wimbledon the Sunday Lindsay beat Steffi on Centre Court to take the title. later on Lindsay
and Corina played their doubles final on Court 1, and won of course and I was there to see it. My thoughts then were, although very sad at Steffi losing, if she had to lose to anyone on Centre Court Wimbledon, in the final, then there could not have been a more nicer person that Lindsay, so all in all I did not mid too much.

Steffi then retired and I went on to supprt Lindsay - it seemed a natural progression. I then found the WTA message board on my first attempt at The Internet. On there were a lot of great people supporting Lindsay and trying to set up a "Clan" for her. Eventualy, The Tower of Power was born and the rest you can say is "Just History..."

Long live the Tower of Power supporting one of the nicest persons in tennis (even if Lindsay does not like being called "nice", I can't think of a better word.

Jan (via courtesy of Rachel) 18 October 2001"

So there you have it people, Jan's story <IMG SRC="smilies/smile.gif" border="0">
-Rachel <IMG SRC="smilies/bounce.gif" border="0">

 

[Caroline]

I became a Lindsay fan when I was flicking through my tv channels and her QF with monica seles at wimby 2000 was the only vaguely interesting thing on. ( i didnt like tennis much then) i was listening to the commentators talk about lindsay, saying nice stuff as usual, she seemed really nice and I liked her game. so i went on the internet and looked her up, read articles about her etc and realised just how successful she was.

since then ive been a huge tennis and lindsay fan.

<IMG SRC="smilies/bounce.gif" border="0">

 

[friend]

jan and I were on the same court on the same day!!!! coooooooool i think i knew that already!

 

[RayRob]

I see jacs hasn't posted his earliest memory yet.

jacs, where are you?

<IMG SRC="smilies/talk.gif" border="0">

<IMG SRC="smilies/wavey.gif" border="0"> I have to go now,
bye for now guys,
-Rachel <IMG SRC="smilies/smile.gif" border="0">

 

[jacs]

sorry guys ... this was a tough week for me...

anyway, my earliest lindsay memory was in 1998. i was reading through the papers and i saw this article about the semfinalists of Roland Garros. i knew most of the names but then i saw this woman's name: lindsay davenport. i read through her story, how her parents divorced and how she worked really hard to lose weight and all. i followed her all through out that year. i read how she won ALL three California Hardcourt titles. i saw how she won the 1998 US open. that was one of the best things ever. that women's final was the first i saw on television. that final was the most special to me with regards to lindsay. it was incredible. when she ran down that drop shot and smacked a cross-court backhand. you had to cheer for her. you had to roar with delight. an amazing memory for me.

 

[jacs]

a quick bump <img src="smile.gif" border="0">

 

[secret_god]

The first time I ever noticed LD was the year she won Wimbledon. I remember just feeling that she was a really special person - sort of instinctively. Seeing her interviewed I thought she was so sweet and gracious. I remember saying to my boyfriend how great she was. This year I kind of rediscovered her and now I tape all her matches (they always seem to be on when I am at work!) and I try and keep up with what she's up to. No one I know thinks she's pretty but I always defend her; I think she is beautiful and she has such a sweet smile. I think I relate to her in some ways, her mannerisms and personality. She would just be a lot of fun to hang out with! I'm sure everyone who reads this board understands what I am saying! <img src="graemlins/bounce.gif" border="0" alt="[Bounce]" /> <img src="graemlins/angel.gif" border="0" alt="[Angel]" /> <img src="cool.gif" border="0">

 

[spielbecker]

i started to like Lindsay at Wimbledon 1999.i saw her in final against Steffi and i didnt know who Lindsay was... <img src="redface.gif" border="0"> i followed only male tennis and specially Boris Becker.i used to dislike female tennis before Wimbledon final.then i saw lindsay and i thought "she looks so nice!i hope she wins this".now i'm totally mad about her... <img src="tongue.gif" border="0">

 

[jabberwocky]

Okay... here goes! Just remember... you asked for it! <img src="wink.gif" border="0"> <img src="tongue.gif" border="0">

I had been a Martina Navratilova fan for a long time, ever since I was a kid in the late '70s! In the early '90s, I began to realize that Martina wouldn't be playing much longer. I knew I would have to find another player to be my new favorite when Martina retired. The obvious choice for most people at that time was Jennifer Capriati. She was supposed to be the next great tennis star from the U.S., and people were jumping on the bandwagon to be her fan. That was completely out of the question for me however, because I hated her! I couldn't stand her back then! She had been so hyped up by the media, and there had been so much attention given to her, I was simply sick of hearing about her! No way was I going to be a Capriati fan! Unfortunately, she was the only player that they were talking about at the time however, so I had no clue what other promising young Americans were out there that I could cheer for.

Finally, in '92 or '93 (I'm not sure which one exactly, but I think it was '93), after enduring a few more years of the Capriati hype, I found my promising young American. I was watching the Wimbledon coverage on HBO, and there was a break in live action (probably a rain delay <img src="wink.gif" border="0"> ). The commentators, who had been going on and on about the men's draw for some reason, announced that they were actually going to show part of a women's match featuring "an up and coming American youngster". Well, that snapped me out of it! I awoke from my men's tennis-induced vegetative state, and eagerly watched the TV screen. They only showed the last few games of one of Lindsay's early round matches that she won, but that was enough for me! I saw all I needed to see in those few games to know that I had found my replacement for when Martina retired, the girl who would be my next favorite player. Lindsay was big and strong and aggressive, yet you could tell that she was a gentle giant and that she loved the sport of tennis. There was just this certain quality about her that drew me to her and told me that she was someone worth cheering for. There wasn't a big entourage around her, and there wasn't a bunch of media hype. She was just a nice kid from California with a tennis racket, out on the court having fun, and I found that to be very refreshing and very appealing. It was readily apparent that Lindsay had a good head on her shoulders, and I just knew she was going to be a success. I became a Lindsay Davenport fan that day, and have never looked back. <img src="smile.gif" border="0">

<font size=5 color=red> LET THERE BE LINDSAY </font color><br />